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Show WOMAN SHOOTS FRENCH EDITOR a Paris, France. March 17. Gaston Calmette. the brilliant editor of Figaro, Fi-garo, paid the penalty just after midnight mid-night last night of the unwritten French law which forbids that the honor of a woman shall be dragged Into a public controversy. He was assassinated, his body riddled wito bullets by Mme. Henrietta Caillaux. wire of Joseph Caillaux, minister or finance, who had been the object of bitter personal attacks published in Figaro and signed by Calmette. He died at 12:25 this morning. rne uaiijaux-L'aimette feud had held the attention of Paris for a long time. The Figaro editor repeatedly accused the finance minister of political corruption. cor-ruption. The feud reached its climax cli-max last week, when the Figaro published pub-lished the contents of love letters that Caillaux wrote to his present wife in 1901 before they were married, and when she was the wife of Leo Claretie, the literary critic of the Figaro. It was not to avenge the attack upon up-on her husband, but to vindicate her own honor that Mme. Caillaux started start-ed out yesterday to shoot Calmette. With a Browning pistol concealed in her muff she went to the Figaro office of-fice at the busiest time of the evening eve-ning and sent up her card to Cal-mette's Cal-mette's room. Paul Boruget, the famous novelist and academician, was with the editor when her card was received. Calmette Cal-mette was astounded when he learned the identity of his caller. "Do not see her," Bourget advised. "She is a woman," Calmette replied. re-plied. "I must receive her." Bourget thereupon wished his friend good night and withdrew. As he left the room he met Mme. Caillaux, who seemed perfectly calm, and showed show-ed no evidence of the mission upon which she was bent. Fires Five Shots. Immediately upon entering the room, Mme. Caillaux raised her arm and fired five shots, at a distance of six paces. Calmette fell without with-out a word at the first shot and lay apparently lifeless. After the fifth shot the attendants seized the woman, wom-an, who retained perfect self-possession. "Don't touch me; I'm a woman," she said. Several ihembers of tho Figaro staff rushed into the room. As they raised the wounded man he murmured: "I only did my duty; I havo no personal per-sonal malice,' Two doctors who were hurriedly summoned dressed the wounds and took the victim in an automobile ambulance am-bulance to Dr. Hartinan's residence. There it was found that one bullet had lodged in tho groin, one had passed pass-ed through the ribs close to the heart, a third was in his thigh, while a fourth had grazed his body. Retains Composure. In the meantime the police had taken tak-en Mme. Caillaux in her own automobile automo-bile to the station near by. She retained re-tained her wonderful calmness while the police magistrate questioned her. .."I wanted to wound Monsieur Cal-Calmettc; Cal-Calmettc; 1 didn't mean to kill him," she said in level, unemotional tones "I regret my act and I shall be .greatly .great-ly pleased when he is out of dangor. All I wanted waa to give him a lesson." les-son." The' unlnlster of finance, who had not been living with his wife recently recent-ly and did not know of her intention of shooting Calmette. was in tho sen-ato sen-ato chambor when the news of tho tragedy reached him. He turned deadly pale and, without saying a word, hurried to the police station. He arrived there two minutes before his wife was taken lo the SL Lazaro women's jail. Excitement Intense. Caillaux immediately telephoned Premier Doumerguo, tendering his resignation. res-ignation. The premier refused to accept ac-cept the resignation, but tho cabinet sat late into the night considering the situation, and it is rumored that the resignation will be accepted today. The affair created intense excitement, excite-ment, During the evening citizens marched through the streets shouting, "Down with Caillaux!" When the finance fi-nance minister left the police station a crowd of 350 rushed at him, brandishing brand-ishing sticks and umbrellas, crying: ' Down with the assassins!" Their shouts continued white Caillaux was escorted to his automobile between ranks of police. Tho feud between the editor and the minister of finance dates back to 1911, when Caillaux and his present wife wero married at the height of the Morocco crisis. This was Call- 1 ll"mmi v M i M L ,u laux's third marriage. His second wife after her divorce obtained possession pos-session of the love letter which precipitated pre-cipitated the tragedy and sent it to Calmctto to further the Figaro's campaign. cam-paign. nn. |