The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-12-26
FALLIERES
FRENCHMAN "JUST WANTED TO
 PULL HIS wHIsEkERS.o
Jean Mattis, Waiter, Believed by Paris Police to Be Party tO
 PIot by ROyalists.

Paris Dec. 25.-While Armand Fall Heres, the President of France, accom- panied by M Ramiondou, his secretary. and Colonel Lasson, military attaehe at the Elysee palace, was taking a morn ing stroll near Rue Etoil today, a poorly clad individual who evidently had been lying in wait, suddenly jump ed upon the President from behind and threw his arms about M. Fallteres s
 neck in an effort to seize his beard.
 Colonel Lasson and Secretary Ra-
 mondou sprang to the assistance of the President dragged off his assallant and turned him over to two special detec-
 thves who had been following the party on bicycles.
 President Fallieres's cane was brok- en in the struggle, put beyond scratch on the ear he was not injured and in- sisted on continuing his walk. As the detectives dipped the hand cuffs on the man, he Nrtsd: T am un- armed. l Simply wanted to pull the Presidents beard"
 When searched at the station house
 the Presidents assailant proved to be
 Jean Mattis, a cafe waiter, 24 years of
 age and a native of the cafe, depart
 ment of Savoie. Medals of General
 Mercier, the former Minister of War stamps bearing the head of the Duke of Orleans. a card of membership in the Patrie Francaise and other royalist documents were found on his person. During the examination Mattis boasted of being a royalist and talked confuse1ly of having done his duty, and obeyed the dictates of his con | science" Heaps of rOyaiist reaction. ary literature were. found by the po- lice when they ransacked his resi- dence.
 The investigation reveals the fact that Mattis was In close relation with 1 the royalist organization and this gtve' | color to rumors that he was the instru'
 ment of royalfst plot.
 Serious evidence in this direction 1 however, is lacking up to the present | time and 1t Is more likely that he ii l only~a crack -brained individual seek.
 ing notoriety, whose head has beer | turned by the campaign, scandal ana | viuihcation, which reactionary news. papers like The Libre Parole and kAc' | tion have recently been conducting l They used the scandal in connection | with the Steinheil affair to make ev' cry conceivable charge against thC government, even to it. being guilty oi political murders, and insisted upon the insInuation that the late President Faure was killed because he sided against Major Dreyfus.
 Early this week the height of audac- ity was reached when the reactionary papers printed circumstantial stories to make 1t appear that President Fal-
 lieres's son, when found in the com
 pany of the wife of Philippe Astresse
 an advocate of the court of appeals. a
 year ago, shot and killed the attorney
 and that the police have hushed up the
 scandal. Authoritative Information subsequently, proved that young Fall Iforad dtd mt evan know Mime AR- tresse.
 MT. White, the American Ambassa- dor. and other members of the dIplo- matic corps. and of the cabinet. with a
 number of high officials, called at the Elysee palace today to express their indignation at the insult offered Presi- dent Fallieres,