IN THE PUBLIC EYE

Shannon News, 2 November 1926, Page 2

IN THE PUBLIC EYE

M. ARISTIDE BRIAND. THE FRENCH LLOYD GEORGE. "The hope of his side,"■ M. Aristide . Briand is one of the most important men in Europe at the present moment. On his leadership of the -French people in their relations with ■ other countries depen'ds .the peace of the future, and it is his skill in politics that the world looks to avert - anpther disaster., . .He is a Breton; fond of the sea and an expert yachtsman; also a. passionate lover..ofVthe country, with. a practical knowledge of the land, cattle, and poultry, as benefits a farmer. To this the simplicity of his tastes is to he referred. Briand does much of his thinking • not in his Cabinet at the Quai d'Orsay but in his little flat in the Avenue Kleber. It is a modest lodging: for a French Minister of Foreign Affairs ■and an ex-Prim e Minister. But M. Briand is a iiiodest man. If in - passing through the rooms of his flat you knew notkits occupant you would say that they were the headquarters a bachelor of moderate means. ." Probably the only luxury in the flat i -'is the telephone, which is much used 'in these days. M. Briand answers the rings himself, and* he opens the door to his callers, whom he receives, in his study with its simple mahogany 1 furniture. If his visitors are friends they are.ushered into the small dining room which is mole plainly furnished than the study. - It is in either one or tho other of Ills* rooms that M. Briand reads the , newspapers, and, not in office, . the novels of Pierre Loti, his favour-' - ite author, and M. Raymond Escho- ; lier, a young writer, Conservator of •the Victor Hugo Museum, who now • acts as chief adjoint to his Cabinet. V" His simple • tastes are the result of " ..his country upbringing. Next to politics he has one passion ' > - r -the"'land. Is he the French Lloyd ', George? Both are of Celtic origin, . both- sprang. from the people, both -■ have 'been the architects of their ' political fortunes. But there the , ' resemblance ends. ,M. Briand is a I- deep and careful thinker, and when r he 'has dpne his thinking on any par- - - ticular problem, and has arrived at conclusions thereon, he holds to them tenaciously. M. Briand never re- ■ vises his opinion unless he-is con- ,.' -fronted with facts which have escaped ,his notice. And this is a rare occurrence. Ij; One of his most wonderful qualities %is that of assimilation. It takes "him ijva long time to make up hi 3 mind on /"■"any grave question, which is studied i )dt every angle from ,the evidence ; ;brought before him. Officials at the f-'French Foreign Office know his powders of assimilation, his appetite for ""reports and documents bearing on k subjects on which decicions have t 0 ' ,be reached. They also know the in-

flexibility of his "judgments, and consequently make a point of presenting complete dossiers. Moreover, M. Briand has an almost positive shrinking from publicity. When out of office, he was ineccessible to newspaper men. Instead of making statements or writing articles he preferred to think.