The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-11-14
population, Wages and Taxes in Franco.

AT best the population of Ersroo
grows in numbers very SLOWLY Allow
ing for the million and a half taLoa
away oy Germany, the population of
france has, we may say, made no nroc.
TESS AZ all since 1860 It's numbers az.
smaller now than they were fifteen va q,
ago, While the load of taxation has III
most doubled-in mere debt chargas !,
mas more than doubled. FouallT sta.
tIonary has been the export trade Of
france. The average of recent vaorS
mas indeed been hwer than for H.
years Immediately succeeding the war,
imports nave, on the other hand, auo.
mented much, but not because the
country has been internally prosperous,
Inc increase is the consequences of had
harvests, andindicates further denuda.
tlon OF the wealth of the peonla
france may, therefore, be considered
40 exist under conditions that have not
materially changed within the past ten
years, so far as new DEVELOPMENTS of
us resources are concerned. The high
CT wages of its population, therefore
represent little more than an artificial
state-lnduced prosperity born of auo-
mented debt and an inflated currencT
Inc statements constantly made before
the Parliamentary commission lately
established in France to examine the
position OF the working classes proves
inns. The representative, for example.
oil the carpentry trade stated that men :
wages had doubled since lS45. but
| Nf II. ,bN
pttlslng his guild We're out
OF work in Paris alone
Here, therefore, we have purely arti-
hclal industrial condition, and upon
THIS unnatural structure the French
government has built a pile of debt
which demands about Is per annum
per family for its service. This is
reckoning the family at five, as in En-
gland, although that is probably too
high, Putting Paris alongside London
for the sake of comparison with the
| preceding essay, find that in addition
to his payment of Sc to the State Treas
ulS for debt charges, the head of n
family OF five in that city must find II
los, toward the charges OF the debt of
Iaris. Reckoning per head, imperial
debt takes 2is. from the workman per
annum, and Partisan debt Sis; or to-
gether, t. Us. The rest of France. OF
course, has no such load to endure, and
that of Paris is mitigated by its being
the greatest resort of the wealthy in
Europe next to London, and by the fact
that 1t owns the water supply. Still, here
we have the weakest spot, and these
figures tell us in a general way the SO,
cret OF that Partisan unrest and discon.
tent which ever and anon threatens
France. Adding together all the
charges paid out of taxes, local ans
imperial, the Partisan ourrjcr has tC
find on the average about e. Is. pei
annum out of his earnings. Now, as
suming that he is fully employed, the
average earnings OF the Partisan arti
san is under rather than above Sos
per week, or E75 per aunum. Debt
charges alone consequently cost the
Partisan workman about fortnight
income, and his entire share of the
public burdens. if be be unincumbereC
with wife and family, represents about
five weeks earnings. In proportion q,
his family increases the power of the
workman to live under his load becomes
less. Even if his wife works she car
do comparatively little to help him
for the average earnings of females i:
not above half q crown day, or los
per week. -FOri3jghtig hsrjCi0.