The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-12-13
BANKER FOR WORLD
VON BUELOW SAYS FRANCE IS
 wEALTHIEsT NATION.
Enormous Properties of National Debts
 of Many Countries Held By 7A Paris TnveptQFB And By The Peasahtry.

Paris Cable.
 Tn confirmation of Prince Buelow'a statement In the Retchstag that France has become the worlds banker, 1t may be said that the French investing pub l lie holds an enormous proportion of the national debts of Russia, China. Tur- | key, Italy, Spain, Greece, Servia. Bull | garia, Portugal, Rouuania, Brazil Ar | gentina. Mexico. Belgium. Holland and | many other states.
 According to M. Edmond Thery's re- 1 gently published book. Les Progress | Economiques de Ia France" the total market value of the securities known to be held by the French investing pub lie or on deposit in French banks amounted on December 31, 1907, to the colossal sum of s,s42,s40.000 pounds. and of this gigantic sum i.4S6,00o. .O00 pounds was invested In the. funds of foreign governments and other first class foreign securities
 Tn addition. the stupenaous national debt of France itself. 1,075.so0.000 pounds. is entirely held by French men. and stands at 97ss-4 per cent. The rate of sinterest Is per cent.
 Every year for twenty years past France has been receiving from abroad a great deal more gold than she has had to pay out the result being an iIiI- mense surplus In the eight years from 1900 to the end of 1908, despite the investment in the sania period of B72,oo0, 900 pounds of French money in foreign government stocks the gold stock of France is estimated to have increased by over. 1i6.000. 000 pounds.
 Death-Fate statistics just eonmuni- cated to Parliament give remarkable idea of the wealth of this country From these 1t appears that more than half the population of France have property to bequeath. The total amount left by persons who died in 1907 amounts to f21S. 440, GOO. The num- Der of those who left property was oyer 4D0.nDO. while the total deaths did not reach twice that figure. ,. The average estate possessed by a French man or woman is therefore nearly $50 pounds. 1 z.
 Many Small Estatea. apss
 But the most remarkable feature is the number of small estates, as com pared with England. Thus ss0.e00 pounds was left in sums not exceeding 4O0 pounds Of estates between that figure and 1000 pounds there were nearly 4s,0o0. On the other hand, large fortunes are few. Only 634 persons left over 10000; only seven died worth from 40O 900 pounds to 100000 pounds. the latter being the largest amount recorded
 From the death!duty figures statis- tictans deduce the following con- clusIons: Four million French persons own less than ten pounds apiece; 4,900.- 900 less than fifty pounds, and 4.0ee-- GOO more less than. 200 pounds. But r. 700. 900 possess $40 pounds each; 2To,- 900. 3,o0O pounds; 176.900, 5000 pounds. and sO.OO0 from I4,000 pounds to 2S.- 900 hounds There are 1s,000 possess sors of 1000. .00O francs-that is, 40soOo pounds. t.%
 Very large fortunes are very few. No one died in 1907 worth more than sOO,00O pounds. Three estates of that amount paid duty in 1905, and three m 19Ol. The total wealth of France is estimated at a bout s00,000, r00O pounds. and there is no country whose wealth is so equally divided among the inhabitants.