The Portland daily press., 1871-06-23
DAILY PRESS,
PORTLAND
WEy the Credit Of France is Better than
NM. ll.a I.aiied Slales
FRIDAY, JUNE %, 1871

III
That OF the United States.
The statement that the new French loan is
popular and will be speedily taken is calcu
lated to excite universal attention Within
the last century France has suffered from the
industrial and monetary embarrassmehts
arising from the great revolution OF w, the
transition by way of :he Directory and Con-
sulate to the Empire, the wars with COM
bned Europe from the establishment of the
Republic 10 the overthrow OF the first Napo-
leon. the revolutions of 1880 and 1913, the
coup Tetdt of the second Bonaparte, the
Crimean, Algeriue, Austrian and Mexican
wars, and, lastly, the Prussian war which re-
suited in the occupetion of nearly the whole
country by an immense body of hostile SOL
diery, and in peace obtained at a cost of an
indemnity amounting to hundreds of millions
of dollars. Such succession of events cal
culated to impeir the credit of nation might
be expected TO result in financial distress,
even if the government were administered
frugally by rulers sincerely devoted TO the i'll
terests of the people. But in country al
ways ruled by selfish, extravagant and I'M
scrupulo;is men there would be great antece.
dent probability of irretrievable ruin. And
to make the case still more hopeless for
France, the fires of civil strife broke out with
renewed fury while the Prassian army of oc-
cupation was still in possession of the land
and subsisting in part on the country.
But it appears that the new French loan,
at Jtoe per cent. is successful, and is even
sought with eagerness by European capital
lists who refuse to take United States five per
-cepls, though we are enjoying a season of
profound peace and measurable prosperity
and our national debt is in process of speedy
extineuishment! The French loan is taken
though that country seems on the verge of
new disasters. The revolutionary Spirit is
not quieted and rumors of new outbreaks are
rife. Moreover, Italy is assuming an attitude
of hostility to France on account of the well
known tendency of the Theirs government
to adhere to the policy OF the Empire in sus-
tanning the temporal power of the Pope.
Measures of warlike character are already
contemplated in the former country. Yet
the French loan goes readily at five per cent!
Ah0 oAPaHdIioH is Simple. france mas al
ways kept untarnished its public faith. No
party of reputation has ever existed there.
The successive governments have uniformly
recognized the validity Of obligations in
Cured by their predecessors. The Empire
and the Republic have alternately adopted
each others debts. Whatever happens, so
long as the people are left, the public debt is
held sacred. The existence in America of a
party that has cherished laxer views of pub
lie morality has greatly impaired the public
credit. Thanks to the honorable purposes of
majority of the people the reputation in
any form of any part of the national debt
has become impossible but impressions created
abroad by the action of Mississippi and the
attempt of the Democratic party to make the
Mississippi policy national are not TO be
effaced in moment, especially when even
the new departure" platform-the express
ion OF the most progressive and liberal spirit
of the minority party-embraces the worst
features of Pendletonism!