ABLEST MEN IN FRANCE CHOSEN.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 14195, 12 January 1917, Page 6

ABLEST MEN IN FRANCE CHOSEN.

NEW Y6RK, December 13. Stephano Lauzanne, formerly' editor-in-chief of Le Matin pi Paris, one of the newspapers which has advocated the bringing about, of just such aj reorganisation in France as has now' been accomplished by Premier Briand, says that Premier Briand has selected as his associates in the new French War Council four of .the ablest and most far-see-ing meh in all 'France. The new War Council, he added, will wOrlc hand in hand with tlie British War Council. Briand arid Lloyd .George, h'e says, are j men of th© same type, both possessed ' bf great driving power — "as much alike as two fingers on the same hand." Mr. Lauzanne commented- as follows on the members of the new 'War Coun--cil:— "First of all, there is Premier Briand. Everybody knows about him, and so I won't discuss his achievements. "_\.mny say, though, that we in France consider Briand perhaps the ablest of all our public men. All France trusts Briand. "As for Gen. Lautey,, the new Minister of War, in all France tho Premier could not havo found a man so . splendidly qualified «to handle the big problems of the War O flics. He is a genius at organisation and I do not think I exaggerate when I say he is perhaps the greatest organiser that the French army has ever known. . "Admiral Lacasse, the Minister of Marine, is reappointed from the old Cabinet. He is ono of France's ablest sailors. M. Ribot. the Finance Minis: ter. is also a holdover from the old 1 Cabinet. "Albert Thomas, who in the old Cabinet was an Under-Secretary in charge of munition work, holds in the new War Council a full membership. He will jhaye absolute power. M. Cleveille, who I will be the Director of Transports, is a i former general manager of the State railways of France, and the present efficiency of those roads is due more to his mar.agement than to any other man in France. He is a business man of the highest type. IM. «Loucheur, who will be Director of Munitions under M. Thomas, is what you would call in this country a captain of industry. He is the head of one of the country's greatest steel plants, situated near Nancy.