The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-12-23
the Trivial Value Of the Church Prop
erty C~OnGiscated In France.

The Trivial Value Of the Church Prop
erty COnflscated I'm France.
When M. WALDECK-RoUssEAU in 1900
began the campaign against religious
associations. a campaign which culmi-
mated in the measures subsequently,
carried by M. COMBEs, ne insisted that
the national welfare demanded the con-
fiscation or the vast amount of property
held in mOrtmain for religious purposes,
the value Of which, he said, was already
in 1880 seven hundred millions and two
decades later exceededa billion of francs.
He suggested that this property might be
made the nucleus Of an old age pension
fund for working people. Seven years
have passed. but nobody now expects
that any money will be forthcoming from
the confiscated property of religious assO-
Citations for old age pensions. On the con-
trary, Il turns out that the value Of that
property was absurdly exaggerated, the
Liquidation Of il having thus far cost the
Treasury far more than it has yielded.
This is proved by official statistics which
nave lately been published by the Minister
Of Justice, and which we find summarizSd-
in the Paris MGtin and the London Tablet.
The Minister of Justice himself con
cedes in a report on the subject that there
never was any justification for the as
sertion that n billion Of francs could be
realized out of the property Of the con-
gregations. The alleged billion Of which
SO much was said in 10000 included the
property of all the congregations, author
lied as well as unauthorized. Only the
latter and such others as were exClu-
sively devoted to teaching could and have
been put into liquidation. At the outset,
therefore, a sum OF nearly eight hundred
million francs had to be deducted from
the total Of about eleven hundred million
francs representing the estimated value
Of the assets of all the congregations.
Then, again, some of the property liqui-
dated was burdened with en~cumbrances
valid in law, for which further deductions
should have been made, and finally some
of the congregations succeeded in reduc-
ing their property to cashan transporting
It abroad.
What, then, is the netNOutcOme of the
supposed billion wrested from the Church
by the State? The liquidation of 677
congregations has been ordered under
the law of 1901 and that Of 1909. In only
rs of them has the process of liquida-
ton been completed. The gross assets
Of these IFS congregations were found NJ
amount to $685., 900 francs in round num-
bers. against which had to be set liabili-
ties to the extent Of 2, s72 900 francs. These
figures show a net profit Of less than
S3S, 900 after five years work on ll5 liQui-
dations, or an average of less than $500
on the property Of each congregation
concerned. OF the completed liquida-
tiOns, indeed, 90, or more than half, pro-
duced nothing, vet against these are
set considerable liabilities, which were
not debts contracted by the cougrega-
tons which owned the property, but
expenses incurred by the liquidators.
II, now, we ask how matters stand be-
tween the Treasury and the liquidatOrs
we learn that the sums advanced by the
former TO the latter from 1902 to 1905
amounted 10 upward of S,28s, 900 francs,
more than half of which remains unre-
paid. 1t appears that at least an eighth
OF the money advanced represents fees
paid 70 counsel. The official report dis
closes the fact that 81 900 francs were
disbursed TO a former Senator and Min
lister Of Justice for legal services, while
81, 900 francs were paid to NJ. MILLERAND,
a Deputy for the Seine district.
We have, then, a measure of the danger
on which NJ. WALDECK-RoUssEAU and NJ.
COMBEs laid so much stress, the danger
Of allowing Catholic religious orders full
liberty to go on amassing property in
mortmain. The accumulation of prop.
erty for religious purposes, the French
people were told, threatenedthe existence
Of the republic and civil society. The
figures show that the Third Republic must
be unstable indeed il il can be made to
tremble at a shadow. Manifestly the
billion of francs credited TO the unauthor-
lied congregations never existed, and the
liquidation OF their property has taken
place. at the expenseO OF thstaxpayer, with
utprofiting anybody except members OF
the legal profession. r'