The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-09-23
N. MALW TAKEN TO
SPANISH FRONTIER
Nlinister Of Interior Leaves to
Spend Five Years in Exile.

spend Five Years In Exile.
Paris, Sept 2s--At the end of 1t
ali M. Malvy. former minister of the
interior. condemned for forfeiture"
or culpable neglect OF duty, to fve
years exile from France, without less
of civil rights. went quietly away from
the capital In which, through the
vieissitudes and various ministries, he
had been one of the grand instruments
of government. There were scenes
and circumstances and small demon
strations which did not amount to
much. but the thoughtful spectator
considered 1t impressive. pathetic,
tragic, and to some extent even mys-
terious. So much that was remark
able had been told at the famous trial
before the senate, and so many strange
facts had been related by the long
procession of witnesses which inelud-
ed four former premiers on the same
day. that the sum of testimony had
created some confusion from which
emerged the impression that M. Malvy
had been toe kind to interests with
which he was sympathetie--cuipab bly,
and punishably kind, perha ps--but
that it was difficult to sift the final
essence of fact from that mass of
statement, SO contradictory sometimes,
so vague and indefinite at others, SO
ineonseauential in other places; and
then again there was the inevitable
question that, with so much said and
told, how much had been left untold,
and was it possible that human judg-
ment and knowledge could exactly
determine as to the precise merits of
NJ. Malvy's actions in existing eircum-
stances in France?
These reflections by those who wit
messed the scene of departure were
not In the way Of intimating that the
punishment was unfair and wrong
though many think it so---it might
even he much too light. as some say
for the grievances that France had
against him The uneasy feeling was
that nobody knew everything. that the
whole truth was not and could not be
told about the Sc great affairs, and that
renders these slow. difficult, and often
hating judicial prosecutions, honest
and thorough as they may be. some
what unsatisfactory, Many persons
thought with good reason that NJ.
Malvy would save himself altogether,
and it really appeared he might do
so Up to the last moments of the trial,
when the senate as the Haute Cour
was suddenly seized with an impulse
toward sovereignty, goaded to II, az
some imply. by the many allegations
that it was exceeding its duty, AFRO
eating too much to itself, and engag-
ing upon new prosecutions and sen
fences with which 1t had no right or
authority to deal. Before the trial
opened, there was an impression that
the accused might suffer severely. but
the facts. tendencies, and influences
as they were known were all against
this idea, and, the prospect OF I'M
prisonment or anything Of such
severe kind was very small.
on the whole. perhaps. NJ. MalVy
may be thought by impartial persons
to have got off fairly well. partic4
larly, as it must be Id, there Ia al
ways the chance of reye rsai OF the
judgmen or an amnesty. There are
to be fs1aay changes in France and the
rest of the world in the next FIVE years.
and it would be rash to suppose that
the feeling. the sentiment, and the
Judgment of these present moments
will prevail evenly during that period.
There is evidence that this was In the
minds of NJ Malvy's friends when they
Joined him at the Care d orsay to bia
him "Au revoir" in the evening when
the first shadows of twilight were
beginning to fall. There had been a
little hesitation as to where he should
EREaQ IRE EAflE. Hc iS1t tilo0S ~ Ns--'
almost naturally Spain, but then it
appeared that there was much to be
said for England, and there was 2
time when 1t seemed England it would
be. But suddenly Spain was decided
upon II may be that some influences
were against his going to. England,
NJ. Malvy has not been much con-
cerned with foreign affairs, and has
had little enough to do with England,
while in a definite sense England IS
much farther from France than Spain.
M. Joseph Caillaux, in such circum-
stances, would not choose England. II
for no other reason that that it is so
strongly urged that he is no friend OF
England, and 1t is considered in many
places that something of M. Caillaux
is reflected on his friend, NJ. Malyy.
A few days were given NJ. Malvy by
the governmental authorities in which
to arrange his affairs and prepare for
his departure. and he was granted his
full freedom for this ptriod- His
friends became active on his behalf,
but a realization OF the state Of things
indicated that it was inevitable NJ.
Nalvy should go into exile. He de-
voted some of his spare time to pre-
pairing a final letter in his own justi-
ication to be addressed to NJ. Des-
chanel. the president of the cham Der.
At last, at the end OF the week, on a
Saturday evening. all was ready, and
NJ. Malvy with his family stepped into
a taxi to be driven TO the Care
d'Orsay, there to take the sud-express
for Bordeaux and the Spanish
frontier. San Sebastian having been
decided upon as the first head
quarters.
In the grand hall of the Care
d'Orsa,y the exile was Immediately
surrounded by numerous friends ana
we'll wishers. There were deputies,
re representatives. of the Confederation
Generate du Travail, other represent
tatives of labor as practiced in the
Paris district, including delegations
from the Rsnault and Neisin works. Of
the railway workers. the midinettes
and others They shook hands warm
iy with NJ Malvy and uttered words
Of sympathy, affection and hope. Some
of the delegations had brought bou