The National tribune., 1907-11-28
LAND HOLDING IN FRANCE.

! dendS upon STOCK Walereu 10 tle last
degree of thinness.
| LAND HOLDING IN FRANCE.
Land holding has been of dominant
interest to the human race in all pc
riods of history, and question that
has been the cause of more wars,
thousand times over, than any other.
1t was far the strongest cause for pre-
cipitating the great struggles which be-
gan with the French Revolution and
convulsed Europe for a quarter of a
century. In France the lands had near
| ly all been appropriated by the clergy
and nobility, with few of the people
holding any, The nobility had grabbed
Everything in sight. and then the Church
had begun it's work by preying upon
the superstitions and fears of the land
holders to wiring away from them some
of the best parts of their possessions.
Neither nobility nor Church would con-
sent to have their lands taxed no mat
| ter how great the Nations needs might
be, and this precipitated the storm. The
result was that the French are the
and the rule of every man his rood
comes nearer being realized in that
country than in any other in the world.
There are upward of 100000 separate
! freeholds in France, compared to only
100000 in Great Britain. AS there are
less than 100000 people in France,
this would imply that every fifth per-
Iii "a,
landholder. There are about 50,000,-
900 people in Great Britain, with only
| 800, 900 freeholds, which is only about
one in every 166. AS there are a great
many thousand little farms, crofts, etc,
| in Wales, Ireland and Scotland, it will
be seen that the great mass of the
English people are astonishingly land
| less
| The French Revolution was a terri
| BILE ordeal, but at least it was thoro in
| its reformation. The lands were all
| taken away from the Church and the
nobility and distributed to the people.
These value their possessions in a way
hardly understood in this country. A
Frenchman holds his little plot of
ground above anything else, and it is
the last thing that he can be induced
| to SELL When the United States I'M
migration Commission visited MarseilIes
| it was found impossible to ascertain
''the average price" of land in one
neghborhood. since no transfers had
ever taken place except by inheritance.
So highly is the possession of land es-
teemed that a condition of things is
becoming the rule in France, which we
may expect in time to extend to this
country, and which will be for its great
betterment. Around the great cities the
| tramway cars are getting possession as
| fast as they can of little holdings, cut
/ ting these up and selling them again
| to the workmen in the cities. Every
workingman is encouraged to aspire to
a little home in the country, where he
can spend his Sundays and holidays
outside the CRIME and clatter of the
| streets, and meet his friends. They
build on these "cabonons," or little
houses of two or more rooms. The
ground is cultivated and improved to
the highest point by the labor of it's
owner, who takes the greatest pride in
his real estate. During the week they
are deserted, but on Sundays they are
alive with jolliment and merrymaking
They have in each as good a dinner as
the owner can afford; his friends gather
around him with their families, and
they have recitations, songs, speeches,
etc
| The electric tramways make a two
cent fare. which proves not only a great
inducement to the people, but a source
of immense revenue to the companies.
Mutual aid, or as we would call them,
Building Associations. are common
among the worKmen, and furnish
money on easy terms. The Government
of France, which is always paternal in
the extreme. encourages this movement
in every way, and lends out the money
of the State savings banks to these
building associations. The savings banks
pay the depositor two and three-quar-
| ters per cent while the money is ad.
vanced to the home builders at four
and a half per cent. Everything is
carefully regulated by law, and loans
are limited to $500 francs-$1, ,S335O-
in the city, and 7,G90 francs-$1,351-
in the environs. 1t is expected that the
workingman will have a clear title to
his house in 20 years. The building as
sociations have strict supervision over
! the houses erected, and insist that they
must conform to certain lines as to
light. ventilation and sanitation. Many
of the most comfortable little houses
are erected at cost of from 5000 to
$500, and all are built of imperishabIe
| fireproof material.
NO ARTIFICIAL COPPER.
II President Remsen, of Johns Hopkins,
explains the real meaning of Sir Will