The evening times., 1900-05-28

particularly such conditions as are appar-
ent at the important port where he is
stationed. In part his report reads as
follows:
Recent years In France have cOnstitut-
ed a period OF liquidation from which the
country seems now preparing to emerge
into an era Of commercial prosperity. For
a long time business has been as bad as
it could be. activity has been restrained,
money has been boarded or invested else
where. and the energies Of the nation
have been devoted largely 10 political dis
eussion. Normal development has been
retarded by the frequent reiteratiOn Of
the word revolution, and while recent
events have proved the stability of the
Government and the abiding confidence Of
the people in existing institutions. the in
fiuence has been disquieting. and capital
has held aloOf from new enterprises.
The nation having now regulated its
domestic concerns. looks forward to peace
ful conquests, through which, by means Of
development Of production within and set
tlement and extension of the colonies
without. the whole country shall be made
not theoretically but practically indepen-
dent. Partisans clamor for the destruc-
tiOn of the railroad monopoly. for the
digging Of a great canal from Marseilles
a.. me hnone, for the canaliZation of the
Loire, and for the creation of a ship canal
which shall connect Paris with the ocean
and the sea. II is interesting here TO
note that Europe regards interior naviga-
tiOn by water as in its infancy, the canal
being deemed not the competitor of the
railroad. but its handmaiden, necessarily
limited TO a few direct routes, bringing
first materials to the workshop door at
low cost and creating traffic for the rail-
way in every city and village.
1T must be admitted that most of these
vast schemes are still in embryo, and
threaten TO destroy each 9TH
er by their own numbers. Nevertheless,
they suggest the spirit Of the times. In
the meantime. among results accomplish
ed is the pledge of the Chamber to give
the merchant marine the legislation de
sired. and the creation Of an exposition
OF marvellous proportions at Paris. The
exposition has already set factory wheels
in motion ii every part Of the land. Iron
and steel are in the greatest request. and
every city in France is preparing TO profit
by the exposition itself and the perma-
nent demand it is expected TO create for
articles Of French production.
"Marseilles, the first port Of France and
Of the Mediterranean, has held its own and
on the whole has made substantial ad-
vances though at the same time dropping
behind relatively as compared with Ham
burg Liverpool. and Bremen. The means
necessary to restore its prestige are:
"First-The opening Of the land-locked
harbor of BerTe. taken in connection with
the creation of a ship canal TO the Rhone
ard the digging of a canal lateral to the
Rhone.
"Second-A second railway independent
Of the Paris, Lyons. and Mediterranean
''Third-A free zone where importations
may be landed. manipulated, and re-ex-
ported absolutely without Intervention on
the part Of customs authorities.
During the year 1898. the movement Of
merchandise in this port amounted to o.
sos. .647 tons IN this movement, the
American flag was totally unrepresented,
although the exports to the United States
were heavy. md the imports theTefrom
still heavier. The exports during the cur
rent year 1S99), will be even greater. the
total for the September 30 quarter being
81. .36O.5 $50. against S791.225 for the same
quarter Of 1895
The system of protection adopted by
France. contemplating domestic tariffs and
colonial development from which complete
commercial emancipation is ultimately ex-
pected. has. in its general lines, the ap-
provaI of public opinion. The complaint i!
not that too much is projected, but thai
too much is said and too little done. The
commercial exchange between the colonie,
and Marseilles. which is the open door O.
France. is increasing, but l have no figure!
to establish the precise amount Of trade
secured to France. and the cost to the
mother country. The Indo-Chinese colony
is reported TO be hourishing. The import.
and exports between France and this colo
ny bave swelled from 81. 2I9. .62S to S11, ,941.
46S in 1888. The proportion obtained by the
parent country seems small by comparison
with the total exports and imports of The
colony. amounting in 1897 TO s39. COS. .6SS
The staple product of this colony is rice
the exports of which increased from 323, 900
tons in 1883 to 624,500 tons in 1898.
On its educational side, the colonial de-
veIopment campaign is being pushed more
vigorously every year In France. the first
step was taken in 1898 by the organization
OF the Colonial Institute and Museum al
Marseillcs. Its work has been mainly tC
discover and exploit the products Of the
French colonies. Among these discoveries
might be named an oil grass from GabOon
from which stearin is extracted and used
in the manufacture Of candles: gum OF
''m'beppo." a useful article analogous to
gum arabic, and resinous gums of several
sorts. Last year, the city CT Marseilles
voted S100, 0tG for the building of a colonial
institute designed to house the existing
museum and $4,000 for a botanical gar
den. A feature Of the new institution viii
be education in colonial medicine. II i:
justly regarded that the great enemy q
coloniol progress is disease MarseiIles ha.
voted a small sum for immediate instruc-
tiOn in diseases of the tropics 20 be ex-
pended in the existing school of medicine
until the more ambitious institution is pre-.
to oh ff- a. a1y Drfr~
gardens have been founded at Nantes and
national gardens at Vine mes. There are
colonial courses Al the universities of Sar-
bonne, Bordeaux, ard Lyons.
Capitalization of Organization.
The tendency Of the times in the direc-
tien Of Capitalization in business organi-
zation finds expression in this country. al
thoGgh existing laws against 'accapare-
ment' prevent the existence Of monopolies
which arbitrarily restrain production and
fix prices Nevertheless. the American
trust has its French counterpart Tn,
Government controls one absolute moncpo-
ly in the sale of tobacco in all its forms
and another in matches. The city Of Mar
seilles and its half million INHABITANTS art
at the mercy of one single railway tht
Paris. Lyons, and Mediterranean. which ha.
thus far prevented the building OF another
route, and has discouraged the digging o