IN DEFENSE OF PEACE

In the Eden, Chamberlain, tradition comes this collection of speeches of France's Premier -- dealing with the principal ""preoccupations of French policy from April 1930 to May 1939."" The introduction is a brief biographical plaudit tracing Daladier's rise, from the son of a simple, hardworking man, to professor and orator and active participant in the Radical Socialist party. Eventually he entered the Chamber, then came the Ministry under Herriot and Blum -- his career until now. The speeches deal with many and varied topics -- 40 hour law, strikes, stabilizing the franc, testimonials of friendship to England and America, speeches made on the North African tour this year, speeches which reveal his policy toward the dictator countries; -- one of peace and national defense, corroborated by the conduct of Chamberlain and himself during the Munich crisis. Like all political addresses, these consist of rather general statements, couched in rhetoric befitting the occasion. This is newsworthy in spite of newspaper appearances.