Evolution of a Tiger

"I believe I am the creator of the sobriquet 'Tiger' with a capital 'T' as applied to M. Clemenceau." said Editor Emile Bure of the Paris daily L'Avenor last week. "I am proud of the achievement! It will perhaps furnish the only chisel ever likely to cut my name in the granite of History."

Pressed for details, Editor Bure reminisced: "As far as I can recall, the incident took place in 1904. Clemenceau was then director of L'Aurore, and I was one of his editors. The caustic political sheet Le Gil Bias, which Mortier directed, published one day a very sarcastic attack on Clemenceau in which his character was described as being 'fierce as that of a tiger.'

"Mortier wrote 'tiger' with a small 't,' and he used it simply as a comparison, not as a nickname. He wanted to be abusive, just as if you had called someone a pig or a toad.

"The significance struck me however, and for some days after that whenever M. Clemenceau would arrive in the morning, I would say: 'Here comes the "Tiger."' It gradually became a nickname to those of us who loved him, and little by little we always spoke of le patron ('the boss') as Le Tigre.

"Soon the name spread beyond our editorial room and Dollfuss inserted a brief item in the Cri de Paris. It was soon adopted universally. It was a fit name. It indicated the delight M. Clemenceau took in getting his claws into an enemy and holding on while the other writhed in pain."

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