Evening star., 1923-09-14
BY THE MARau1sE DE FoNTENoY.

Eduoard Herriot, who is arriving in
New York today on board the French
liner France, is one of the most i'm
portans French statesmen of the day,
has been for eighteen consecutive
years the mayor of Lyon, the second
chief city of France. and her repre-
sentative in the national Legislature.
He is recognized as one of the fore
most statesmen of his native land and
as the most dangerous foe OF the
Poincare administration.
His advent to power in the place of
Premier Poincare would mean a COM
plete understanding Of France with
soviet Russia and the return to public
life and to Office of ex-Premier Call
laux, who, as everybody knows, was
the bitterest foe of the entente during
the war and the champion Of Frances
understanding with Germany, at the
expense of her allies. including the
United States. Herriot is, in one
word, the acknowledged leader of the
radical party, which still looks upon
Caillaux, despite his conviction and
sentence by the senate. sitting in its
capacity as the supreme court OF the
nation. as the most resourceful OF It's
statesmen, especially in the matter of
finance Not that Herriot ever identi-
fed himself with Caillaux's pro-
German and paciflst intrigues during
the great war, in which the mavor
of Lyons rendered invaluable serv-
ices to his native land.
A former university professor OF
rhetoric at the University of Lyon.
Herriot was elected In 1904 to the
municipal council of that city. A
year later, the then mayor of Lyon.
the despotic DR.. Augagneur, was
rather unexpectedly appointed to the
generalship of Madagascar, and Her
riot, who was only thirty-six years
of age at the time, became his sue
cessor In the mayoralty.
Ry his pleasant and cordial man
ners and. by his originality and in
itiative, he soon acquired a popu-
larity among his fellow citizens that
was almost without precedent in the
annals of the chief magistracy OF the
ultra rat dical city of Lyon, and In
elected senator of the department OF
the Rhone--that Is to say, for the re-
gion of which Lyon was the capital.
He next took the active leadership
international exposition at Lyon,
which he converted into a. phenomenal
success in the face of almost insuper-
able obstacles, and that, too, almost
ON the eve of the war. This ex-
hibition has become something of n
permanency and a powerful agency
for the marketing of French indus
tries and OF French commerce abroad.
* \ 4 y
1t Is alleged that the chief object
of his visit to the United States.
which Is to extend over a period of
Ave weeks, is to promote and still
further develop the success of this
worlds fair at Lyon.
But 1t was not until the outbreak
of the great war that Herriot really
became a great national figure, owing
70 his remarkable talent for organiza-
tion, his success in getting things ac-
complished and by his eontemptuous
| disregard for bureaucratic precedent
and red tape, which are the curse of
public life and everything relating
to the government in France.
| He founded at Lyon the first great
| institution in the country for the
| physical re-education for soldiers
! crippled and permanently disabled by
wounds, and originated a number OF
other equally useful measures adopt
ed by the government, while the war
was in progress. Indeed, * was in
response to popular demand that he
was appointed minister of transport
and of military, naval and civilian
victualling during the war. accom-
: plishing miracles and overriding. in