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Show THIS PETTY PACE By Brown Lee Yates THE WINE MANUFACTURERS of France missed a bet when they failed to make their product mix well with Coca-Cola. The American drink has threatened threat-ened to drive vino out of the bistros, bis-tros, and the tillers of the grape have taken hasty steps to avert bankruptcy. The wine interests succeeded in persuading the Deputies to pass a bill giving the minister of health discretionary powers over beverages bever-ages derived ffom plant and vegetable vege-table sources. The French Reds would have banned Coca-Cola specifically, spe-cifically, but the French never ban anything specifically. A French political po-litical maxim is: "What good are laws without loopholes?" THE COMMUNISTS over there, who've been shrieking against the Marshall plan, arms for Europe and bubble gum as devices to corrupt cor-rupt the proletariat, have joined the snarling against Cokes. Nobody ever expected Coca-Cola to join the cold war. But who would have guessed that Port and Sherry would be lighting on the same side as Stalin? "Look not thou upon the wine when it is RED. . . ." Anyway, it will be an interesting experiment to watch a nation without Cokes. The prohibition will revolutionize courtship and marriage. Imagine the youthful indifference in-difference to a date to the prom, or to even a plighting of troth, not negotiated over Coke bottles. Business Busi-ness conferences will lag. Drug stores will go out of business. THE SUDDEN THIRST for Coke will cause nationwide stupor and trembling of hands. National security se-curity will also become shaky. Why, the government might even fall again. With no more Cokes to dispense, there'll be a lot more unemployed un-employed jerks to run for office soda jerks. That's what would happen hap-pen over here, and the French are no steadier than we are. James Farley, chairman of the Coca-Cola Export Corp., appealed to the spirit of Lafayette to intercede inter-cede for America in the Coke ban. It might, too, as Coca-Cola always has mixed well with spirits. And if you expect us to drag In that old chestnut about "A jug of wine, a loaf of bread and thou," you'fe mistaken. Instead we'll close with a French quotation: "Le Pause Qui Rafraichit." |