The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-09-07

of Napoleon Bonaparte and Stephen Cir ard is an interesting one and is a sufii- cient explanation of the activity of the the emperor. They first met while MT. Girard was negotiating for America the loan by which France was paid for the territory of Louisiana during the admin istratfon of President Jefferson. Then began the friendship which lasted throughout that long imprisonment of Napoleon on the solitary rock-bound is- land in the Atlantic, and who can tell but that in those legends of the plots to rescue Napoleon from his dreary prison and to give the world another flash of his genius was Stephen Girard with his enormous wealth of the chief actor?
 A casual conversation between Napol- con and the American minister to France MT. lizard, of South Carolina, was the beginning of the negotiations for the sale of the Louisiana province to the United States j.
 The purchase of the territory once agreed upon, the next step was to ob- tain the money. The most noted Ameri- can banker of that time was Mfr Girard. He possessed a credia and standing with the Belgian and Dutch banks that was second to none. To him was committed the responsible duty of visiting Amster- for loan of 60. 900, 600 francs before the combination of merchants and bankers that had made the Dutch city the prin- cipal center of Europe. Properly accred-
 
 | the treasury. Mir. Gallatin, MT. Girard sailed for Europe in the spring of 1901. | The Russian loan had just been market | ed by the Dutch bankers, and MT Girard | made his proposition The United States wanted 60Dv0.000 francs. not for a war like purpose After time 1t was consid- cred The money might be had. the bank
 CTS said: but large rate rate, of in interest crest instructed to offer and not to go beyond | per cent. Russia had paid more. the | syndicate said. tShe in fact. did pay in terest at perl cent. for thirty years MT. Girard. seeing he could not place l the loan at 5 per cent, offered per cent, | and read Mir: Gallstin's last instructions
 touching the interest clause to the bank l can stock certificates Uhis was long be-
 fore the days of bonds) should be issued, | bearing interest at S6 per. cent per an- mum. to the amount of 60.00o.000 francs,
 sume the debt 'due to her-'own people on | account of the French spolationscl laims. | These stock certificates were gold at par, | and the cash tu; ned over to the treas | urGr of the French republic. | Had the sale nor been sconsummated, Napoleon BonapaIte would never have | been emperor of France. It put into his
 influence to s5o,oca,ooo now. and 1t fur nished a sub:tantiaI basis for credit of | 60. 0c0 francs more t
 | The first consul lost no time. He | caused the French navy to be carefully | reftted He called together the leading | gunmakers of France, as well as the | master armorers in charge of the arsen- als of small arms. The musket of the | time was a heavy. cumbersome arm | weighing about eleven pounds. Its call Der was about S12- gaugue. It was clumsy and unwieldly, with huge flint lock that | missed oftener than it firei the piece. The pistols fexeept those from private gunmakers) were as bad as the muskets. "I intend to re-equip the army" said Bonaparte to the gunmakers. II want each of you to build me sample nus- ket of. not over ten pounds weight, l6- bore. with the best lock that can be made Thsl barrel must be forty-two inches in length. want an arm that can be relied upon to fire every time its trig- and primed." He also gave to some ia nous pis tol makers similar orders con- corning that arm.
 It was the American money which en- abled Napoleon to re-equip his army. an 1t was this re-equipped army which won the great victory at Austeriitz. Said Ma poleon at the time. But for that lucky sale to America of a country we were not able to hold. could not have made the Austro- Russian campaign successful ly. As 1t turned out. I caught Russ ia and Austria with old and almost obsolete arms and beat them"
 The emperor repeatedly raid, The smenay,,I I received from Louisiana enabled | me to repair in some degree the wr.ck among French artisans which was caused | by the revolution. l was able with this money to light the fires of every forge | in France"