Evening star., 1932-05-06
French PRESIDENT
SHOT BY ASSASSIN
Paul Doumer Near Death
From 3 Gun Wounds-Rus-
sian Doctor Held.
Continued From First Page.l

Continued From First Page)
to sign a copy of book by a con-
temporary author
Then the President moved over to a
Z table and stood talking with Farrere
and Nine. Farrere.
Suddenly a man sprang. seemingly
out Of nowhere, leveled a pistol at the
President and fired five times.
M. Doumer's knees crumpled. He
sank to the floor.
Farrere sprang forward. The assassin
raised his pistol and fired twice. Far
rere stopped with bullet in the arm,
but lunged forward again and grappled
with the man.
Paul Guichard, director of the Paris
police. ran forward.
The assassin fired again. The bullet
struck Guichard in the arm.
BY this time dozen police surround
ed the man and crowd gathered about
them.
AS the crowd grew it became an in
furiated mob. The police had the
greatest difficulty protecting their
prisoner.
At last they got him away.
Die for the FatherIand"
They had no idea of his motive, but
someone heard him shout as he fired:
Die for the Fatherland"
Meanwhile, back in the exhibition
room, Farrere and others bent over the
president.
He was already nearly unconscious.
but he mumbled few incoherent words
as they lifted him, placed him on a
stretcher and carried him to the Beau
jon Hospital. {
The doctors there performed an OPP
A~I-- ar,I
blood TRANSMISSION.
One of the surgeons, a DR.. Gosset,
said he had examined the President ard
had discovered that none of the bullets
had penetrated the brain and that he
expected M. Doumer to recover.
One Of those who were first to reach
the Presidents side said afterward he
had heard M Doumer whisper:
Pas possible"
In English, it would be:
This seems impossible"
From police headquarters came word
that when they searched the assassin
they found in his pocket a notebook
with the phrase printed In pencn IN
letters an inch nigh;
"This day killed the President Of the
French Republic"
Premier Tardieu Arrives.
Premier Andre Tardieu was the first
man to reach the hospital after the
news had gone about. Former Premier
Caillaux came soon afterward, and then
there was q stream of distinguished per-
sonages.
Nine. Doun1er, who gave four sons to
France in the war, was grief stricken
when she reached the bedside.
As the evening wore on and crowd
pressed about the hospital bits OF news
trickled out.
The doctors disclosed that after the
emergency operation the patient had
rallied slightly.
+ Ca va" he murmured, the doctors
said.
That means I'm all right"
Paul Doumer became president of
: the republic last May. -
His closest competitor was the late
Aristide BRAND, but the Man of
Peace had alienated enough of his
contemporaries by his policy of rap
prochement to prevent his election.
! So M. Doumer, at IA, became the
Z thirteenth president of France. 1t was
the second time he had been q candi-
date. In 1906 he ran against Armand
Falliers, president Of the senate, and
lost.
Father a Section Boss.
He lisa man OF humble beginnings. His
father was a section boss on a railroad.
He died when the president was boy,
and 1t was a struggle to attain an edu-
cation, for he had to leave grammar
school, at a. to help support his
widowed mother.
He laid the foundations for his polit-
ical career in newspaper work. When
he gravitated to politics he specialized
in finance and became minister OF
finance in 1895.
Subsequently, for seven strenuous
years, he was Governor General OF
Indo-C China, and on his return from
that far-away post was reelected to
the Chamber of Deputies. Three years
later he became president OF the Lower
House. He held that ONCE when Fal-
lieres, then president Of the Senate, de-
feated him for the presidency OF the
republic.
Three Sons Killed in War.
M. Dourners heaviest sorrow came in
the war. Three of his five sons were
killed in battle and fourth died of his
wounds soon after the armistice.
During the war M Doumer was a
busy man in several minor government
posts although in 1917 he was minister
without portfolio In the Painleve cabi-
net which was overthrown by Clemen-
ceau
In 1921 Aristide BRAND, then premier.
made him minister of finance. Six
years later he became President Of the
Senate.
If Doumer should die of his wounds,
the Senate and the Chamber Of Depu-
ties would meet Immediately to elect
his successor.
Article VII of the French constitu-
tional laws provides for this procedure
in the event that the presidency should
become vacant for any cause.
In the interval between the vacancy
and the election the cabinet Is in
vested with executive power.
This procedure was followed in 1894
when President Carnot was assassi-
mated at Lyons.
In the present case the election
would be by the old Chamber of Depu-
ties, although the terms Of the men,
bers Of that chamber have expired and
France is in the process Of electing
new chamber.
1t was said officially this evening
that the second ballot for the new
chamber, scheduled for Sunday, would
take place irrespective of what might
happen to President Doumer.
REPUDIATED AT ROME.