The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1878-12-19
than the English industrial classesP

than the English industrial classes?
Quite the contrary.
1.-The most striking fact with regard
to the French working classes is that
nearly all are possessed of money.
However little they earn, they save
something. Thrift is their great char
acteristic; in fact, it is said of the
French operatives that they spend less
in proportion to their means than any
in the world. Many keep their accum
ulations in an old stocking secreted in
their houses; others-a daily increas-
ing number-invest in various securities,
the most popular investment being the
purchase of land. Every Frenchman,
when he can, becomes the owner of the
house in which he lives. OF course he
is greatly aided in this by the French
land laws and laws of inheritance,
which cut the whole country up into
small holdings. Savings banks with
Government security, building clubs,
sick clubs, and friendly societies are al
SO in favor, but no money is tied up in
trades unions. Strikes of course occur,
but in some industrial centers they are
very rare, as, for instance, in the WOOL
en- districts. Some authorities say that
the French workmen have not yet felt
and do not know their power, and be-
lieve that they will ultimately become
more difficult to deal with. We doubt
this explana4ior, hecs-sc politically the
French workmen have repeatedly shown
that they are alive to the strength
which combination gives; they under
stand that strength, and they have
used it, often with sad consequences
to themselves; but socially and COM
mercially they have not proved them
selves fond of trades unionism, and we
believe those are right who tell us that
the French working-man is. as rule,
well aware that his interests are bound
up with his employers, and that strikes
are suicidal How many British work
people hold consolsp In 1874 the num-
Der of persons entitled to dividends from
the British funds was 228,696; in 1875
the number of holders of French rentes
was 4,3S0,953. Many artisans in France
live in their own freehold houses; others
rent small houses, or more commonly
the flat OF larger house. In some dis
tricts rent is about the same as in the
manufacturing districts in England; in
other parts it is much lower Butch
er's meat is trifle cheaper, but meat is
not, as with us, an article of daily con-
In the south of France
thanks to the climate and soil, fruit is
to be had for very little, and wine is
abundant and cheap. Clothing is far
cheaper; the blue blouse, the invariable
working dress, being very useful, suita-
BILE, and inexpensive. All these are
points in favor of the French working
man. But then he is paid % per cent
less than the Englishman, and therefore
how is it that he is able to save so much
more than the British operative?
during various inquiries made of
late years into the factory laws, emf
nent witnesses declared that the ply
slque of our operatives is deteriorating
if so, then the ham, eggs, potatoes,
spirits, and so forth, in which they more
and more indulge, have not been of
much use to them. OF course, the great
mistake of the English working classes
IS intemperance; the public house is the
sink down which he steadily pours his
earnings. In France it is otherwise.
French wine,if cheap,is unintoxicating;
drunken men are rare, and drunken
is seldom seen. But, after all,
It may be that the mischievous effects of
IN ill-administered Poor Law, operating
rom generation to generation, is more
han any thing else to be blamed for
he want of thrift among our industrial
classes. From father to son the ira
titional maxim goes, 'Why save when
here are the rates to fall back on?,n
A Miser's Eccentricity.