The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-03-14

foreign money markets as long as they
were opposed thereto, and the ultimate
result is that to-day the cars government
is just as much financially bound hand
and foot to the Rothschild association in
London and Paris as is that of Austria
Hungary, of France ana or England.
Nearly the whole of the national debt
of Greece is held at Berlin, chiefly by a
syndicate controlled by the great German
banking house of Bleichroeder. The debt
amounts to about $3.50 900, Co., a large sum
for a country which yields a state reve-
nue. of only some 900 all told In
deed, the Hellenic government has found
its liabilities so onerous that for some time
IL has been merely paying a percentage
of the amount due on it's coupons. Unsat-
isfactory as this naturally is to the bond
holders, the latter apprehend, and not
without just cause that payments will
stop altogether if Greece embarks in a
full-hedged war with Turkey, which, no
matter what the result, must inevitably
have the effect of still further embroiling
her national finances. In one word,
Messrs. Bleichroeder and his fellow hnan-
ciers at Berlin are of the opinion that the
Greek government has no right Whatso-
ever to spend a cent in endeavoring to
protect its countrymen in Crete from
Turkish oppression and outrage, as long
as the interest of the debt remains I'M
paid in full.
purposes the financial agents of the Ger
man treasury. 1t was through them that
the latter made all its arrangements for
the payment of the great war indemnity
by France in 1871 and 1872, and with the
reluctance which both the Imperial Par
lament and the Prussian Diet are con-
stantly manifesting in voting funds for
military and administrative purposes.
Emperor William and his ministers are to
great extent dependent upon the assist
ance and goodwill of the banking house
in question.
CuriouSly enough, the Bleichroeders and
their associates at Berlin have found in
Emperor William an enthusiastic support
er of their policy toward the Greek gov
eminent in the present crisis. Alone of
all the Christian monarchs of the world,
the kaiser openly processes a desire to see
the court of Athens Inundated and the
| Greek nation reduced to subsection for
| daring, as he expresses it, to disobey the
mandate of the great powers. His atti-
| tude in the matter has it's origin in wound
| ed pride and vanity owing to the Crown
| Princess of Greece, who is his sister, hav
| ing declined to submit to his dictation or
| to crave his permission when she decided
upon abandoning the Lutheran church in
| favor of that of her husband and of her
| adopted people-namely, the Greek faith.
| In spite of all that has been said to the
| contrary, there has been no reconciliation;
/ and when the Crown Prince and Crown
| Princess of Greece were in Germany late
| last autumn for the purpose of visiting the
widowed Empress Frederick, with whom
| they stayed for more than a month, they
| were absolutely ignored by Emperor Will
| lam. He declined to accord them even the
merely formal courtesies that are con-
coded to any royal parsonage, be he ne
| gro potentate or even the disreputable ex-
| King Milan of Servia.
| In one has bepn mora nrOp Ounced dur-
| ing the last three weeks in his demands
| for an international blockade of the chief
| ports of Greece by the great powers than
| the kaiser, and it is well known that he
| has expressed continuous sympathy with
| the sultan and encouraged him to resist
| all the efforts made by the French, Rus
sian. Austrian and English governments
| at Constantinople to secure from the porte
| concessions in connection with Crete which
would enable King George to effect an hon
| orable and even glorious retreat.
| 1t is only fair to add that the sultan is
not showing himself ungrateful for this
sympathy of the kaiser, which he has rec
ognized by granting to a syndicate of Ber-
| lin financiers a concession for the construc-
| ton of harbors and docks at Tripoli, which
| they are to hold after completion on
| lease for a term of ninety mine years, re-
coupling themselves for their expenditure
by means of the control of the harbor and
port dues throughout that period. This
practically gives Germany not only foot
| hold but likewise a port in the Mediter-
| ranean, and enables her for the first time
to make her voice heard as a power that
has interests in the Levant
| Another illustration of the all predomi-
mating influence of the 'Haute Banque" is
afforded by the case of Egypt The Brit
ish government manifested but scanty in
terest in the Land of the Nile or in its
finances until the Rothschilds were induc-
ed to float a khedival loan, and to devote
their attention to Egypt bonds. The lat
ter were at the time very low, something
like 30 to 40 below par, being regarded as
a risky investment, in spite of the high
rate of interest, which amounted all the
way from to 10 per cent. BY degrees the
Rothschilds increased their holdings, and
the British government, which had been
so Indifferent to the country that it had
| actually declined to take any share in the
construction of the Suez canal, began sud
denly to develop a marked interest in the
| affairs of the Delta. Little by little IL eX-
tended it's grasp upon Egypt, and when
the natives rebelled against this idea Of
foreign domination in the avowed inter-
ests of the foreign bondholders, and an
nounced their intention of repudiating the
national debt, the English fleet at once
bombarded Alexandria, and, sending out
| an army of $1,000 men, took possession or
the entire country, which it has held ever
since.
From the moment that the military oc-
cupation of Egypt by England began the
bonds went up from 40 below to above par,
since the British government, by assum-
ing control of the administration of the
country, practically became responsible
for the payment of the interest of the
debt. 1t was a splendid coup for the
Rothschild clique in Paris and in London,
but there is no doubt that the possession
of Egypt by England has contributed more
than anything, else TO embitter the French
against Great Britain, and consequently
TO impair the strength and the influence
of the latter is what is known as the con-
cert of Europe.
All this however, tends to show what
| has been pointed out above namely, that
the destinies of Europe nowadays are con-
troIled. not by monarchs. but by business
| men, and that the council which decides
upon the vital questions Of peace and war
| is composed, not of statesmen and poll
! ucians but of financiers, who sacrifice
without conjunction the welfare and as
| pirations of nations to the selfish pecu-
mary interests of ia Haute Banque.'
which holds the people Of Europe in bond