The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1929-11-25
CLEMENCEAU
Laid TO REST
IN SIMPLICITY
Body of Frances Beloved
Father of Victory Low
cred to Grave.
NO RELIGIOUS CEREMONY
CannonS Throughout Nation
Boom Tribute to Great
Warrior.
NO RELIGIOUS CEREMONY.
(Picture Of Tomb on Page I6)
BY RALPH HEINZEN
HInitnh prnrr GinM rnrrnrnnnAnnA

United Press stan Correspondents
SAINT VINCENT SIR JARD.
France, Nov. 25.-Amid the tangled
briarS Of a woodland grave in his
beloved Vendee, the body of Georges
Clemenceau was laid to rest today
with all the simplicity asked In his
dying request.
While cannons throughout the
nation doomed their tribute to the
father of victory" the simple uu-
stained oaken box, which held the
shell of the fierce old warrior, was
lowered into the soft mud of the
open grave, which years ago Glenn
enceau had prepared for himself.
beside the grave of his father.
His faithful servants, Albert and
Francois, loved almost as his own
children, lowered the oaken box into
the grave shortly before noon. In
every respect, save one, the dying
wishes of the Tiger were observed.
There was no religious ceremony at
the grave. Clemenceau had not
wished it. He had refused it as he
lay dying, only to have benedict!on
pronounced after he had passed into
Inconsistencies.
Casket Laid Horizontally
Only Clemenceau'S wish that he
be buried standing up' was not
observed. His family of a son and
two daughters had overruled that
one last request, and the casket was
laid horizontally in the grave, wflicN
only a few hours before had be-
cleaned of leaves and prepared
the servant Francois Brabant.
"Dig the ground out Of the Il
and soften up the bottom so thy~~a
when 1 lie there it will be soft"
Clemenceau had ordered. Francois
did that less than twenty-four hours
ago.
Strong gusts of rain and wind,
blowing in from the Atlantic, stirred
the leaves that lay entangled in the
briars of the burial plot. His grave
was as near as possible to that IN
which his father was buried years
ago standing up"
Ceremony Is Impressive
With all its simplicity, the cere-
mony was most impressive, because
it represented the simple ending Of
one of the greatest careers Of con-
temporary French history.
Rings of gendarmes kept back
thousands of curious, journalists
and photographers, while only
few of the late statesman's closest
friends stepped through the barbed
wire fence to the side of the grave.
The ceremony lasted only three
minutes. On the top Of the oaken
box a few flowers were scattered.
They included the withered pale blue
blossoms, which were presented to
Clemenceau by a French corporal in
1917, and which he had preserved
in his library. The handful of blue
blossoms offered by Sir Basil Zah-
aroff, another old friend, also were
among the floral offerings at the
grave.
There had been no attempt to
tidy the woods for the ceremony.
Clemenceau for years, had resisted
any attempts to clear out the briars
of his beloved woods, overlooking
the Styx-like river Petit Lay. The
weeds had grown wild, choking all
paths up to the wind-blown cliff.
above which Clemenceau chose as
his final resting place, because the
climb was 80 bad that none will
wish to disturb me-"
Crowds Are Dispersed
1t had been his theory that mans
destiny was to return to nature in
it's simplest form. And thus he
was returned.
ALI night long, while the funeral
cortege Of five cars moved swiftly
over the 223-mile road from Paris,
the crowds had gathered, trampin
the fields of Colombier farm into
mud, but at daybreak gendarmes
forced them back one hundred yards
from the woods.
There were no official representa-
tives Of the government at the
grave, only Clemenceau's son,
Michel; MS two daughters, Madames
Jacquemaire and Young; his grand
son, DR.. Andre Jacquemaire; the
two servants, Albert and Francois,
and a few close personal friends.
Albert and Francois had been the
last to receive the conscious good
by of the statesman. Just before his
death he had kissed their hands In
a wordless farewell, which betrayed
for one moment his gesture OF
defiance to all who sought to keep
him from meeting death fighting"
Last to Leave Grave
The two faithful retainers we're
the last to leave the grave. After
the family and all others had de-
parted through the rustling leaves,
Albert and Francois stood with
barred heads In the chill drizzle,
lingering for one last tribute.
Far of the beaten path, the
burial plot was not accessible to
the motor hearse, and 1t was
necessary to carry the coffin some
distance to the wooded patch on the
cliff, above the dark creek. Raised
to strong shoulders, the remains OF
the old warrior were carried through
the sticky mud to the foot Of the
helrneted Minerva. where Il was