Word: daudets
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Take for instance police methods. Leon Daudet, famous editor of the Royalist. "L' Action Francaise", two years ago was sentenced to jail for a political offense--libel. But M. Daudet was not arrested such methods are not used in France, especially not with political defendants. Any such action the police wisely aver would serve no good cause, for it would merely make a martyr out of the convict, and political martyrs talk louder and are listened too more eagerly than ordinary politicians...
Still it was obvious that something had to be done. The law courts could not be flouted. The blind goddess insisted upon seeing her order carried out. True, M. Daudet is a plump, spacious, jolly old defamer, but really, said the police, something must be done. It was decided to invite M. Daudet to jail. He was so informed two years ago, but the R. S. P. V. on the card brought forth from M. Daudet a polite regret. He, no doubt, "regretted that he was unable to accept Monsieur Le Prefect's kind invitation", and perhaps even hinted...
...great, the irrepressible Editor Daudet reacted in a manner far different. He might have called a meeting of the French Royalists who are as strong as or stronger than the Communists. Instead, he took pen and concocted for L'Action Française a leading article so full of sly, telling digs at personalities in the Government, so meaty with tidbits of Daudeterie, that Paris, figuratively speaking, exploded with forgiving mirth...
Next day even Le Figaro, usually opposed to every policy of Royalist Daudet, printed an open letter to President Doumergue of the Republic, asking a free pardon for M. Daudet and stating: "If he is imprisoned at the same time as this adherent of the Third International [M. Cachin] he will be released next day by popular demand...
Thus supported, M. Daudet could and did snap his fat fingers last week, when friends asked if he would go to jail, saying "Pouff! Pas du tout!" ("Not much...