News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1895-07-25
LA HAuTE RANQuE.
The Unique -Aristocracy of Finance In the
Capital of France.

Capital of France.
With Edmond Joubert, who died re-
Gently, there disappeared one of the
most conspicuous figures of Partisan
life, and in particular of that phase
thereof which is known by the name of
la haute banque. The latter constitutes
q caste that is we'll nigh unique, since
there is nothing of the kind that can be
compared thereto in any other European
capital 1t is as ultra exclusive as any
blue blooded aristocracy and as careful
Of its reputation and prestige as a lovely
mondaine, ondeavoring to steer clear of
| eye-y maneuver, of every enterprise that
might il any way tarnish its fair name.
1t is composed mainly Of Protestants and
Hebrews, who may be said to constitute
a sort Of aristocracy Of finance, their IA
theirs, and i'll many cases their GRANDPA
theirs, having been accustomed to han
ding millions and to undertake the plac-
ing Of national and foreign government
loans. Their clients, in fact, are crown
ed heads and states.
Chief among Ia haute banque, the in
tervention and good will of which is
sought whenever it becomes necessary
to place upon the markets of the old
world any government loan are, of course
| the ROthscLilds. But the Cahen dan
vers, the Bambergers, the Stems, the
HottiIgers, the Andres, the Heines and
the Pereires are almost equally impor-
tant OF at any rate imagine themselves
10 10 .4nD "a, e
fnanCiers ard bankers much in the same
way that an Austrian prince of ancient
| lineage would behave toward a newly
created baron on even petty BRIDESMAID
| that is to say, with a mixture Of conde-
scension and disdain. Many of these
families have intermarried with the old
French nobility, the Rothschilds being
fundamentally allied to the ducal house
of Cranmont, the Andres to that Of
MontmOrency and Of Talleyrand-Peri
| CORD, the Cahen d'Anvers to the prince
ly family Of Faucinge -Lucigny, while
the future Due de la Tremoille is we'd
| ded to q daughter Of the banker Pillet-
Will. One of the Heine girls is the
reigning Princess Of Monaco and bearer
of the ancient French title Of Duchess
de Valentinois, after having borne that
Of Duchess de Richelieu, while another
lady Of the Heine family is the Duchess
de Rivoli, her first husband having been
the Prince de la Moskowa, Due DEL
chingen.
AS in the case Of every aristocracy, no
matter with what jealousy the doors
thereto are guarded from intrusion by
parvenus, there are exceptions made in
favor Of certain useful and clever peo-
pie who secure entrance by sheer force
OF intellect, energy, and, in one word,
success. So, too, in this exclusive CLIQUE
Of Ia haute finance a Paris, are there o
certain number Of f1nanciers, self made,
who may be said to have won their way
up from the very ranks. Among them
! are M. German, the governor of the
Credit LyOnnais; N. Denormandie Of
the Compton Escompe, NJ Christophle
of the Credit Foncier, M. Magnin, gov
ernor Of the Bank Of France, and last,
but not least, the late M. Joubert, who
started his financial career at the age Of
16 as a clerk and office boy to the stock
broker Martini He quickly won his
way, and from the year 1867 has been
mixed up more Or less prominently in
all the great financial undertakings that
have f0ated upon the Partisan market
since then, receiving from President
Theirs the rosette Of the Legion Of Hon
or for the assistance which he had given
to the government in connection with
the payment Of Frances war indemnity
to Germany The only blot on NJ Jou-
bert's career, or rather the only thing
that was ever exploited by his enemies
with the object of injuring his prestige,
was the story to the effect that he had
invoked the assistance of the ladies of
the corps de ballet and means of a sim
| liar character to obtain from Khedive
Ismail and the Egyptian government
certain financial concessions and advan-
tageous terms i'll connection with the
floating of certain Egyptian loans. This
story may or may not have been true,
but it pursued him to the end of his
busy career and was frequently invoked
in order to support the argument that he
was unworthy to figure in the ranks of
Ia haute banque. Paris Letter in St.
| T,o1ic n 1pbo- no,,nooro+