The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-05-21
M. BOURGEOIS, 61 TO-DAY,
 MAY BE FRENCH PRESIDENT

M Leon Victor Auguste Bourgeois. distinguished French publicist. is to- daW celebrating his sixty-first birth day by listening to the buzzing of. ze Anglais call 1t? ze bee in the bon net? Oui vraiment. Preoisement. Papa" Armand Fallieres was elected President of the French Republic on Jan. IT, 1906, and his term of seven years will expire next January.
 Wherefore there has been great ex- citement among the patriotic gentle
 men who would willingly succeed M.
 Fallieres in. the Palais Elysee. assum-
 ing the tremendous burdens of gov-
 ernment in consideration of 600. 900 francs per annum as salary and co., GOO fracs for expenses. The excite ment, however, has been confined
 supporters in Parliament, the people at large refusing to manifest more than a cursory interest in the cam paign. The sovereign voters have no
 part in the choice Of President of
 France and refuse to bother their
 heads about the matter. since, in any
 event, the chief executive. is scarcely
 sibility for the selection of a proper
 person for the job rests upon the
 Chamber of Deputies and the Senate,
 united in a National Assembly.
 MT. Bourgeois, who has been among
 those prominently mentioned for the
 Presidency, was born in Paris on May
 21, 1851, and was educated at L'Insti-
 tuition Massin. Lyoce. Charlemagne. His public career began thirty years ago, when he was given the appoint ment of prefect of the Yarn. In 1888 he became encouragement of the prefecture of the Seine, and in 1885 prefect of the Haute-Garonne. Direc- k<. iov of noi nd of police was his next political post. Tn 1888 he was elected a member of the Chamber of Deputies, represent ing Marne, and assumed a position In national affairs that led to his ap- pointment as Under Secretary of State. From that time on his rise to flame and powef was rapid. and in 1892 he was a full-fiedged cabinet member. holding the portfolio of Minister of Public Instruction. When M Alex andre Ribot-now the principal oppon- ent of Bourgeois for the Presidency became Premier of France, M. Bour- geois was. made Minister of Justice, and when Ribot retired in October, 1895, Bourgeois organized a radical ministry and became premier. In the following March he succeeded M Der thelot as Minister for Foreign Affairs. During the last ten years M. Bour- geois has devoted himself largely to literature and political economy and
 has written number of books that are accepted as authoritative by scholars all over the world. He is not strong, powerful politician like M. Georges Clemenceau, who has also
 been mentioned" for the Presidency.
 but that has made his chances all the
 better The masterful man, who de-
 sires to be the actual head of the
 State, is not the sort of person the Senators and Deputies desire for Pres
 ident. France is ruled almost abso-
 lutely by it's lawmakers. and they are
 jealous of their power. The role of
 President of the Republique Francaise is a negative one.
 The National Assembly that will choose a successor for "Papa' Fall
 Heres is at present composed of 300 Senators, chosen by special commis-
 sions of the departments and colonies,
 and 697 Deputies, elected by universal
 suffrage. The Radical and Socialist
 groups are in a large majority and the President will reflect their polit-
 ical sentiments. Reflect, oui, that is the word.