Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-01-01
IA Qrl,la ln Nrnnrn.

/ PARIS, Dec. 3l.--An English observer
| has recently given the following picture of
| the commercial and industrial Interests in
! France. For the month of November the
! figures Of French imports and exports
show decline of SIS, 900, 900 as compared
I with the same month of 1884. There was
u decrease on both sides of the account
| There is no doubt chat France is APP
preaching Crisis in commercial and H.
nancial affairs, and one that viii long
be felt by the French people. Causes
which are slowly and surely bringing
about this state OF affairs are several, but
! the most prominent one is the extrava-
gance OF the government during the past
\ several years. The government since
/ Marshal Mcmahon retired TO private life
/ has built 1000 miles of unproAta-
BILE railways and thousands of
/ schools, Of which four-flfths were
not wanted. From 100000, coo to $780,
! 100000 for reads, from Sl50,000,000 TO
| $4,000, 900 for schools were thrown into
circulation and created u false prosperity
of which 1881 marked the eliminating
| point.
People literally did not know what to
do with their money, and us ii could not
| find any profitable employment In agrl-
culture and industry, II went into all
sorts OF stock exchange and building
operations. Now has come the reckoning,
\ and IL Is by no means cheerful
one. Though taxation In every forn and
shape has reached height undreamed
of before, the income from this source
has fallen off during the last few years
! and the most ingenious book-keep-
ing has not been able to hide
from the public the constant de-
felt. A floating debt is rolling NJ
of which nobody knows the real amount
SO long as money can be had 1t Is moi
supposed TO matter whether IL be the
states own or a loan. Year after yeal
France has been spending millions beyonC
It's income and II y proceeds much Longer
in its habit OF eXtravagances the Frencl
treasury simply will have TO confess
itself insoNent. The prospects OF agri
culture and industry are not more cheer,
ing. Owing to competitor from America
Australia and India French farming ha!
been less profitable of late years
and the value of live cattle has dropped
80 per cent. Investors in house property
are not much better off. In the provinces
such property has become very difficult o.
sale, unless ut enormous depreciation ,anC
in Paris this state OF things Is no
much better, though there is of course
large market. More than 5000 apart
ments are TO let in Paris and rents
! have gone down 80 percent. and, even al
: reduced amounts, it is impossible to let
In the Boulevard Hoursmann and til,
, boulevard Des C&liens, In fact In the YER
heart of commercial Paris, you can SEE
everywhere for months nay, for years
bills stuck up 'tro Let,n where formerly
II was most difficult to get
ROOM The bourse, has of course
suffered most OF all from the general re
action. In 1881 brokers We're shouting
2 shrleking and driven mad with over
work, unable to I'LL orders which
poured in. Now of the sixt,
f. privileged, barely dozen stanC
! In their allotted places, and talk of tn,
new play which came out the night befor,
or of the Balkan question. The French
public will only buy government stocks
IL still feels the losses sustained in 1885,
and 1881. How great these losses wer,
, may be Judged from the endless list o
companies hankrupted In liquidation o.
from the prices of shares Of the companies
: Still alive. What has freely sold at IL,
10 100 is now worth from GA TO $50
Even IN the best stocks the depreciation
has been fearful. The fal
in railway shares is due Il
a falling off Of traffic, and this again /,
caused by general stagnatlon OF trade
, The keen suffering among the poorer
classes may be gagged by the fac
that one OF the Industrial towns
st. Etlenne, has lost $4,000 inhabitant.
out OF 100000. They have left the towr
to seek bread by country labor or In som,
other employment. Old established com
panles, which for many years have pale
regular dividends, have absorbed their re
serve fund and pay no dividend.