Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-01-19

attack upon Verdun. Lon
don friend of mine furnished
me with a letter of Introduction to
NJ. Georges Clemenceau. then holding
no other political position than a
member of the French senate. but
since become the president of the
council. the leader of the French ma
ton and the savior alike of France
and of the allied cause But even
in the Verdun period he was as he
has been for at least a quarter ora
century, the most interesting of
French public men. and, through his
newspaper, he was the single out
spoken critic of allied mistakes and
the champion of vigorous and con-
certed action against the common
enemy.
At the moment when I was in Paris
no man ventured ever to hint that
Clemenceau might succeed to the
post then held by BRAND. His visor
and his energy were everywhere con
coded, but there was general lack
of confidence growing out of the in
cidents in the statesman's long his
tory of political battle.
Then a Lonely Figure.
He was in that now forgotten time
a lonely if splendid figure. France
vas not yet face to face with de-
feat, as was the case two years later;
the Nerdun episode, which was TO
remove Joffre and bring about the
ultimate fall of BRAND was only boz
ginning, and the war, although al
ready seeming long, had not yet come
to appear interminable.
So great has been the transforma-
ton since 1916. SO complete the tri-
umph of CIemenceau, that / have
thought that my notes of my inter-
view of that time, revealing as they
do the great man, already consciously
measuring himself for the task which
was to comb, might have cotempo-
rary interest and / here present my
notes made at the time. but never be
fore published for obvious reasons. To
them / add only the further eXplana-
ton that ] came to Paris from Lon
don,l bringing a letter of introduce
ton, which l had been assured In the
British capital would open the way
for me.
Warned Against Clemenceau-
Accordingly, when reached Paris. a
few days later, sent to Senator Glenn
enceau a letter which contained the
necessary message. Two hours later
] received an invitation to call upon
the senator at his home, No. Rue
Franklin. the next morning at II
o'clock.
Rue Franklin is that relatively OBJ
scure street which starts somewhat
grandiosely at the Trocadero, to end
in the maze of streets which come out
of Passy, once the home of Benjamin
Franklin. Clemenceau's house. guard
ed by the inevitable courtyard and
blank wall, extends southwark to the
next street and gives broad opening
for sunlight from the south. and 1t
was in his study. illuminated by the
March sum- which in Paris means
spring, that Clemenceau received me.
Before / went to him. my French
friends had warned me. One is always
warned of Cfemenceau. He will tell
YOU that The Germans are still at
Noyon'" was one admonition, citing
the sentence that almost daily ap-
peered in Clemenceau's newspaped,
LHomme Enchaine. until at last the
Germans left Noyon and Clemenceau
America, he will say something terri
BILE; he always does, beware" This
was an even more frequent warning.
In point of fact he did neither. but
this is anticipating
Desk Like Rampant.
Leading me down long and dusty
hallway, an old sergeant ushered me
into Clemenceau's study. the room
of which I had heard SO much, and
there seated at the wonderful desk
which is a part of the stage proper
ties of political Paris. sat Clemen-
ceau. For the moment the desk
seemed even more remarkable than
desk, shaped like the emplacement
of heavy gun. with long sides
stretching backward as II to pro-
tect the gunner from flank FIRE. And
as he rose from his chair TO greet
me Ciemenceau seemed almost ike
one of the short how1tZerS rising 10
the discharge.
I had expected to see an old man.
for Senator Clemenceau is well past
the seventy mark; instead. / saw
man whose first motions suggested
the energy and force of fifty. | had
expected to see a stern, even bitter
face. but instead it was the smiling
face of one who welcomed friendly
guest. The first impression was OF
energy, the second of courtesy.
When / had sat down he retook MS
Mace at the desk, at the gun en-
placement. for the figure is more than
a figure. From behind that breast
work he daily bombarded Paris.
France, ministries and generals. with
those articles which had overset
many ministries. and were. in later
time, to overset the last, pelore ne
came back to power
Wore a Soldiers Cap.
And as he sat down again. NJ. Gle
meuceau placed upon his bald head
one of the familiar soldiers fatigue
cans. well pushed back on his fore
head. and it gave him most amazing
annearance The enemies of Clemen-
ceau-and he has spent lifetime col
Iecting then-will tell you that he is
a Monaghan, that he represents the
survival of some ancient Tartar in
vader of prehistoric France. This is
probably a mere legend and yet, un-
Inistakably, there is about the man
the suggestion of the oriental-some-
thing about the high cheekbones. the
deep set eyes with Their enormous
gray eyebrows, which suggests, not
the oriental we know in America.
outside of Washington, but the orien-
tai of high rank and equally unmis-
taxable intelligence
Yet cap and desk, and almost fan
tastic appearance. it was still kind
~ and vigorous old man. with hardly
a trace of the burden of years. who
welcomed the invading American.
Il knew America once, l knew it
WE'LL he said; then with a touch of
mock sadness, but that was long
an old man." Then for moment he
gossiped about the New York which
he had known--the New York of Dana
and of Greeley. whom he had visited
in the days between the end of the
civil war and the other war coming of
the German: of the days when he was
in exile, an instructor of French, !
believe, in girls school in Con-
necticut suburb.
Frances Part in War.