The morning journal-courier., 1908-12-26
President Of France Slightly Scratched and Cane Broken In Struggle With
 ASSailant
INSULT PROBABLY INTENTION
Crack Grained Individual Tries to Pull Beard of Chief Mag istrate-0utgrowth of
 Steinheil Scandal.

Paris. Dec 25, While Armand Fall Heres the president of France. accom- panied by NJ Ramondou, hs secretary and Colonel Lasson military attache at the Elysee Palace, was taking morn ing stroll near Rue Do b'Etoll today a poorly clad Individual who evidently had been lying in walt suddenly jump ed upon tho president from behind and threw his arms about NJ Fallieres' neck in an effort to seize his beard
 Col Lasson and Secretary Ramon dou sprang to the assistance of the president, dragged off his assailant and turned him over to two special detec- tlves who had been following the par ty on bicycles.
 President Fallleres' cane was broken in the struggle but beyond scratch on the ear he was not injured and in- sisted on continuing his walk
 As the detectives slipped the hand cuffs on the man he cried "1 am un- armed. simply wanted to pull tho presidents beard" When searched at the station house the presidents as- sallant proved to he Jean Matts a cafe waiter, 2i years old and native of the department of savoie Medals of General Mercier. the former minister of war, stamps bearing tho head ot the Duke of orleans. a card of mem hership in the Patrie Franchise and other royalst documents were found on his person.
 During the examination Mattia hoasted of being royaist and talked confusedly of having done his duty" and obeyed tho dictates of his "con- science" Heaps of the royallst's re- sctionary literature were found by the police when they ransacked his resi- dence
 The Investigation reveals tho facts that Mattis was in close relation with the royalist organization and this gives color to rumors that he was the in- strument of royalist plot Serious evidence in this direction, however is lacking up to the present time and it ls more likely that he Is only crack brained individual seeking notorioty whose head has been turned by the campaign of scandal and villihcation which reactionary newspapers like the Libre Parol and LAction have recent ly been conducting They used the scandal In connection with the Stein hell affair to make every conceivable charge against tho government, even tc it being guilty of political murders and insisting upon the insinuation that tho late President Faure was killed be. casse he sided against Major Dreyfus
 Early this week the height of audac. ity was reached when the reactionary papers printed circumstantia stories to make it appear that President Fal. Heres son when found in the company of the wife of Philippe Astrosse. ar advocate of the court of appeals, 2 year ago he shot and killed the attor. ney and that the police have husheC up the scandal Authoritative inform atou subsequently, proved that young Fallieres did not even know Mime. As, tresse
 MT. White, the American ambassador
 
 corps and of the cabinet and mum. her of high officials called at the Ely. sec Palace today to express their in. dignation at the insult offered Presi dent Falieres
 Mathis has been formally charged with assaulting a magistrate in the exercise of his functions. This crime Is punishable by from two to five years Imprisonment.
 The leaders of the reactIonary op- position to the government and the newspapers championinG their cause disavow the assault and claim that fl was instigated by the police to throw discredit upon their cause and dis tract public attention from graver questions.