The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1878-07-12
HOW FRANCE PAID HER DEBT,
This Thonssnd Million Dollar Debt to Ger
many Wiped Out in Lsss Than Two Years.

W4Pod 0ul IL 4chS nan lWO IeATa-
" 40 event of modern times has excite.
more wide and general surprise than III,
ease,wlth which the French people paid of
tee heavy war indemnity Of Si.iiut, DJI. 90
to Germany H. hss. i- en- a puzzle alike /
ha1neifrs, t. STATE Bit. and to polt c.
c~oonoinists. nov a nat on. Just uiar.ec,
from n costly 18th nigh beef military ST NC
gie, could raise so enormous n sum in cisf
m less than two years time. Nat;ona
PRIDE, it was WILDLY said, had much to 4,
Win 1t; but no mount of national prids
could have raised u 81 90, 900. 600 in I
nation where the conditions of great accu.
muiated wealth and general prosperity did
not prc-exist. National pride had moi
awaited to save French honor from condirr
and overwhelming defeat in war. nor "a
avert the humiliating aspect Of her capital
IN h hands of a foreign foe nor to re.
deem her from the reproach OF i~l-prepared
and updlsciplined forces and badly organ.
lied campaign.
Another theory OF this repid payment.
says a French journal, of the stupendous
hne of five milliards of francs. was that
france was the holder OF about 81, 600,
y of foreign securities. which were
sold and the proceeds invested in the new
rentes" or Government bonds issued at
~ PCt Ntht. lnltIt-l. 10 TuiSe money fOf
meeting the German indemnify. For. be
t mentioned, ok had exacted not
only cash payment without credit, but also
payment in gold and silver. The whole sum
OF y 900. 600, 900 dnclu. ing 100000 coz
francs leyied on the city OF Paris, and other
war contributions levied during the pror.
ress of hosti.ities) was pa d in specie. ex-
,cpting only 100. O00, 00U francs in notes of
he Bank OF France, which the Prussians
consented to take in place of an equal
amount of gold. Inquiries into the cur
rent of exchanges actually developed the
Tact that France was exporting securities
.nI importing gold the whole time of
Mo indemnity payments but the actual
amount to which the flow of the precious
metal into France extended on this account
so1ld not be actually learned.
another explanation Of the rapid liquidn-
ion by France of this prodigious levy was
that the annual income of France is So
6oc 600, 600. and that the payments to Ger
many took only one-third of the gross an.
nusl earnings of the French people. But
there oan be no doubt that to the general
character for frugnlity, and the accumu-
lated awnings of the French people. must be
mainly credited the great financial phenome-
non OF the nineteenth century. The enor-
nous loans which the payments of the in
demnity compelled the French Govern
ment to put upon the market were all
promptly taken, and the greater part of
the money came from the French people.
l per cent. rentes, or bonds, to the
heavy amount of 81, GAO, 600, 600, were all
taken at an average price of SO per cent,
thus making the interest to the investors
average 0 per cent. Not only so, but the
second loan, of 1872, was SO eagerly
sought for that the subscriptions covered
tho ornnrrpf all g. 80
compelling the Government to award the
rentes among the subscribers pro rata.
All travellers in France unite in repre-.
senting the French people as great econo-
mists. With them not only does a very
lutte money go a great way in supplying
their wants, but the sums saved, even out
OF the slenderest incomes, represent a
handsome surplus. In England there is
one man in every five who spends all he
gets, but in France there is not one in forty
who spends his income the other thirty
ninelay something by. Profusion and
waste, which okAracte-i1e the use of the
means in living in England, and more con-
spicuously still in the United States, are
quite unknown among the French people.
OF. what thine families out of every ten would
here throw awny, a French family would
make a vnriety of appetizing dishes and
it is literally true hat the French men and
women would live, and live well, on the
mere waste OF American families. These
habits Of economy enable the people to lay
up their little savings year by year, n it
Is well known that the public funds are the
most favorite means of Investment with the
peasantry. The French rentes can be had
In denominations of 100 francs ($20) and
upward, and have always been highly pop
liar with the masses. The principle Of
populnrizing the loans of the Government
has worked admirably, and has been bor-
rowed to advantage in the issue of United
States bonds, which are now to be had in
sams as low as $50. Wfa jose
Here is q fact which speaks volumes in
favor of the French system of public laws.
So long ago as 1867 the debt of France was
a.ld by 1,03S, 1888 persons, who averaged
3 1000 each. 1t is now still more widely
distributed. In England, on the other
land, her great public debt of g., $50, oO0,-
700 is in the hand of only 1858 persons,
thus averaging more thar $50, 600 to each
holder. 1t is, unfortunately, impossible to
ascertain how many persons hold the pub.
IL debt of the United States, because so
large a proportion of it is in the form of
coupon bonds, which pass from hand to
aand without registration In France, all
the rentos arc inscribed in the name of the
holder, on the books of the treasury. To
have their names in the Grand Livere
Of the public debt is an honor eagerly sought
after by the mass Of the people.
During all the recent enormous drain up
OH her resources, which has nearly doubled
her national debt, there has not been heard
anywhere among the French people the
slightest him of Reputation. TIL French
took upon hen public debt US an obligation
sacredly due; and it is due in the larger
nart to themselves.
Another striking feature in the prospect
y of France, which aids in enabling her to
near the extraordinary fiscal burdens i'm.
.,oscd upon her. is the fact Of the wide dis.
.ribution of real estate among the citizens
statistics establish The f:ct that there are
&c, 000. goo of houses in France, and the
majority of them are homesteads belonging
o their tenants. Three.il,ths of the entire
population are inhabitants of the rural dis.
,ricts, while in England the proportion is
,.ly one fifth, four-fftLs being residents Of
towns
Finally, one conspicuous element in that
,~;,tional prosperity which has brought the
vorld TO a wondering recognition of the
'ast resources of France is the recent de-
%velopment of her commerce.. Since 1856
.hc foreign commerce Of France has been
considerably more than doubled. Her mas
terry of the finer mechanic arts, and the per-
lection to which processes of manufacture
nave been carried, are well known the world
over. The frugality of her people is only
matched by their industry. The whole
world Teens with her productiveness.
French fabrics are found in almost endless
profusion and variety in all the markets of
the globe. 1t is this constantly growing
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