The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-02-09
WEALTH OF FRANCE
TT IS FIXED AT f9, ,Sso, ,Ooo,-
 900. !
Bourgeois Spirit of Thrift Respon- sibie for This Accumulation. Value of Agriculture-Three- fourths of Country's Net
 Land Revenue Belongs
 to Small Cultivators.

L0ndOn Dauy Mall.
 Despite the recent national defcit, evil dences of French wealth and prosperity are manifest that one is constrained to ask Fl ance is estimated at the immenee total of Gs, $50. 900 coo The riches of England are easily explained by her commerce. but France has no such pretensions, yet in thirty years the French nation paid off the enormous German indemnity. supported the terrible Tonkln. organized them as colonies, noeted successive Russian loans. lent gold to Eng -the last was subscribed seven tlmes-so soon the thrifty M. de Witte think, Rusa sisn nnances need s.nuus ,,0 or sey rS sstSr to guarantee a large pat of the Chinese in- demnity. French gold is seeking investment in every direcion; there is plenty of 1t every where, so much, in fact, that many foreign eyes tu ned upon 1t with interest while the secret of its accumulation is mystery to many.
 As a rule foreigners in seeking the pricipai sources of F. ench wealth fail to look in the right direction. The foI tune of the country does not exist among the splendors of official fetes, nor militia spectacle. nor in the luxu- along the magnificent streets and bouevards in the shopping districts, where foreigners an- nuay spend usanGs a E, ol pounas or a. ion,s execution; but in the unknown Fame. the France of the Francais'' tnot in the Ma tionaiist Party's sense). in that France where a foreigner rarely penetrates-the France which contains the bone and the slnew of the nation we'll, as it's sold-whers wealth is safely invested, when not kept in the woolen stocking. that faithful banker popular with simple -minded French pc pie.
 Handed down f. om gene aticn to generation. the golden ball has kept rolling. lnCi easing as the yeals slide by. Qui>e unsuspected, the modest apartment of the byu. seois is the abode of wealth. The home we descIibe as lacking comfort--even such elementary com fort heat in Winter-is the home of wealth. The French people we Laugh at for wearing cotton in their ears to keep them warm. and ciiticise for counting their Jumps of sugar in Sp1I 1t of economy, constitute one or the soui ces of national wealth. If comfort be lacking in the homes of such peeple. 2 bal the ''menase'' which counts it's jumps of .ugar and limits the fire has stock ng full of soil; savings bonk) and more in the 'Rentes. which no. Frenchman or Frencnwoman ever thinks of negleeting as an investment s ;n se,i , tuIe. Fundamental p ineipie ever besore the eyes of the people. who never fol get the years to come. ei,her for themselves or for their children: the dot necessary to establish the latter in life itself powe. full incentive to tn, fit and economy. In Pa is. the small nuaf rent. and one may safely say almost an equal proportion of the fortune.
 source of wealth. The agriculturist has ca le1 science to his aid in the cultivation of the produces almost the maximum and the ps. cuniaIy result is core spondlngly great. but In the country as in the city. 1t Is MT Fly eiybody' who is lich ani the guardian of the public treasure. The average home. of tho peasant oultivator. with its floors of beaten earth. it's bare table ani few straight chairs. like the modest apartment of he city man. hides the wealth of the son of teh soil, It's owner. who year by year adds to the capital left him by his fathers, growing ficner. slowly but surely. by dint of thrift and econ omy. Little does the cal eless traveller who dl axs up at the peasant house in quest or food and drink drawn that the man in the coai SC blue blouse, who serves him a bowl or milk ] CT glass of cider & and ,,les s,sx SI 0rs4o s1o a year assured him for the rest of his days, and need not even work to live in his simple fashion.
 The fourths of the entire net land rev enue of FIance belongs to small cultivatcrs-. two -fourths to peasants having a maximum of $40 a year. and the other fourth to small squires (proprietairesl having incomes rang ing f. 6m e4o to z .2oo-leaving the remain; net land revenue of France. for the largo landholders.
 chased with the agricnltu al fortune of the country. IS In itselfr an immense s uree Of wealth. The home consumption in tfie ci.ies of the exportation of wines. of the most profitable commercial enterprises Of the coun- try In her successful industries France owes much to her workmen and to the artistic eon- ception and conscientious execution of their work. The French workman takes an in nii- efully finished piece of work. Herein lies the secret of the perfection of French furni- tuIe. bIic-a- b ac and tapestries, and the h gher branches of art.
 It would be unfair to forget the new indus tries which have recently cont. tbuted to Gal. .tc prosperity, given employment to French work men, and a general impetus to trade The cycle served admirable precursor to the motor car. familiar izing the French peo- pie with their national routes, stimulating them with desire to explore their own un- try and thu manufacture continues p oh a le industry. The motor has provet a veri table gold mine. not only for the actual mak- CTS. but for all the indus ries wh ch nave profted by 1t. from the rubber tire manufsc- tories and wheelwIishts to the cafes and inns throurhout the country. The motor car has trans fol med the provinces, brought prosperity to the villages and wealth to the cities.
 These but two of the new French in- dustries. Others, such shipbuilding. have been almost phenomenally prosperous, and. should the problem of aerial navig tion be solved another fortune equal to that brought by the motor is awaiting France.
 In enufneratlng the source of F ench wealth. however, must not forget tho thirty years of peace which the country has enjoyed for its pursuit. The conquest of T. nkn md Mada gascar and the skirmishes in Al lea have cost the nation comparatively little, and when one adds to this long era of peace the stability ot the Republican regime. one has reached the sum total of national prosperity. Nj niste the same for three generations. The impor tant officials remain at their posts. whi'e the political agitatlon Is m rely supe hciai effervescence. Whether Radicals Moderates. Republicans all three compose the Cabi- net the essential part of the Government of the country remains the same; the brand alone and not the wine changes, The p7l't'cs. TO. the policy are alone subjected to upheaval. which, however, is of little real importance