The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-07-15
THE WORLDS BANKER.
How French Thrift Is Making Itself
Felt In Money Market

From the Review of Reviews.
France is now playing the role of the
worlds banker; England lost her claim
to the title when she went to war in
South Africa. A generation ago one had
to go to London to feel the pulse of
the International money market. Today
one makes a better diagnosis In Paris.
The strides toward financial supremacy
which France is making have been most
French investors have taken up many
million francs of foreign obligations. They
furnished Great Britain with much of
the capital that went to finance the
Boer war, they loaned enormous amounts
to Russia, practically supplying the
money needed in the struggle against
Japan; they provided Germany with L.
O0O, 900 marks in 1904-5 to carry on her tre-
| mendous industrial enterprises; they took
a liberal amount of the last Japanese
| loan, more than half of the Russian
loan of last April, and, finally they sup
piled borrowers in the United States with
fully $3.50 100000 during the tight money
period of last winter and are now financ-
ing the bond and note issues of some
of our great corporations.
Although the annual gold production of
the world is nearly 800 100000 there is
such tremendous trade activity in every
quarter of the universe that capital Is in
demand as never before. One thinks of
the usually well supplied money markets
as today cleaned up bare, in a condition
of drouth; but then there Is a great reser-
volr of free capital in France which is
being tapped by the other thirsty nations
and which. in spite of the drain on 1t,
keeps well filled and shows no sign OF
exhaustion The Bank of France. the
largest hoarder of gold next to the United
States treasury, has in its vaults today
nearly $600,000000 Of the precious metal;
two years ago it had $465, 600 900. and in
1900, when Paris began slowly to forge
ahead of London as the center of largest
money supply. the institution held only
1915 100000
How has France, a nation industrially
inferior to Germany, and with COM
merce very much below that of Great
Britain, gained such a power in world
finance? The answer is, through her do
nestle economy. For frugality, thrift. in
tense application to the work in hand
and the very commendable ambition to
carve from life's labors enough to make
bright the inevitable rainy day and to
cheer old age, the Frenchman has no
peer To save is an inherited desire. The
poorest peasant in the least productive
parish of the republic manages to put
aside a little each year for a competency
and the fisherman down on the Brittany
coast would have starved few winters
ago, when the catch was almost nothing,
had they not been able to draw from
the savings of more fruitful years. Tens
OF thousands of small shopkeepers. scant
ly paid government employees are inves-
tors and their combined savings have
provided the funds to finance many a
nation and carry it through a lean pc
Rod.
The population of France Is about 40
100000 people; the wealth of France is
nearly $4,000 100000 This wealth is even
ly distributed. The number of estate ad-
ministered in 1904 was 994.7S7 and of these
one-half were for values ranging from
less than $4,000 to a little under sI00 900.
Only three were over $10.O0OOOo.