The evening world., 1894-04-02
HE FOUNDED MONTE CARLO.
TRAITS or FRtNfOIS BLANC,
WHO RUINED THOUSANDS.
4 quiet Little Wan, Whose Only
Dissipation WAS billiards.

one evening In IN" days of the Second
r3mpr" u crowd of men were reading
IN" evening paper IN Il salon In the Rue
de- lIvult says tn" rnll Mall Budget.
"Ah," said one, breaking the silence
$50 ivc millions are stil wanted to fin
iSh the new Op"ra-lIuusr."
\ silent listener took up pen and
filled in and signed II check for that
amount without Il word. IIy and by,
when the new opera house was finished,
that silent man was somehow the only
person forgotten in the distribution of
IN" seats Tor TIA" grand opening.
Charles Muns"lct Is rospOnSibI" for this
curious Iittlr au"uiOt", TIA" hero of which
was Francois iilanr, director of the
casino OF Monte carlo. Blanc was a
man Of vast ambition. n born inancicr
and administrator, who might. under
certain conditions, hHE" been a ROths-
,hil,l hut Who lives in, history AS II
mlHhtN organizer Of gambling enterprises
ANA was really one of tn" simplest of
m"n. To 81" him in his brown uvcrcoat.
MS gold su""taCics half dropping of his
nose, ON" would have taken him for Il
rrttt RENTER who's" widest dreams were
Of tn" construction of a little ErOtto in
ms garden with little plaster rabbits
and a fountain which. like WcmmCk's,
hand
Before his Mont" carlo days he had
been tn" guiding spirit in the direction
of ~" Casino of liumhurg. Benazet, aC-
r'riing to his ilattrr"rs, was the Louis
tluntuiH" of iad"n-Badcn. Blanc. who
was imprrViOuS to hattury, might with
equal rtsitc" have been called the col
bort of Ilumhurg \ hard-headcd, silent
man of hourgeoIs exterior a man with
out enthusiasm ana Weaknesses, who
Kept - lavish table and ate sparingly.
who directed a huge gambling machine
and permitted himself no more excit-
nE dissipation than a quiet game of
billiards after dinner. | have heard IL
SAID IN tho Tatt"rsal family that old
lck tn" founder of the historic cor
n"r' n"y"r made bet of more than
II pair of gloves in his life.
So Francois Blanc rose superior to the
attractions of his own table, d"spis"d
"nt"-ct-quarante. and was afraid of
roulette. What he was not afraid Of.
however. was spending money. To com
pass his business Ids he laid 1t out
iaNishly, and h" ~ght. so they say.
genuine" h"n"volence and public spirit,
whereof the story of the Opera House at
lhriS may s"rr" as an example.
After tn" war the glories of HOmburg
ana Baden departed. and ON their ruins
ros" Monte Carlo. Monte carlo was the
great, the "rowning achievement of
Francois IRlanc's life-the desert cape,
which by mere force of millions, he
turned into one of the most wonderful
of the gardens of tn" Mediterranean lit
t"rhL l|ut ii was not don" without keen
opposition. II" mad" the fortunes of
tn" Niruls in spite Of themselves Al
every fresh opposition he simply opened
his purse, ana the golden shower fell
~ tn" sacred name of local interests
Mime. Blanc, th" most excellent of
wives, was II tower of strength to him.
Wh"r" questions OF art and elegance
cam" in h"rs was tn" directing spirit.
nnd tn" good man. whose thoughts and
tax were of figures and finance. was
content that her tast" should crown his
work. II needed " hard head to with
stand the attacks that We're made upon
him Every days post BROUGHT with II
lH' propositions ana threats. There were
n"oll" who had lost their money and
demanded its return with fierce m"nacas:
speculative ana inv"ntiv" people who
proposed combinations; there were even
temptations offered of tn" kind which
assntl"d TIN" Sant"l Anthony; pitiful
SnrplratIunS and warnings of intending
suicides ulnr" and dat" carefully speci-
fled, So that tl'crr should Ice no mistake
once. eve" ~ Mont c'r,n N" '.irl"
.llanc was ~ tualiN assa'l.d prd two ser
wants were -"rouslN wounded iu its Ia
fmNs" l'ut tn" 'G""nimi'r Of T"nrc"is
l'lHnr was equal TO adv rnturcS Thr ats
prayers, all trmutattons left him I'M
touched; he liked best to stay in his own
and uhulriug himself ONLY with good
dinner, Il BOTH" of chateau Iaiitte. n
riEnr. chat about financial operations
which would sometimes "Ncit" him-und
a uHm" Of billiards
Th" only outlet which II" followed for
his irrerr nssih" energy was a frequent
chang" Of abode. In one wear he lived
N l"ri@ Av'gnnn M"nacn, Dieupo and
l.ou"Cho- l'nirF. In Switzerland. wher"
h" died at last of asthma. \ respectable
man as r"sp"Ctahility "ocs. fond Of his
family and II good citizen hut withal
perhaps the bost-ahus"l man in Europe
and certainly the indirect cause of as
much mischief as any man in Europe.