, 1879-08-04

Chairman WnInHr intetr1rtrd Mr.. Wilt
IAN 8rtwAnr, tic merchant WHO tcstifled on
tho alleged 1abor.doprossion, to esh il ques-
lion, y,z.:
'Jtow do rou reconcile The fact TINT S11 per
capita Is sufficient tn carry tllo business Of Tho
tnste9 Statcs, when Sl5 per Capita is required In
France? low do yon acconnt for tkf''
"'fhry hhvo $:4 per cAplsa In England. Trnncc
1,as Sta per cap!sa. anl tho United statcs s1;."
This is tho old Flint gush, nud Inns about as
much basis as tho false assertion that tho
Bank Of Venice was Fias institution, which
Issued Fiat notes, mud maintained them at
premium OF 25 por cont above coin for sav-
oral centuries.
The answer to 'Vn1onr's question to srEw-
ART Is, that France docs not rss, nto.a. or re-
Quiro $555 per capita To carry on Asr bn sneRs,
nor hnrtlly tho third Of 1t. Tho rnpa. e,tr-
ronoy Of Franco amounts TO i3O nil1iona,
mono OF it lsgal.tender, md al1 OF It rcdoema-
bio in coin On demanl. This paper curroucy
amounts to about $11 psr capita. But, in
addition to this currency, tllero Is INST
quantity Of loardotl gold andsilycr In France,
only small part Of which Is in active cirou-
lation. Tho Bank Of Franco mud It's branches
in the Provinces hold about G0O ulill-
ions Of gold aud silver, belonging
to tho Dank, tho Government, mud individual
depositors. This money IL idle, Just tho
satno aa tho gao millions Of coin in the
Unitod Statea Sub -TrcasurieB. In addition to
this vast deposit Of coin in tho Bank Of
France, tho French farmers and mechanics
own from 800 to 1000 millions Of gold and
silver money which they neither loan, deposit,
nor put IN circulation. They senl it up in
aarthen crooks and bury it in the CELLARS, or
conceal It In other placea. Tho 1nonoy IS
simply hoaraod by each family until 1t is
needed as mnrr1ago-p portion for daughter,
Or to buy piece Of lind for sou who has
mnrrie1; or until tho French Government
wants to borrow money to carry on war
or pay oil Ano levied by MI i'll
vAder. When my of these con-
tinganoies happen, tho cola comes forth
from its hiding p1aco. III this country
people who havc surplus money on hnud
loau it to somebody IN ronl-estate security,
taking mortgage on tho property. They
do this for tho anko of interest. The Trench
Atlult 1nAA tut4E 44olVJ va my huGl4I1%{ W
my ono except their Government, and very
fow persons in Franco seek 10 borrow money,
-rerhapsnot ono in D hundred Of tho number
who borrow In this country. Tho French
abhor getting into dabt, aud It ia regarded oa
disgraceful to cover ono's property with a
mortgage. Gold and silver are iu as common
circulation in Franco as small notes In this
country. It would bo q reasonable estimate
to say tlnt about 200 millions of do!lnrs In
coin ia III aotivo uso and circulation, and
perhaps 800 millions Of tho Banks nosos.
Tho rest Of tlo money is either on aepoait
or hoartlctl and hid awny, as before explained.
Tho actual amount Of money in activo cir
culation in Franco does not exceed 315 10
$18 per capita, which Is found to be
abundant to carry on tho business of tho
country. They could put n,ore into active
uso If they needed it, but thcro is no ON
ployment for more than that amount. Tho
Fiat assertion that the busiuoss Of Frnnce
employs s55 per capita is all bosh, anl may
lie aharacterizad as goose.gabbte,