The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-06

work" on foreign affairs At the Efor- eign office he wrote many of the dis patches of instructions much as he would do in his private affairs, often without keeping copies and seldom let ting their purport be generally known among officials Gradually it came to be felt in the ministry that Delcasse was too exclusive in his methods of carrying on the foreign branch This had good deal to do in bringing about the recent change.
 Led Systematic Life
 Delcasses systematic habits also diff 'fered much from those of other off cials. This led to comparison be- tween the habits of Mil1erand, the war minister, and Delcasse, the foreign min- ister. Millerand is a man of intense application. He gets absorbed in his work at the war office, forgets his meals, stays until a late hour at night attending to various details, and final ly finds himself in a state of physical exhaustion. Delcasse is just the re- verse. He is a man of scrupulous reg ularity He gets up very early in the morning and is one of the earliest ar rivals at the foreign office. Nothing in- terrupts the regularity of his lunch or other meals He does his work with
 
 goes straight home, taking no part in the restaurant, theatre or gay life. He goes to bed early and has a stand ing order that he is not to be awak- ened, no matter how urgent the busi- ness may be. This was in marked contrast to some of his cabinet asso- ciates who were on call night and day on anything urgent in their branches of war work.
 As minister of foreign affairs, Del casse had at his disposal the splendid private apartments at the Quay dOrsay always set aside for the head of the office. But he was the one foreign minister who never made use of them. The quarters include handsome sa- Ions, private dining rooms, bed cham, bers, etc, with an outlook on the spa cious gardens of the establishment. They are alongside the quarters of Vi- viani, president of the council, who has never failed to use his share of these handsome apartments. But Del casse has always preferred to occupy most modest apartment on the Ave- nue de Clichv. The Avenue de Clichy is the main thoroughfare of Montma- tre, the center of Bohemian life and is a sort of Coney Island and Midway Plaisance rolled together. The Del -casse quarters are in the midst of such bizarre surroundings. on the upper floor of building having stores on the street. The artists for a New York fashion journal used to occupy the apartment above. It was always more or less of surprise to officials that the head of the foreign office should put aside the sumptuous quarters at his disposal and choose this abode in the heart of Bohemia And yet the scrupu1ous regularity of Delcasse's pri- vate life is recognized. and his choice of this quarter is merely a matter of personal taste.
 As Ambassador to Russia
 When Delcasse went to Petrograd ass French ambassador a few years ago his systematic and simple habits were made evident there He took no part in the high life of the Russian capital Regularly each morning at an early hour he called at the ministry of for eign affairs for talk with M. Saza noff. which was made the subject of a detailed report to Paris He was scru- pulous about this daily conference in its bearing on Franco Russian diplo- macy, but outside of that the French embassy at Petrograd dropped out of its usual place as the center of all that was going on in the intense life of the capital.
 These tempermental characteristics of Delcasse, of simplicity systematic regularity, and keeping things very much to himself, have not tended to strengthen him as a popular figure, so that when the storm came over the Balkans they all contributed in way to the result which retired this world figure of diplomacy from the import ant role he was playing in the TOT eign affairs of the war.