The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-04-25

tOrian will ever be thus assisted, for he
might find other things than those he
was in search of, and thereby create new
enigmas while solving old ones, to the
possible confusion of other interests than
those OF mere readers of books.
There is good authority for the state
ment that the combined assets of the
Rothschilds of today reach So, 600, o00,-
900, and that they control indirectly at
least half as much more. They are the
largest creditors of the nations of the
earth, and their capital is at the back Of
many of the greatest corporate interests
in the world, the syndicate which con-
trolls the Russian petroleum fields, for
instance, and those which, under the
guidance of Cecil Rhodes, control the
South African diamond mines and the
famous nitrate beds wrested by Chilli
from Peru.
The story of the origin Of this vast
wealth is a schOolbook Chestnut -
Everybody knows how the Landgrave of
Hesse- Cassel, desiring to save the i'm
mense boards of silver which had accu-
INFLATED in his palace vaults as the re-
suit Of selling his soldiers to fight for
England and France when Napoleon's
army invaded his territory to despoil
him, sent for Mayer Anse1m Rothschi1d,
then money lender in a small way at
Frankfort, and offered him the use of
the treasure without interest if he would
convey it to a place of safety. The
amount thus intrusted to Rothschild
was about So, 900, 900, and of this i'm
mense sum he and his sons had the free
use for eight years, after which they
paid an annual interest of 2 per cent
upon it until 1928, when the principal
was repaid to the landgrave's son and
successor.
Rothschild had five sons, and before
his death, which occurred in 1912, he
saw them established on financial
thrones in the principal money centers
of Europe-Anselm in the paternal
Frankfort, Nathan in London, Solomon
in Vienna, James in Paris and Charles
in Naples-where their sons, nephews
or other natural successors reign today
in their stead, except in the case of the
Neapolitan house, which was discontin-
ued on the death of its founder in 1855,
his son preferring a life of gilded ease
to the useless labor of increasing his in
heritance Many of his cousins have
initiated him in this, and all of them
have learned the superlative value in
the financial world of princely estab-
hshments and regal retinues. But every
generation produces for each of the
houses d N dIO1OOu VI 1ud1C0 VIII 4ud12CE
money for all the rest, and thus the grip
of the family on the purse strings of
the world is never loosened.
Lord Rothschild, the present head of
the London house, is naturally enough
the primate of the family, for London
is the Rome of the financial world, and
he is the pope who reigns in its Vati-
can. He succeeded his father in 1875
and was then known as Sir Nathaniel
Rothschild, having succeeded to the bar
onetcy of his father younger brother,
Sir Anthony, who was the first of the
English Rothschilds to be knighted and
the first Jew ever created a baronet.
The title of baron so freely used by the
other Rothschilds Is an Austrian one,
derived from patents given early in the
century to the five sons of Mayer An
selm-
Lord Rothschild also inherited one of
these Austrian baronies, but since his
elevation to the British peerage in 1886
it is of course secondary to his English
title The English Rothschilds are all
great landowners, are all of the race,
for that matter, and most of them are
passionate art lovers and collectors
Lord Rothschild has a magnificent es-
tate at Tring, in Hertfordshire, and
upon his walls hang the best pictures
by Gainsborough, Sir Joshua Reynolds
and Turner to be found outside the ma
tional galleries