St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-01-06
FAMOUS FINANClERS.
How the Gigantic Wealth of
the RothsehildS Was
Founded.
Frankfort-on-the-Ma With
Its Pictures and Peculiar
Architecture.
The Founder OF the House,
and Where He Lived as a
Shopkeeper.
Money Hid From the French
Troops in the Cellar Of a
Miserable House.

miserable House.
My summer wanderings have brought
me to the rich old town of Frankfort
on-the-M lin, says writer in the Kan
Sas City Times, place which a few
years ago was sort of exchange coun-
ter for all Europe. Many capitalists
have however, gone TO B5rlin and to
Paris. hence Frankfort is now more of Il
commercial than financial center.
Nor is it so ariStocratic a city as former
~, although quite as celebrated; and,
moreover, it bears the stamp of genuine
antiquity about it, though hardly
enough to show its age, for it was
founded LOO years ago. 1t is we'll
built town. borders along the river
Main and was started, as l have fire.
quently heard, by Charlemague. That,
however. was in the days when the tide
of French success flowed northward
from Paris, and it may he pertinent to
the subject of my letter to remark
that the very name of this place was de-
rived from the ford which the Franks
established across the Main in 79J.
There is no need of my taking up all
the historical dates that have occurred
since that year. 1t is enough to say
that in 1l45 Frankfort became the town
where German emperOrS were elected,
and in 1862 the place where they were
crowned; that in midi8val ages
strong Notifications and stout towers
surrounded the town and pro-
tected its citizens from the rObber
knights Of the Taurus and other
enemies, and that its Importance as a
CONNIE. cial Town dates from the twelfth
century. There used to be two fairs
held there annually-One at Easter, the
other i'll autumn, each lasting three
WeekS-and these fairs were the fou IL
daliOn of the wealth of Frankfort. The
attendance at them was something
enormous; as. for instance, there were
more than 10000 foreign merchants
present at the autumn one of 17SS.
Then perpetual wars began to hurt
business, and later on railways and
telegraph lines made these fairs a
superfuity. The leather market alone
has Kept up certain Importance
ABOUT THE CITY.
A very good idea of the topography
of this city can be obtained from the
top of the old cathedral. Its configura-
ton is oval. On one side flows the
river and on the other are fine man
SiOns with pTrttily laid out gardens.
while in the center are hotels and old
blocks of houses. To-day Frankfort
has neither bitches. ramparts nor
Gothic edihceS. Indeed. there is little
OF nothing about it that bears unmiS-
taxable marks of chevalresQue origin.
1t long since dispensed with most of its
old garments and dressed up in modern
habilaments. 1t has done away with
all its ogives, the. trefoi!s of
nln hatPnnlpS pTINnInD fiuuTnE
rattcrs, Gothic arched windows, tle-
giant lace-wOrked ppdiments. tluttd pill
lars with eXQuisitely curved capitals,
and all on account of the straight
and regular lines imposed by modern
architecture. Pretentious palaces have
given way to business houses, and In
the public prOmcnadeS grace has taken
the place of the grandioSe. The streets
of the old city are. as rule, narrow
and SOmber, but the newer thorough
fares are wide ana well paved.
Here and there [ have come across
a house with some Gothic sculptures,
but these, | am told. are the only
traces left Of the ancient characteristics
of the place. There are perhaps 10000
inhabitants in Frankfort, of whom a
little more than 100000 are ProtestantS,
47,000 are Catholics and about 10000 are
Hebrews. Luxury seems to be general
here, and Is, suppose, natural cOnse
quence of the position of its citizens
The people have made an industry. so
to speak, OF exchange and speculation,
everything being an object Of sale, even
kindness and good nature having their
tariff, and must be paid for in gold or
silver.
Long ago was the time when Frank
fort was free city where two magiS-
trates held supreme power, and the sch
ate was composed of a dozen bankers.
Napoleon was the first to take away its
privileges and form grand duchy of
Frankfort. over which he appointed
fayOrite. the Archbishop of Mayence, as
ruler. The allied powers turned man
and master out OF Office, and the Ger
man diet came to reside i'll Frankfort.
PlenipUtentiaTies and agents from the
various European courts came here to
decide questions OF peace or war, no
fewer than thrty-fOur German SoVer-
eigns from free towns and the kings
of Denmark and Holland sending repre-
sentatIves. Then one fine day in 1866
a body of PruSsian troops came
along, captured the place, made the cit
liens paw contributions, and in October
of that y ear proclamation was read in
the ROmer declaring Frankfort Prus-
sian city. That settled the free-tOWn
idea for ell time to come, her sovereign
mayor became simple burgomaSter,
and ever since then she has been en-
jOying financial and commercial pros
perity. Just now | mentioned the
ROmer. II is IN ancient edifice, situa-
ted on the place of the same name, was
builtin I4l0 for a town hall, and is still
used for that purpose. Formerly it
was The scene of corOnationS. There
are some finely Vaulteu halls in the
Romer. On the first floor is the
KaiSersaal, where the newly
crowned emperor used to dine with the
seven electors; and from the balcony he
presented himself to the people who
were being RECALLED with bread, meat
and wine. The portraits of fifty-two
German emper0rs hang on the walls.
but as paintings they are without great
merit. Close by the imperial hall is the
WahlZimmer, where the electors held
the first deliberation relative to the
choice of a new emperor. In a room adj
Joining is an old German inscription re-
ferring 10 judicial sentences, which [
recommend 10 all men and women. 1t
reads: THE tale of one man is but
half talc-in fairness you must hear
what both sides have to say"
THE TOMB OF GUNTHER.
The dom, or cathedral, is but a short
instance from the Romer. and [ went
into it to see the tomb of Gunther. He
was hero, born in 1904. Here his
brilliant Youth was passed, and then
suddenly the great man awOke. Ger
many was prey to the incessant en-
Croachments OF the p0pes; each day
they opposed the authority of legitimate
SovereignS: their vengeful thunder
bolts were confined to the Vatican, and
their resistance was long and terrible.
Well, the emperor had just departed
This life and the nnutificaI nn1yar no