Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1895-09-12

the prudence Of the man discovered the
necessity OF having place to fly to,
If occasion required. When the news
Of Napoleon's coming reached Frank
fort. the elector of Hesse placed TO-
100000 francs in the custody of the
elder Rothschild for safe keeping.
This sum was sent TO the son in Eng
land. Napoleon heard OF it and tried
I'm every way to induce the banker
to give 1t up. A commission went to
his esta blishment and minutely eX-
amined the vault and the books.
Menaces and intimidation were in
vain, however, IN persuading Roth
schild TO divulge the whereabouts Of
the treasure and the commission UNI
dertook TO play upon his religious
scruples by demanding an oath. He
refused to take 1t and there was talk
Of putting him under arrest. Nap0-
leon did not quite care to venture such
an act of violence and an effort was
then made to win the old man by the
promise OF gain They proposed to
him to leave him half the treasure If
he would deliver the other half to the
French officials. They promised him
a receipt in full, accompanied by
certificate proving that he had yielded
only to force and that he was blame
less fol- the seizure Of the entire
amount. But the banker had already
decided that all trusts were sacred
and refused. In 1914 the elector re-
turned to Frankfort and the 15,000,-
600 francs were paid back to him.
The terms of the deposit gave the
Rothschilds the interest on the money
while it was in their custody and this
considerable sum was in reality the
cornerstone of the family fortune.
Wealthy marriages has also been
part Of the creed of the family. In
1906 the son who had settled in Lon
don married the daughter Of a rich
banker, Levi Barnet Cohen.
This Nathan Rothschild was on the
battlefield of Waterloo and by won
derfully quick trip reached London be-
fore the real news had been received
by the government. He was on the
staff of Wellington and the minute he
saw the defeat of Napoleon was GER
tain rode at breakneck speed to Os-
tend, crossed the channel at the risk
of his life. and was on the stock ex-
change next morning. At that time
England only knew of the first part
Of the battle, when 1t seemed that
Napoleon was again destined to con-
quer. Rothschild's gloomy air and the
gued the worst for England. The
prices of securities fell at a terrific
rate. At the proper time Rothschild
put his agents at work buying every
thing in sight. Later came the news
Of Wellington's victory. Rothschild
is said to have cleared 100000 by
the deal.
Bismarcl. has been forced to bow to
the moneyed power Of this family. In
1866 The Prussian government de-
manded an indemnity Of $25,000.0o0
from the city of Frankfort. The
Rothschilds sent word to Bismarck
that II any attempt was made to en-
force the levy. they would break every
bank in Berlin. This was no idle
threat, as Bismarck well knew, and
he succumbed to the inevitable.
Baron Alphonse de Rothschild 10
whom the Internal machine was re-
Gently sent is the head of the Paris
bank. He has strong ideas on the
labor question and has made many
enemies in consequence. Three years
ago he expressed these views on the
labor problem:
Il do not believe in the so-called
labor movement. ! am confident that
the worHingmen, generally speaking
are satisfied with their condition and
have neither cause nor desire to com
plain. They are, | am convinced, in
different to socialism. To be sure,
some agitatorS make plenty of noise,
but that amounts to nothing; they do
not influence the honest and reason
able workingman, In considering the
so-called labor movement il is neces-
Sary. however, to distinguish sharply
good from bad workmen. Only the
idle good-for-nothingS desire the eight
hour day. Serious men, fathers of
families, work as long as they think
necessary for their own and their
chillren's needs. There is much loose
talk nowadays about the danger of
SO much capital III the hands of a
few men, This Is all rubbish Some
men are richer; others are poorer. To-
morrow this Is all changed by yicissi-
tudes which nobody can control. 1t
Is the money which clrculates which
frnctifies, and money eireulates with
the same risk to all II Is money
which one lends in confidence for so
called good things which do not al
ways turn out to be good. All that
applies to the great as well rs the
small ventures. Brighten and threaten
capital and It vanisheS. Capital is
like water. Grasp ii Violently and it