The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-09
UNUSUAL CAREER OF
AR|ST|DE BRAND
Present French Premier Is
Very Popular
OF HUMBLE ORIGIN
Rise Has Been Remarkable-Only
Decade Ago He Was Struggling
Provincial Advocate-Seizes
Every Opportunity

From the London Parliament. M
Paris. Though to the world at large
Frances man of the hour is Ray
mond Poincare, it's President-elect,g the
French people themselves find in the
striking personality and remarkable
career of Aristide BRAND. the new pre-
mier. an object OF even greater in
terest That academic reputation and
atmosphere of culture which M. Poin-
care will carry with him to the presi-
Dental office, investing it with a
lustre hitherto unknown, leaves them
unmoved whilel the brilliant versatil-
ity of the head of the new cabinet,
Responding as it does to similar char
Iacteristics in themselves, rouses their
enthusiasm and makes the present
choice of a government leader an es-
pecially popular one.
| Like Mr.. Lloyd George, whom he
somewhat resembles in appearance. NJ
BRAND has scaled the dizzy heights of
fame with amazing celerity and SEEM
| ingly without effort. Only a decade ago
he was still a struggling provincial
avocat. Nevertheless, the present Is his
second call to the high office of min
isterial chief. Surely a rare achieve
ment even in a country Of such po-
litical possibilities as France! This
extraordinary man, who coneeals with
| a velvet glove a hand of iron, owes his
success in large measure to his su-
preme oratoricai and organizing tall
ents, but also to the fact that he has
always known how to seize and hold
the hem of opportunities garment in
l her swift flight past him. And again,
he knows how to bide his time.
A Striking Personality
In many respects Aristide BRAND
might easily have stood for the proto-
1 type of that other Aristide with whom
! recent fiction has made US familiar.
Like him of the "joyous adventures"
the most striking feature of a strik-
ing face Is pair of cleaning dark
eyes. and to him, too 'the impossible
| is ever the one thing easy of attain
ment." Rather tall for a Frenchman,
with a slight stoop, his slim frame
looks little fitted to bear the long
arduous hours of continuous parlia-.
mentary and executive work, which for
several years has been his daily lot.
His black straight hhir Qike his short
Imoustache tinged with grey) is brushed
back from a square massive forehead,
surmounting a clever. face with Curl
lously pensive. almost melancholy ex-
preston. He lis so years Of age. Ar
Iistide BRAND was born at Nantes where
his parents Kept a small, hotel.
Owing to the humble position of his
a 1. A.. ~. - -
mentary school to the university beset
with difficulties. Nevertheless he sue
ceeded in accomplishing one of his
cherished ambitions-the passing of
his law examination. On completing
his legal studies he established him.
self in practice at st. Nazaire The
young avocat. who was destined to be-
come one of the most brilliant speak
ers in the French parliament, was a
born. orator AS boy he had delighted
in attending public meetings to listen
to the perfervid and -voluble type of
speechmaking which abounds in
France. with little schoolfellow, now
bootmaker at st. Na2aire, and who
proudly relates the fact, the future
premier of France assiduously attend
ed a local Catholic church for the sole
purpose of hearing ana iprofiting BY
the eloduence. Of IA noted local preach
err Thus did he traip@ himself for his
future career as parliamehtary or.
ator.l ~ a, s!lssf..ss9s 4 y f E
T .Springing from humble stock, his
sympathies We're ever with the poor
ana the dtsinheTi Tited Of 1ife tansi an In
teresting parallel between himself ana
M. Lloyd George 10 that AZ a. young
lawyer he began TO study social prob
lens. and made the cause Of the masses
his own. Very, soon eComrades BRAND
occupied a. leading place amongst the
advanced socialists of the Loire depart
ment, Hts talents asa propagandist
becoming recognized, he was elected
secretary Of their party.
Entrance Into Parliament
who shall, say when the idea of en-.
tering parliament first took possession
Of, this sociAlistic asitator. this lead
Fer OF dema so eues7 Certain II is that
when In 1902 No was. elected deputy for
the Loire department. his ambitions In
that direction had already received
many fcbuffs. but with Arstide BRAND
there was no going back. His foot once
on the lowest rung Of the parliamen-
tary ladder, he set out to climb to the
top. He saw that 2 period of self
| effacen5ent was necessary II, order that
people might have time to forget His
too Gamboyaut revolutionary utter