The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-11-23
BANK AT MONTE CARLO
CHARLES GRIMALDPS ROBBERIES
ECLIPsED BY THOSE OF BLANC.
Humors About the Bank which
Many Credu1ous Men Try to Break
Grim Jests and Suicides.
New York Times.

New York Times.
Monte Carlo is huge joke Perhaps the
fun is somewhat grim, but it is there new
ertheless. The very history of the place
leads up by an inevitable series of humor-
Gus steps to the present eliminating point
of irony. From the time when the genial
Grimadi first bought Monaco from Genoa
the principality has been consistent in all
its ways. Grimaldi (who had cutely per-
ceived the strategical advantage of the iso-
lated cape and bay levied blackmail on
every vessel which passed. He figured, In
fact, as the traditional buccaneer of story
book and comic opera, residing in splendid
safety upon his estate and preying, by
means of a fotilla of swift boats, on the
wealthy coasting traders of the Medlter-
ranean. The promontory plateau which
formed his headquarters was locally known
as the Spelugues. The name is blunt and
to the point. 1t means THE Plain of the
Robbers" The fourteenth-century suffer-
ers who dubbed 1t thus probably little
guessed that they were prophets. Yet such
was the case Upon this very "Plain of the
Robbers the Casino now stands in all its
impregnable glory. The robbing goes on as
merrily to-day as it did In the first Charles
Grimaldfs reign.
But the depredations of the bold, bad
Charles were wholly eclipsed by those OF
| the holder and Bladder Francois Blanc
This individual first came upon the scene
in 1860, having been politely but firmly in
vited to quit Homburg. To Blanc must I'M
questionably be credited the upholding of
Monaco's reputation and the development
of the ill-favored rock into it's present ap-
| pearance of a dollhouse without a glass
| roof. He. was, indeed, the doyen OF hu-
| morists, and, although he has been dead
| for some years, his jest still succeeds in
sending the echoes of it's mirth Qn the
| shape of stock quotations for Casino
! shares) to every bourse in Europe, and
even to the exchanges of America.
MONACO'S PIOUS ATMOSPHERE.
The atmosphere of Monaco has a peculiar
ly pious flavor. which adds to its comedy
from the spectators point of view. The
name itself is from the Latin monachus, a
monk, and two monks loom large in the
states coat of arms Within the princes
palace one of the first things which meets
| the tourists eye is an inscription on one of
the walls 1t reads: 1.-THE man who pre-
| tends to know God and does not keep His
| commandments is liar!" Even the game
| from which Monaco draws it's likelihood has
a remote connection with piety for the rou-
| lette wheel-that triumph of mathematical
ingenuity-was invented by Pascal during
| six months retreat to the peace of
| monastery.
NJ Blanc it appears. did not forget the
debt he thus owed to religion. When he
first came to Monte Carlo there existed
only one poor church. To-day there are
dozens of churches and Browning glory) a
cathedral whose magnificence throws into
the shade every other ecclesiastical edifice
a
| over, is famous for its charitable organiZa-
| tons. Some of these were founded by
Nine. Blanc, who was the idol of the poor
| and the benefactress of the clergy. Others
| owe their existence directly to the Casino
| Company, whose purse is always open for
| the fostering of good works.
| The great Blanc'S check was immense.
| Conceive the diplomacy of a man who could
| organize an establishment for the sole OBJ
ject of gambling, and then calmly label it
| The Sea bathing and Strangers Club
Company (Societe Anonyme des Bains de
Mer ct Cercie des Etrangers.) Is it not
colossal? Picture the gorgeous nerve of a
financier who could set himself up as a
target for the ingenuity of every swindler
in Europe, aud serenely emerge with a
profit of just million pounds year. Were
Blanc alive now the tiny CarnegieS and
Pierpont Morgans would indeed have to
Sing small" These shop keepers gave
something in return for their money. Fran
co.'s Blanc scorned such old-fashioned
methods. His customers got nothing. They
immortalized this fact by a proverb still
current in the principality: Rouge perd ct
noir perd; c'est Blanc qui gagne toujours. 4"
Every man has his price," was the
motto of this mathematical Napoleon. The
one item which he never stinted was brib-
| cry. Hundreds of people were made rich
by being paid to hold their tongues. Half
the newspapers in France received sub
sides for this odd form of negative adver-
Using. Humor, of course, Uttered into the
| question, and smart people published jour-
nails in Nice and elsewhere which existed
solely on the press subventions falling
/ ntarn nN of he frnrf ho inh
| Blanc's table. One INSCRIPTIONS genius
| erected a huge boarding close to the Nice
railway station, and covered 1t with CORY
posters representing Monte Carlo suicides.
| He then invited the officials of the Casino
TO his picture gallery's unwilling. with a
broad hint that the said ceremony would be
| abandoned on receipt of a suitable sum OF
money. One is disappointed to learn, how
ever, that he overstepped himself and be-
came bankrupt before his scheme was con-
The most remarkable spectacle of all al
this period was NJ Blanc's annual ban
| quet to pressmen. The magnifcencc OF
the feast was unparalleled, but its main
, feature $50 far the diners were con-
, | cerned) was the thousand-franc note con-
cealed in each serviette. The scribbler who
! | could write enthusiastically or Monte
Carlo after SO delightful a hors d'oeuvre
must have owned a heart of steel.
LAVISHNESS NO ERROR.
Yet with all this apparently reckless Law
; ishness of expenditure Blanc knew quite
well what he was doing. Besides building
!; I'D a huge private fortune he literally ere
ated Monaco. In 1868 there were only two
hotels in the place. Now there are fifty
Thirty years ago the land was worth hal
a franc per square meter. Now its value
2 | is over 100 francs. Further, the principalit,
4 at one time almost desolate-is now thu
: most thickly populated country on earth
There are GOO Inhabitants TO the squar'
: kilometer. They live in the loveliest, tbs
, | richest, the best-governed. the most peace
$ full, the cleanest and probably. the health
lest port on the Mediterranean. The pros
i perity of the spot is Francois Blancs mon
: ument. What can philanthropists say Il
J this amazing object lesson? Is 1t SCUM,
!. | counsel to do evil that good may come? 2
Is gambling a blessing in disguise?
No. This is where another OF M. Blanc
: jokes comes in To rob his own people wa
| not in the programme. Observe that tn
name of the Casino means something, afte
, ALL 1t is the 'Cercle des Etrangers. Out
: | siders are welcomed with open arms. Blu
: the door is closed to every citizen of tn
principality. Hence their happiness. s.
: | Monaco is not strictly speaking, fire.
l | country. Prosperity is forced upon tn
{ inhabitants. They have no say in the mat
L ter fond (but by no means foolish
government protects them against them