New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-01-14

Deputies. Like Doumer. he is frugal ter,perat.
Of absolutely regular habits Of living. free from
ostentation and sinsuarIv hale and hearty for
MS years Frenchmen always have a great re-
sPect Tor a statesman who knows how 10 keep
MS OWN counsel and TO hold his tongue No.
where Is sobriety of speech and discretion OF
utterance more widely appreciated than IN
France. These among the principal claims
Of Waldeck- Rousseau upon the good will OF
his countrymen. and that is why Sarrien will
prove dangerous a rival to Doumer next
Wednesday at Versailles. But II elected he may
be depended on TO follow in the footsteps OF
Loubet. perhaps. I should rather say OF Jules
Grevy. instead of developing into initiative
force at the Elysee.
With regard to NJ. Fallieres. now President of
the Senate. he is. like Doumer. Of ex-
tremely humble origin. son of magistrates
clerk and grandson of a blacksmith. whose
forge and cottage. prOpped up against the walls
Of the Cathedral OF Mezin. have only recently
disappeared. Just in time indeed. 70 prevent them
from figuring In the pictorial press the birth
place Of candidate for the Presidency OF the
republic. Like Doumer and sarrien. his politi-
cal career is stainless. and he has managed 70
keep himself free from all the scandals notably
that of Panama. which furnished the regulations
Of many public men in France. On the other
hand. he is without any striking individuality
conveys the idea Of lack of backbone and has
offended q number Of people by his weakness
for the pomp and ceremony of office and for
aristocratic associations. II elected President
he would be. 10 even a still greater extent than
any of his predecessors in Office. an entirely
passive executive of the will of the Chambers
of the National Legislature. He IL terribly fat
not particularly decorative. and would In his
fondness for the trappings OF his high estate at
the Elysee Palace recall many of the amusing
idiosyncrasies OF poor Felix Faure.
Leon Bourgeois. who the principal repre-
sentative of France at the peacs conference at
The Hague has announced that under no cir
cumstances would he allow his name to be put
forward as candidate for the Presidency next
Wednesday. Yet In view of his recent marriage
70 an ambitious widow. II is possible that he
may reconsider his determination. He possesses
the advantage over all others In the race of be-
ing on terms of personal acquaintance with most
OF the foreign rulers OF Europe. including King
Edward. the Kaiser. King Victor Emmanuel
the Gar. Emperor Francis Joseph etc To most
Of them his election would give much satisfac-
ton He Is brilliant man. extremely popular
and. a lawyer by profession. is an artist by In
clination, being sculptor OF mean skill
Indeed. some of his statuary has won prizes an
not very large possibly because he has been
TOO often In office Premier az a Cabinet
Minister. To use an expression employed by thu
late lamented De Blowitz, he has been di-
gested." and when a statesman has been "di-
gested' In France. politically speaking Mia
chances or a restoration TO the favor OF tina
public are somewhat slender For the French
people, less than any other nation on the face
or the globe, can be classed ruminants and
are not In the habit of chewing their cud
With regard to Rouvier the present Pr.n,,sr
he has the disadvantage OF being in Office ae
Prime Minister. and this in itself ia a hsndican
TO his election to the Presidency. wonderfuIIv
clever man. and the most eminent financier ~,
his day in France. he. too began life at the foot
or the ladder, first as an errand boy, and then
as salesman for bookseller at Marseilles
While siEgularly able politician, he does not
inspire the confidence good will conn,andsd
ny the other candidates above mentioned and
while his election Is possible II Is hardly proh-
aoie that he viii become President of the re-
Se0oS x~A1SAO1n