The judgments concerning homosexuals which are handed down in French courts are extremely varied. and have no relation to one another. Some courts have actually convicted adult homosexuals of contributing to the delinquency of other adults eighteen or nineteen years old! Punishments for such convictions vary from fine to prison to probation depending upon the caprice of the judge. And even before the accused is brought to the bar of "justice" he is exposed to corrupt police departments which employ blackmail and entrapment to elicit confessions. We must be united in our condemnation of such tactics!

The man in the street, of course, is unaware of the intricacies of jurisprudence. He judges homosexuality in accordance with Christian or bourgeois morality. But although he is unaware of homosexuality as a legal problem, the common man is quite familiar with the obvious homosexuals-particularly the males who appear in the large cities and attract attention by their manner of dress, their speech and walk. Of course these are the only homosexuals known to the public, but the public judges them harshly. It regards all homosexuals as identical to to the stereotype and considers them wicked or at best-sick. Unfortunately these naive judgments have the full support of conventional morality.

A large number of the French people, however in the minority, do not judge so harshly. Particularly the young are in this categorywhether from their experiences in school or in the military service or the general laxity in morals-and they have learned to judge much less severely than their parenis. Among them homosexuality is tolerated. True, they regard it as an object for ridicule, but tolerate it as they do many other things in our sick and ridiculous society.

Intellectuals-doctors, teachers and jurists-show a shocking amount of prejudice. In other matters they think as intellectual leaders, but when it comes to homosexuality they are no longer leaders but part of the mass-businessmen, workers or Catholics. And they are so afraid of public criticism that they seldom act with wisdom when confronted with the serious problems of life. It is significant that not one intellectual in

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all France has, despite our numerous appeals, declared himself willing to voice even an objective opinion in ARCADIE, the representative of the homosexual minority in the Latin world. How are we to look upon these "intellectuals" except as hypocrites and cowards when their first feeling is self-interest, money and reputation and decline homage to the very cause they claim to serve?

Our public officials are ignorant of homosexuality, although certain of them occasionally feel called upon to express zeal in dealing with the "problem." There are various associations of officials, always eager to attack in the name of morality. In the interest of justice all government officials are quite ready to speak out boldly in opposition to homosexuality, particularly where they lack precise information. Here and there we read pompous decrees on the subject issued by some public minister or department head.

In France true liberty is lacking. And by liberty we do not mean license, turpitude or rape. We are the first to insist upon dignity in the life of homosexuals and shall never condone the indiscretions of a few of our number. But whenever even a worthy movement in the name of homosexuality begins in the Latin countries, the public authorities rage. We believe they are wrong and intend to prove it, but under these conditions action is difficult.

Whereas the northern European countries have had homosexual clubs and periodicals for many years, the Latin countries (Italy, Spain, Portugal and France) are only now slowly beginning to orient themselves in this direction. Before the War, in 1939, some attempts had been greeted hopefully, but none of them was realized. It was then that the Swiss magazine LE CERCLE, edited in Zurich, began to publish some French pages to rally members of the French mincrity. While they succeeded to some extent, the magazine was unfortunately siow in gaining acceptance in France.

In Milan, Italy, a magazine has tried in the last few years to present the homosexual point of view after the regrettable failure of TAGES, designed as a true homosexual review. Spain, like Portugal, with her rigid regime does not permit such publications. France? France

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