New-York tribune., 1902-06-22
THENEW FRENCH MINISTRY
SAID TO BE A MOST RADICAL AND
ANTI-CLERICAL CABINET
PREMIER COMBES.
paris Tunp 81

Paris. June g.
The ministry of which NJ. Emile Combes Is
the chief and which is the forty-frst that has
existed in France since the downfall of the En-
pire on September T. 1871. is described as the
most radical and most anti-clerical Cabinet
that has vet been constituted. If the election
eering posters and speeches of the individual
members of the ministry be taken into account
there might be cause for alarm lest radical or
socaIstic theories propounded at the hustlngs
be put into execution and render practlcal eco
nomical government impossible But RESPONSE
biIity of office and the collective common sense
of a dozen experienced quick witted men, now
as on many other occasions in France. is hkely
to furnish the requisite ballast and give stapil-
ity to the new Cabinet. even if this were not al
ready guaranteed by the retention OF NJ Del
casse at the Foreign Office, and of the presence
of such a sound business man as NJ RouVler at
the Ministry of Finance
NJ Emile Combes, who succeeds NJ Waldeck-
Rousseau Prime Minister. is man OF retlI-
ing disposition. scarcely known outside the sen
ate where he was often vice-president, ard
where for five years he has been the recognized
leader of the radical group. In spite OF MS
sixtv-seven wears .'Pere Combes." as he is called
at the Luxembourg Palace, is vigorous and en-
ergetic. He is a white-haired, wiry man, five
ling ewes are half concealed bv gold eyeglasses
and he gIides about a rapid pace. often with
a book or portfolio under his arm, like a little
white mouse. He brought up in the Roman
Catholic Seminary at Abb, and his parents IN
tended him for the Church He has been a vii
lage physician and a schoolmaster- During his
political he made speciality OF PUBIC
education and in the shOrtlived radical min
istry of NJ Leon Bourgeois, in 1895, he was min
90, hes &c
sonaI friend of President Loubet and also OF
NJ. WaIdeck- Rousseau. who first suggested his
name as the man most likely to succeed in
forming a cabinet representing the radical ma
jority of the parliament. NJ. Combes set
about his task with characteristic energy He
jumped into a cab. and. accompanied by MS
son. spent the day driving about ringing the
doorbells of radical leaders, and comforting
with such men NM Bourgeois Sarrleh,
Vale TrouilIot DeIcasse and General Andre
In the formation of his Cabinet, which was
effected in the unprecedented period of forty
eight hours. NJ Combes followed on all essential
points the advice of NJ. Waldeck- Rousseau. NJ
Combes is not a brilliant orator. but has a log
ical businessIike way of stating case that
carries with it sympathy and conviction He Is
by no means an ambitious man, and in the lob
bies of the Chamber IL is whispered that NJ
Rouvier, to whom he intrusted the portfolio OF
finance will supplant him as Prime MIN
lister NJ Combes is an out-and-out radical and
ant-clerical. and proposes to deal Immediately
with the questions of State monopoly OF educa-
ton and the repeal of the Falloux law so favor
able to the religious orders
NJ Rouvier, Minister of Finance, has had a
very active parliamentary experience. and has
been six times minister and once President or
the Council of Ministers. NJ. Rouvier began life
yxhe ne a
ing house of Zarifa & Co. He used TO pass his
evenings at political meetings He is a clever
and honest financier. He is a persuasive speak
er and his melodiOus southern voice has a
penetrating ring that carries all before IT when
addressing his constituents NJ. Rouvier is a
robust man. nearly six feet in stature. He has
shiny black brstng hair and is nearsighted
He is muscular and active and is a good parlia-
mentary fighter. He adores debates and discus
sions and is a foremost authority on all mat
ters of finance He is a steadfast opponent of
the wastefuI financial policy that has been the
weak point of all the administrations of the
third republic Financial reform is the main
nIank of the platform of the Combes ministry,
and the lions share of this task will fall upon
NJ Rouvier who has more than once expressed
himself in favor of the suppression of the par
Iiamentary initiative in the opening of fresh
credits. which is regarded the only practical
70 the fact that irresponsible Deputies. anxious
to win regulations for administrative genius.
find il easier to advise expenditure than re-
trenchment especially when thev daily har-
assed by their constituents for posts and
ma tronage NJ. RouVier born at AK in
1872 and was elected Deputy to the National
Assembly in 1871. where he sat at the extreme
left near Gambetta. He Minister of Com
nerce and of the Colonies in CImbetta's Cab
met Minister of Commerce in Ferry's Cabinet.
and Minister of Finance in the cabinets of Flo
quet De Freycinet and Loubet
NJ Valle Minister of Justice and Keeper of
the Seals, is a strong. fullblooded man OF fifty.
who has passed much of his time in the law
courts where he was a successful advocate. He
practised law in Paris and is the owner of
hundred acres of vineyards in the Champagn
region near Epernay- He is Senator of the De-
partnent OF the Marne. and is intimate
friend of NJ Leon Bourgeois. who represents the
NJ Vale is ffty-seven years of age. and was
sion of Investigation of the Panama Canal scan
dals and his report, which had such momen-
tous results, is one of the longest we'll as
one of the most complete documents or the
French legislature NJ. Vale. in his capacity of
counsel for the banking house OF the Messrs-
Cattaui who are large creditors of Nine Ere
dfric Humbert IS familiar with the inside his
tory of the remarkable swindling case, and the
condition of his acceptance of the portfolio OF
Justice was that he should have free hand In