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amon’ - 10 be treated by General Franco as if I were the Sultan of Morocco.” Last week, Franco tried another move. He sent a law of succession to _ his puppet parliament. It set up a Coun- cil of the Kingdom. If Franco died or became incapacitated, the council would select a chief of state who would up- hold the basic laws of Spain—for the record still ‘a monarchy: At home, for once, all opposition circles (including the monarchists) were agreed: the lofty promise to restore the monarchy was obviously a hedge to strengthen Franco’s waveting grip on the country. But Franco’s words also set off a revived jockeying for top posi- tion among his opponents. The mon- archists seemed to have the edge. As long ago as last January they had brought together all opposition elements except the Communists to wotk for a refurbishing of the throne. A number of Spanish generals and colonels of the Falange who looked to the monarchy to save their jobs and necks wete among that number. It was no sectet that Britain’s Foreign Office * had long cultivated * friends Catholic church leaders, aristocrats and businessmen in a quiet effort to achieve a constitutional ‘monarchy—lest com- munism emerge as Franco’s heir in the western Mediterranean. The British ~ had looked coldly at the republican government-in-exile of anti-monarchist José Giral. But he was out now and Rodolfo Llopis, his successor in’ Paris, hinted that. Britain might regard his cabinet with favor if he could agree with some rightists and monarchists. - The US was also about to take .an active part in the cozy game. It would offer financial encouragement to those non-Communist Spaniards the State De- partment judged capable of bringing about a peaceful new regime. A tip-off came in the appointment of the new US chargé d'affaires in Ma- drid. Careerman Paul T. Culbertson, outspoken chief of the State Depart- ment’s Western European division, is opposed to an outright return of the monatchy but would be guided by the American-British-French statement of last year urging the people to set up a caretaker government in place of Franco. high Spanish arniy officers, « - about the “Communist bugaboo,” Worst Seller NE of the US Government . Printing Office’s fastest mov- | ing items ‘is “Communism in Ac- tion,” a pamphlet produced last year by the Library of Congress staff which is directed by Repre- sentative Everett M. Dirksen (R, — fil.). Dirksen encountered no diffi- culty recently in getting authoriza- tion for a second printing of 500,000 copies. Representative Wright Patman (D, Tex.) got the library staff to produce a companion pamphlet of 150 pages entitled “Fascism in Ac- tion.” Early in this session he iatro- duced a resolution to have it, too, printed as a public document. So far, he has not even been able to” get a sample copy. He has said that if the House Administration Com- mittee does not repost on his meas- ure this week, he will circulate a petition for the 218 signatures needed to by-pass the committee. “It will be interesting to see who téfuses,”” said Patman’! Bugaboo Civil Liberties | ae TRUMAN’S executive order. _of Maich 22 directing that govern- ment service be rechecked for disloyal persons spoke of ‘‘a threat to our demo- cratic processes.” The threat, undefined by the President beyond the adjective “subversive,” has been freely explained since by newspaper allusions to Wash- ington’s “Red Purge.” The White House kept mum. Last week ex-Gov- ernor George H. Earle of Pennsylvania made public a letter, written on Feb- tuary 28, which made the silence seem jouder: Dear Governor: | I appreciate very much your note of February 26 and I am very happy to be informed of your decision with regard to the American Anti-Communist Associa- tion. [Earle had resigned.]} People are very much wrought up but I am of the opinion that the country is perfectly safe so far as communism is NEW REPUBLIC t concerned—we have too many sane peo- ple. Our government is made for the welfare of the people, and I don’t be- lieve there will come a time when any one will really want to overturn it. [Signed] Hagry Truman Wanderlust New York DD“ his 16-year grind as a bus driver, Bill Cimillo appeared to have tuned himself to life’s even mono- tone. He was a model employee of New York’s Surface Transportation Corpora- tion. Fourteen times a day he shuttled doggedly across the Bronx, making change, replying to the inevitable ques- tions, relentlessly imploring the crush of commuters to step to the rear. He was a good father to his kids—born to the family in a similar methodical sequence. Like the Bronx, Bill Cimillo’s horizon was steady if somewhat repe- titious. Except for a tinge of spring, there was nothing eventful about the morn- ing when, at 7 a.m., Bill wheeled out the familiar 44-passenger Diesel to begin his daily chore. But, unaccount- ably, something prompted. him to turn . the snout of No. 1310 away from the beaten trail. On the other side of the Hudson, a company supetintendent driving in to work was startled to see the shiny red-and-buff vehicle purring southward. Before the superintendent recovefed sufficiently to phone an alarm, the runaway and its lone occupant had disappeared down the open road. Police in 11 states were alerted in vain to in- tercept the $18,000, vagabond omnibus. Three days later Western Union de- livered a cryptic communiqué to the Bronx: “In Hollywood, Florida. Wire money to come back with. Need money for fuel oil. Will drive back. {Signed} Bill Cimillo.” It was all up. Police closed in and clapped the truant into the Hollywood jail, next to the cell of a man who insisted his name was really J. Edgar Hoover. A grand jury quickly returned an indictment for first-degree grand larceny. A New York detective was dispatched to bring back the de- fendant. Bill Cimillo remained philo- sophical : “The fellows at the bus company will understand, I’m sure.”