Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-05-29
ONCE WORE HOMESPUN.
But TICKLE FORTUNE SMILED AND
HE NOW WEARS PURPLE.

The President of the French Republic
Manages to Live $4,000 a Month.
What People Eat and Drink at the Big
Baiis-The Luxembourg Palace.
For consideration of 100000 francs per
month, with house rent free, and numerous
perqui;ites, Mons. Carnot consented to as
sume the responsibilities of chief of the French
republic. Before fortune, more tickle in
France than elsewhere smiled on him. his
only Inheritance was a good historic name
for his father had rendered the state true and
iaudat lie service-and his sole encumbrance a
wife end small income Now, a grateful
people allow him nearly S20,0G0 per month
for his individual expenses, and free list
sufficient to cover all outlaws for balls, state
dinners and receptions. 1t presupposes un-
usual tact and strength of character to be
launched suddenly from homespun to royal
purple without displaying the marks of birth
right. No one in Europe receives more gra-
ciously than the president. There is a distin-
gushing personality about him, whether clad
In the regalia of the Legion of Honor, stand
ing in the midst of the distinguished men of
Franco, or walking about the grounds of the
exposition, conversing with the workmen
general bearing of the man that impresses
one. He seems to the manor born
THE PRESIDENTS RESIDENCE
Even though the Elysee, erected by Molet
In l7lS, has counted among its residents the
Comte d'Evroux, the Pompadour, the Duchess
OF Bourbon, Murat, Napoleon |, Louis Bona
parte, Emperor Alexander | of Russia, the
Duke oe Berry and Napoleon I'LL, it may be
reserved for Carnot to carve out a career of
usefulness more enduring than any of these
The palace is separated from the Champs
ElyseeS by a large, well cared for garden,
and but for the memories clustering around
it has nothing especial to commend it to the
tourist Two sentinels from the Garde Re-
publicHin stand at the main gateway and but
for this the English embassy, little farther
down, might very we'll be taken for the Palais
d'Elys,e. The internal arrangements were
much improved under Napoleon Ill, but
even yat the home of the president is an ex-
ceedintsly modest affair There are scores of
private hotels in the immediate vicinity far
handsomer in every way. The large draw
ing room is not as imposing as the one in the
White House, and the general reception
rooms are not as cheerful and bright as are
those Of the presidential mansion in Wash
ington Still, with an excellent service a
fine larder, with the best of wine cellars and
a good stable, NJ Carnot ekes out IA comfort
able ex istence
Three balls given during the winter are
paid fer by the city of Paris. To each ball
from 1900 to 5000 invitations are sent out.
Motley is the only wear. Bacchus and Psyche
are the Penates that grace the open fireplaces
of this magnificent building Bacchus at the
last ball dispensed $1,000 glasses of beer, 200
quarts champagne, 300 quarts Bordeaux,
1900 sandwiches besides equally large guam
titles of turkey, lobster salad, pate de foie
gras, etc, etc. Psyche kept the young people
actively employed until @ In the morning, and
the chief of police, who snoozed comfortably
in his Office, was not called upon to preserve
the peace. Floquet, the Blaine of France, the
premier and chief of the cabinet, receives
salary Of 100000 francs per year. In addition
to this he has a large secret fund at his dis
posal, upon which be can draw whenever he
likes. His drafts upe' it are large and fire.
quent.
The president of III. .,i,,,ve has only small
salary, but in lieu thereof the government
gives him the Palace of the Luxembourg to
live in. Up to June, l19l when the Count
of Provence, afterwards Louis XVIII, left
it, this had always been a royal residence,
having been built for Marie de Medicis
III,
in which were confined Beauharnais, jose
phine, Desmoulins, Danton and Robespierre
of the Palais du Directorie, Palais du Con-
sulat, Palais du Senat- -Conservateur and Pa
lais du Senat, the Petit-Luxembourg has be-
come the home of the president of the senate
until Boulanger, with his war cry of revision,
dissolution and constitution, shall create q
new order of things.
IxPENSES UNDER THE REPUBLIC .
Relatively, the expenses have decreased
very considerably under the republic The
civil list alone has been cut down 10000, 600
francs. Individual extravaganza was much
more exaggerated under the empire There
was a Capitalization of wealth as well as of
power. Now both wealth and power are
more evenly distributed The general ex-
penseG of the country are, of course, larger,
because the general necessities are much more
urgent But the general expenses under the
republic, in view of the general necessities of
large standing army, an expensive navy,
are much less than were the general expenses
under the empire, when such necessities were
less widespread. The absolute governmental
expens have been cut down over one-quar-
ter, for the budget is not handicapped with
a long .ist of poverty stricken and dissipated
aristoc acy drawing enormous pensions.
lake tHe DouittnSeI -JdClueS pOHtiCdi cdIil-
paign as an instance. The entire expense
was covered by private subscriptions, not a
penny being taken from the public purse.
The Re publicans in behalf of their candidate,
Jacques expended 1000, 600 francs, while the
Boulanger clique paid out somewhat over
twice that amount.
Thus nearly $4,000 was put in general
circula ton in Paris, all of which came from
the pockets of Republicans, Royalists and
Imperialists The empire encouraged lavish
display among Its representatives; the re-
public enjoins modesty and economy. The
expenss of running the foreign Office have
been diminished one-half. The general ex-
penses Of the war department are large, be-
cause standing army of the size that today
obtains In France necessitates the expendi-
ture of large amounts. The individual ex-
penses Of the general, staff and line offices
are very much less than under the empire
Relatively speaking, the budget is less than
under The empire, and l am not at all sure
that it Is not actually less, if we add to the
necessary outlay the individual expenses of
the EN- peror's favorites, which were paid for
ont of tho war bIidUat -(rnf. Rocfor, G1oIa