empire, and the principle of commercial freedom, and was largely devoted
to the question of the establishment of a state bank and the
organization of the police in international ports of entry. In the bank
France was to have special privileges, and the police was to be under
the supervision of France and Spain. Germany was eliminated.

In the midst of the uncertainty over the outcome of the Conference two
important events took place in France, the second of which came near
seriously weakening the French position. These were the election of a
successor to President Loubet and the downfall of the Rouvier Ministry.

M. Loubet's term expired in February and he did not desire re-election.
The two chief candidates were Armand Fallieres and Paul Doumer. M.
Fallieres was an easy-going, good-natured, and well-meaning but
second-rate statesman. Doumer was far more brilliant and vigorous, but
was accused of self-seeking and was thought a less safe person to elect.
Unfortunately, M. Fallieres, when chosen, had his master, and was
largely under the control of Clemenceau.

Meanwhile the almost unprincipled vacillation of M. Rouvier and his
spineless policy caused increased dissatisfaction to the Chamber. During
the discussion of a riotous episode connected with the enforcement of
the Separation law, which had resulted in the death of a man, Rouvier
was overthrown. He was succeeded by a colorless person, Sarrien, who
included Clemenceau in his Cabinet as Minister of the Interior. The
latter gradually pushed his chief aside and finally replaced him before
the end of the year as Prime Minister.

Clemenceau showed himself during his lengthy control of power an astute
politician. In the public eye ever since the days of the Commune, he had
had success during the eighties as a destroyer of cabinets. Driven into
the background by the Panama scandals, he now came forward again to try
his fortune in holding the power from which he had often driven others.
With a Cabinet thoroughly under his dictatorial control, he announced a
programme which was to depend for success on the Radicals, rather than
on the Moderates or the Socialists. It was a departure from the policy
of the _Bloc_, though to conciliate the advanced parties he created the
new Ministry of Labor and put M. Viviani, a Socialist, in charge of it.
In practice, Clemenceau's policy was that of one determined to stay in
office, showing alternately conciliation and severity, explaining