Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-01

4 p
! railways came to ruin II a matter of COM
piicated French history The stocks rose
and fell the bours.: the government
came 10 their rescue: the government de-
nanded supplementary constructions; tho
government undertook other constructions:
the railways came to the rescue of the
government. and rev conventions were
made as years rolled on, particularly at
the end or the forty years period. In 1881.
IL Is complicated subject but 1t may be
summed up by stating that for services
| rendered since the year is7p the Company
OF The North still remnins in possession of
| Its lease. while the names OF Rothschild
ana Fould must be mentioned throughout
with the rise of French railways
Inc Rothsehsds having aided and been
alaed by the orleans family, found them
selves in a dangerously conspicuous situa-
| ton on the breaking cut of the revolutions
| OF 1s4s. Their chateau at Suresnes was
burned and piliaged by the same mob that
burned and pillaged the chateau of Neuiliy
the favorite reside nee of Louis Philippe
and his sons; but of the two. the house of
Rothschild was the more firmly founded
because the Baron James had In one large
portfolio sufficient hostages 20 bring the
new government to terms.
An Incident of 1S47.
1t Is one of the facts which remain hid
den and unknown, covered by the accumu-
lated rubbish OF French history: yet at the
time it was wonderfully picturesque In
lS4I, during the the settled government OF
Louis Philippe. the Rothschild house had
undertaken a loan of 2J0oOo0oo francs de-
signed for public improvements Some 10
um,o00 francs OF IL had been paid over TO
the French state. and II liz quite possible
that between November. 1871 when the
loan was conceded. and February. iSis.
when the revolution broke out the Roths-
chlids might have placed the whole loan
with a profit.
Did the far-seeiug Baron James have his
do t- Of IA.
Incoming revolutionists found the treasury
empty and Baron James point blank re-
fusing to hand over 10 them the balance OF
the 90, 600 francs. II do not know you."
he said. Il never promised you anything
they might have put him in prison. but
they much preferred cash. Therefore they
gave Baron James a guard of honor Cor
his damaged Suresnes villa They passed
the word of order that the Rothchilds were
good people. They made new propositions
Tor a new loan to the new republic Baron
James looked round about him. He saw
that his friends Of the Orleans family had
gone out for good. The interest of his
house in the stability of things In France
was enormous. He was willing to risk
much for settled order. Therefore he
loaned the new republic 100000 francs at
per cent.
Presentday critics of the Rothchilds in
France have argued that as Baron James
had time, between November, 1S47 and Feb
ruary, 1S4s. TO have placed the whole Of
the previous 250000CC0 francs loan with
| the public at profit to himself OF
| 1s.00o,000 francs his keeping of tho
! major part of 1t In his portfolio I'll
| the breaking out of the revolution con-
stituted a breach of faith-not toward the
| government of Louis Philippe that was de-
| lighted to leave an empty treasury to It's
destroyers-nor toward the new republic
with whom he had contract-but. In
| some occult way, toward France The fact,
| however, that he might have made some
ls.8Oo.G0o francs and yet refused to make
! ii is open to much more favorable con-
struction.
Preferred Another Set of Financiers.
Louis Napoleon was already on his way
to France. When he first came in he
tainly had need of money; and his prefer
| ence seemed to be for another set o. finan-
| ciers, the Pereires, Mlilauds. Solars and
Mires. who proceeded 10 create whole new
! system of finance in the nature of mutual
| ity and association and the opening of pop
ular subscriptions TO let the people in. Out
! of these ideas grew the Credit Foncler, and.
| later on. the Credit Mobilier and the great
| modern French system for which the latter
name stands as representative.
During this period Baron James let the
new system work It's will, while shaking his
I head gravely; and his most picturesque
| Known operations had TO do with real es-
| tate. The almost supernatural foresight
| of the Rothchilds called his attention 10
| the work of Baron Hausmann In trans
| forming Paris by the opening of great ave-
| nGes. He foresaw the fashionable move
! ment west. In what is now the EJoile
| quarter he began 10 buy up land immensely;
| and Alphonse, the son whom he had chosen
10 succeed him, followed i'm his footsteps
| 1t Is time 10 speak of Alphonse. Baron
! James was weakening physically: and he
| died in 1868. leaving ii to his second son,
| Alphonse to steer the French house
/ through the war with Germany. the perllS
of the Commune and the difficult period OF
recovery and payment OF indemnites by
| France.
French credit was at a low ebb at the
end of the FrancoPrussian war Two
| weeks after Napoleon III fell, new gov
! eminent had confessedly picked up au-
| thority where it had found it-in the
street Six months previously. in return
/ for the privilege of emitting 10000 0l0'o
| francs worth of legal-tender paper, the
Bank of France had engaged itself TO dis
count all treasury orders" yet these same
treasury orders We're already being dis
! counted in London at Is per cent, and the
| French tresoriers-p ayeurs gegerauX did not
| know from day to day whether they would
| be able to continue cashing the coupons Of
| the government bonds. There is even II
| letter extant in which Gambetta threatens
| to break the bank and emit state paper
but 1t is doubtful if the Germans would
| have accepted that paper at par for the ia
| 9emnity.
Guaranteed Monster Indemnity
| In the great chateau of Ferrieres. which
| Baron Alphonse had inherited from his
! fatner, Bismarck ana the fIuSsldh AihS
| had had their first interview with JULES
( Favre. Four months later in the same
! Rothschild chateau, Jules Favre presented
! the name of the French Rothschilds The
! guarantee of France for the payment OF
/ that monster indemnity of JO00o10t,O
! francs
| \ special indemnity of 20OG90O0o francs
! had been levied by the Germans on the
/ city of Paris itself. This the French Roths-
childs took il themselves TO raise; and
! when the Morgan loan had made it possi-
/ BILE TO go on with the payment of the na-
/ tional indemnity, AiphonSe de Rothschid.
/ at the head of a syndicate of bankers. sue
! ceeded in gathering together 12D,0)D German
/ stocks and bonds-this TO prevent crushing
| additional charges for conversion.
| The whole world was astonished a tho
| rapdity with which France recovered from
| the blow and only a few years elapsed be-
| fore the world looking in admiration
! on the gigantic French enterprise OF the
! Panama canal. The Suez canal, under
araa