Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 September 1894 — THE HOPE OF FRANCE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

THE HOPE OF FRANCE

SKETCH OF JEAN CASIMIR-PER-IER, THE NEW RULER. A Man of Democratic Ideas and Strong Individuality—Vows That He Will Never Betray the Republic—His Wife, Home, and Antecedents. Carnot’s Successor. Now that matters have assumed their normal condition in France the attention of all parties is concentrated on their new president, Jean Casimir-Perier. His election to the presidency is regarded by everybody as a most serious and significant event for the future of the republic. By this must not be understood any connection with the sad event* attendant upon the death of the late M. Carnot, or any measures for the suppression of anarchy, which will necessarily be the outcome of this cruel murder. Anything of such nature is merely incidental, nothing more. Why all France is more deeply concerned in its latest choice is because no one party has as yet been found which can claim CasimirPerier as its unswerving adherent.

He was chosen because he was universally regarded not only as a safe man but also as one in whom all parties saw their representative. “The Italian's dagger not only killed a man but also a regime,” exclaims the sanguine Paul de Cassagnac in L’Autorite, and this exclamation finds an echo among journals of all political shades. When Carnot was murdered a foreign statesman remarked that “France fortunately produces men like Carnot by the thousand." This, though of course well meant, was a very ambiguous compliment to France. No such expression will ever be made of Casimir-Perier, for na country produces the like of him in hundred# or even tens, much less thousands. He is a man of high mettle and distinction, with a strongly marked individuality. He is thoroughly flemocratic in his ideas of independence. and holds the right of men to be equal, irrespective of wealth and station. He has always insisted that the teaching of equality before the law and the respect for the rights of the people are the fundamental safeguards of a republic. Casimir Perier has not the slightest reverence for anything which is, according to his ideas, obsolete and absurd. This was illustrated when he announced that he and his ministry would be present at the funeral of Al. Carnot, though he knew that there was an order as old as the republic explicitly ordaining that the head of the state shall under no circumstances attend any funeral. This incident, a tritie in itself, reveals the most pronounced characteristic trait of the man—a predisposition to judge and act for himself. Will Unite France. It is predicted with confidence that

Casimir-Peri er will unite the whole French nation in a way never accomplished before. He is not only regarded as a safe man by the reactionaries, but he is openly friendly to the traditions which speak of France as the oldest son of the church. Under his skillful hands he will be able to make a good deal more of the court at Elysee than his predecessors have done, at least since the days of MacMahon. He has a happy faculty of being able to use people when they least suspect it. In this way he will bring together noblemen and prelates, who have rather kept aloof from matters of state, with other elements, that of soldier and bourgeois, all with one purpose—to fuse them into a unit. Jean Casimir-Perier comes from a most Illustrious family. He is both son and grandson of distinguished statesmen. He was porn in Paris In

1847, and is consequently a young man in the prime of manhood. It may be doubted it any other living Frenchman, except the venerable Jules Simon, is better fitted by intimate personal knowledge and actual participation in affairs of state |to be this administrative head of the republic It is said that he wishes to even eclipse his Illustrious grandfather, premier of Louis Philippe, in etate-smhnshlp—a rather ambitious

desire, to say.Lhe Least. When scarcely past his majority the Presidentelect was appointed- secretary to his father, who was elected a life Senator in 1875 for his brilliant services in assisting Thiers with bis financial problems in the budget The elder Casimir-Perier died in 1876, and left the president-elect a heritage of immense wealth and a legacy of liberal conservative political opinions which he never materially altered. In persbhal appearance Casimir-Pener is a rather short, substantially bdilt man. His complexion is dark and has the healthy glow of a man that enjoys life. He is a man of easy approach and admirable presence, who inspires confidence and has also the ability to make people with whom he comes in contact say a great deal, while be says very little. He has a full appreciation of the dignity of his statlop, and woe betide

the misguided individual who should attempt to be familiar with new French president. In his family circle and among intimate friends he lays aside all restraint and is a most delightful companion. His father left him a snug legacy of 40,000,000 francs, and through his judicious investments and skilled management this handsome fortune has been largely augmented. Casimlr-1 erier surrounds himself with all the substantial luxuries which his wealth will procure. He enjoys a good dinner and is a connoisseur of good wine. Ete does not smoke, in which respect he follows Thiers’ example. He is fond of clever people and likes the society of both bright men and women. Married a Second Cousin. The wife of the President- is his second cousin. Mme. Casimir-Perier is a splendid-looking woman, with a decidedly intellectual cast of countenance. She has a high, finely modeled forehead, a beautiful mouth, though the lips might be a little fuller. Her eyes can justly be called glorious, and she has a firm chin, indicative of great will power. Her nose is her least pleasing feature, the point being a little too long to be satisfactory. She is of decidedly aristocratic tendencies and a woman of the world. Her receptions have long been noted fortheir distinguished gatherings of all that society judges as par excellence. Mme. CasimirPerier is not at all enthusiastic over

her husband’s elevation to the Presidency, but rather accepts It as the inevitable. She is a devoted mother, having a daughter 14 years of age and a boy some years younger. The little daughter was the most pleased of the family when she heard that her father had been elected to the highest office in France. The family residence, for the present at least, Is the superb chateau, Pont-sur-Seiue. It is a magfaiflcent structure and was bought- by the present owner’s grandfather from the state under Louis Phillippe. It is furnished in a severe but yery elegant style. The dining-room is a particularly handsome apartment, being furnished in a very dark tone, which is heightened by the vast thickness of the walls, the window recesses looking more like casemates in an ancient fortress than anything else. The new President is the incarnation of that order of liberty which is the only form of liberty for a people so impulsive as the French nation. It is the American idea which has root in M. Casimir-Perler’s mind. He is the hope of France.

MME. CASIMTR-PERIER.

RESIDENCE OF CASIMIR-PERIER.

JEAN CASIMIR-PERIER.