The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-12-11 00:00:00

!! THE BARLEY KING:" -

There is a gentleman well 'known in commercial
circles in Wisconsin United States, as "the Barley
King," of whom the following interesting sketch is
given by the Milwaukee Journal of Commerce:—" His
name is Ernest Saloman. He is the solidest man on
'Change. He has a fist like a sledge-hammer, the dia-
phragm of an elevator, a round red face, a little keen,
merry blue eye, a close-trimmed collar of iron gray
beard, is fifty-six years old, and weighs 2501 b. i
He s a German gentleman of the old school.
He moves slowly, but he thinks like lightning,
and he puts his foot down just where he in-
tends to and unhappy is the fellow that is not quick
to staid from under it. He is rough in his exterior as
a Wisconsin pine clearing, but kindly in thought,
public-spirited, magnanimous, intelligent, cultivated.
Ile talks little, but well. He takes and reads the
prominent Eastern and European papers, and is prob-
ably as well ppsted about the markets of the world as
any man in Milwaukee. He is known all through the
North-West as the best man to consign barley to, "
and the most prompt and upright commission dealer.
He is known all over the country as a buyer and
shipper of barley; when the old "Barley King" projects
a corner no one suggests anything till he begins to feel
the squeeze. He buys and sells 1,000, 000 bushels of barley
a year. He is the man who last month kept buying
all the No. 2 cash barley that came to Milwaukee for
his Eastern customers, and at the same time kept buy-
ing up short offers. By the end of the month he
could have ruined every man who had sold short to
him. He was good-natured and generous, and let his
captives off for very moderate ransoms." "The Bar-
ley King " would be an acquisition to the Stock Ex-
change at the present moment with his good nature
and generosity.—Pall Mall Gazette.

- -- -
it !IPA
PARIS TAXATION.

The Pall Mall Gazette remarks :—The comparative
ease with which France bears the enormous taxation
rendezed nec,essary by the war is one of the standing
wonders of the time. But the endurance of the city
of Paris under her burdens is even more remarkable
than that of the country at large. According to M.
Leroy-Beaulieu, if the taxation of Paris was distri-
buted equally over the population, every man, woman,
and child in the city would pay half a franc, or sd.
I sterling, every day. In this estimate is included
the contributions to the State and to the Depart-
ment, as well as to the Municipality. Restricting
our attention to this latter sum, we find that the
expenditure of the Paris municipality is nearly
double that of the kingdom of Portugal and more
than double that of Sweden. It exceeds that of
Holland, is about the same as that of Bavaria, and
approaches within £120,000 that of Belgium. But
Belgium has a population about two and a half times
as great as Paris. It will be seen, then, as M. Leroy.
Beaulieu remarks, "that after the six great Powers,
Spain, and Turkey, there is no nation or kingdom in
Europe the revenue and expenditure of which notably
surpass those of the city of Paris." The Budget of the
I city for next year is dividedinto two parts, ordinary and
I extraordinary. The ordinary expenditure is estimated
to amount to £8,120,000, being an increase upon the
estimate of the present year of about £120,000, and
M. Leroy. Beaulieu is of opinion that the Budget for
1877 will show a still further increase of perhaps half a
million, since the whole charge caused by the loan
raised this year will not be brought to account till
1877. Possibly, there will be other additions. The
1 extraordinary expenditure is estimated to amount to
£4,160,000, making the total expenditure of all kinds
reach next year, for a city of 1,852,000 inhabitants, the
enormous sum of .212,280,000. The greater part of
the extraordinary expenditure, M. Leroy-Beaulieu is
satisfied, will prove to be extraordinary and temporary.
But with all his desire to take an optimist view of the
situation, he is forced to admit the probability that
part at least of this deceptive heading will reappear
again and again in successive Budgets. With regard
to the ordinary expenditure, we find that very nearly
half, or exactly £3,880,000, is absorbed by the service
of this debt. £460,000 is swallowed up by the collection
of the taxes—not an immoderate sum, it must be ad-
mitted, since it is no more than 5i per cent, of the
gross receipts. £520,000 is expended in public charity ;
and the Prefecture of the Police costs £BOO,OOO.
Finally, the actual administration of the city costs only
£2,240,000, Of this amount lighting, paving, and so on
take £BOO,OOO, while the expenditure on education,
both primary and secondary, is a little over £400,000.

WHAT THEY (AND WE) SAY ABOUT IT.

(From Punch.)

lit France.—That it is worthy of England the per-
fidious.
That England is accustomed to the changing of
coats.
That the French Government has neglected to do
its duty.
That an angry note should have been sent from Paris
to the Court of St. James.
That if this had been done England would have
trembled, and the transaction would have been
repudiated.
That a further proof has just been given that Eng-
land is merely a nation of shopkeepers.
That all Englishman are cowards.
That all Frenchmen are heroes.
That, In spite of everything, the incident only
increases the glory of France.

In Germany. —That England may (with the k;nd
consent of the Emperor of Germany), do %hat he
plea.bes in this matter.
That Germany, on account of the relationship exist-
ing between the two peoples, will not interfere.
That Germany acknowledges the judicious good
feeling displayed by England in disappointing the
wishes of that ex-grand nation—the French.
That Germany congratulates England upon having
gained the consent of Prince Von Bismarck to the
completion of the arrangement

In Austria.—That England, as an Asiatic power, of
second-rate importance, may do what she likes with
Egypt.
That Austria is of c4trae far too great a country to
concern herself with the petty bargains of a nation of
cheese-selling islanders.
That England need fear no Austrian invasion at pre-
sent. _ _ _

I hat Englishmen should be delighted to hear this
piece of good news.
In Russia.—That England in this emergency has
done wisely in at last obeying the directions of the late
Emperor Nicholas.

_
That the transaction is worthy of the Stock Ex-
change, and is consequently characteristic of the
British nation.

That, perhaps nnder all the circumstances of the
case, Russia will defer the annexation of India until
next year.
That England should be very thankful to Russia for
this display of friendly moderation.
In England—That Englishmen are not afraid of
Frenchmen, Prussians, Austrians, or Russians.
That people living outside the British Empire may
say and think what they please.
That the purchase of the interest in the Suez Canal
was carried out without the advice, much less the con-
sent, of any foreigner.
That England, if she requires full, free, and uncon-
fined control of the Canal for her own imperial pur-
poses, has no wish or intention to exclude any other
nation from the same advantages.
That Ensland, having got a hold on the Suez Canal,
and paid for it, knows how to keep it, and means to
keep it, all people and potentates to the contrary not-
withstanding.
N.B. What is said in England, Mr. Punch begs to
remark, happens in the present instance to be an
accurate statement of facts. Foreign papers are in-
vited to reproduce this announcement.