Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-10-20


Yet such is the French weakness for big
profits these shares have risen steadily.
1t ia another lottery.
1t is the bonds. because their interest is
at a fixed rate. that need the bait OF an
artificial lottery attachment. Belief in the
fairness of these drawings is Implicit in the
people as 1t may we'll be. because the pre-
cautions against fraud are minute and Ia
borious. Each bond of course, bears its
number. and each number has its equal
chance in the big wheel that turns rouno
and round a whole day before the drawing.
Until recently the preparations for Sucn
drawings took the great companies three
months of heavy clerical labor each. The
Credit Fonc.er, for example, employed sixty
persons cutting and rolling the bulletins
into their metal cases. Thanks to an In
gentous device. the work has now become
automatic. in the hands of four trusted en-
pioyes, two men and two women, who pre-
pare each drawing in two weeks. 1t is this
system that has now become all but uni
versal.
The Drawings
On the day of the drawing. which takes
place in large hall, there is invariably a
large crowd waiting impatiently to learn
the Hateful news. Then, looking over such
a crowd. you see the remarkable character
OF the bondholders. 1t is true that the
large capitalists await the result calmly at
nome. and there is Selection in favor
OF the nervous little holders of single and
quarter bonds. Nevertheless ii is aston
ishins to see cab drivers and chamber
maids elbowing elegant young stock ex-
change dudes, fine ladies and solid shop
Keepers fraterniZing in common anxiety.
one of the most heartrending observa tons
ISM it d perfect sample of the betiSe hui
maine all through. in its saving in its
Scattering-is to hear the fine lady arguing
about it afterward, say with the cabman or
the laborer who may be standing next to
her: We'll. l came awfully near to getting
the io.ooO-franc prize! 1t was 2i3.61S that
Ntar Nd Il 81 L. H.,
heart, the next number is. in reality. no
nearer than the first one or the last one!
Keeps Up Prices.
1t was the lottery attachment that bore
up the price of the famous exposition bonds
until now-when there is but one more
drawing to come off-they have slumped
from Is francs and even par at first to
francs with the tickets, lie, twenty ad-
missions to the exposition each. The
worthless Panama bonds are still bought
and sold on the bourse for the sake of their
lottery fund, securely invested at the time
of their issue.
Very curiously there is a cynical belief
current among the little capitalists of
Paris that it is nearly always the rich
who win the large prizes. Perhaps there
is some truth in 1t. because the rich are
naturally the largest holders of bonds after
ALL
In any case the winning of the last expo
ing. The lucky party was a wealthy En-
glish squire. He had several dozen expo
sition bons, and decided not to visit the
show. He therefore cut off the tickets
twenty to each bon) and sent them to a
firm of London brokers, who made little
business of exchanging bare bons for them.
For each set of twenty tickets they sent
him back numbered bon. from which its
own tickets had been cut off. In this way
he doubled his lottery chances: and 1t
exactly one of these received in exchange
for tickets that won him the S4O.WO prize.
Thus, quite improperly. he won the EXPOSE
ton plum-offered to attract people to the
exposition-by not patronizing the eNposi-
ton!
One View of the Matter.
Although all this talk of lotteries may
have very trifing and speculative sound,
i. is to be remembered that after all the
lotteries here spoken of are but side issues.
No one invests simply for the lotteries.
They are extra inducements.
And, when you think of it. is there not
great deal of truth in Balzac's theory of
the lottery as the poor mans panacea?
The poor man. he says pays no more for
his lottery ticket than he would pay for
theater ticket. The theater gives him three
hours pleasure. Then it is finished and
over. The lottery ticket gives him "A
months hopefulness because he may win
the big prize-and become rich. Some one
must win it. and the other prizes. The day
for drawing comes. He has not won. 1t Is
a disappointing day to pass; but, note. on
the morrow he has but to buy another
ticket to again enter the enchanted land
of hopefulness. Is it not small price to
pay for "a full month of hopefulness?
Postal Savings Bank.
An hour spent in any sub post office of
Paris will disclose very forciby that the
little capitalists of this city are by no
means lot of lottery fiends. but true in
vestors who take on the lottery attach
nent. not as the thing itself, but SIM
pie douceur by the way. Speak to me of
the French postal savings bank. | have
never known French servant who did not
have one of its bank books. The banking
business really clogs the postal service
You might think that you were in ii brok-
er's office. to overhear the conversations
between postal clerks and the most unlike
ly-looking customers
OF all the varied schemes for safely salt
ing down ones savings | am tempted to
most admire the ''old age pensions
they may be called of this French postal
caiSSe depargne.
Were this scheme of the rente viagere not
limited to small policies, the French gov
eminent might find itself embarrassed in
keeping its promises Calculated at 3ls per
cent interest. in land where 3 per cent is
hard to realize. it would be overwhelmed
with rich mems capital Like own
simple savings banks at home. il has its
limits, however. limits that may make the
rente viagere appear. perhaps, very small
affair to Americans. To the Frenchman of
the class for whom it is intended it is all
right. for he does not like to put all of his
eggs in the same basket. but little here
and there, and have an immense good time
messing with his varied placements.
Insurance and Annuity.
The rente viagere is nothing less than a
combination of insurance uontine or other
wise with an annuity Up to certain age,
the postal savings bank says. you will pay
me so much every year then will turn
round and pay you much larger such each
year thereafter till you die. Or lump sum
may be paid down at any time. to fructify
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