Arizona republican., 1910-10-03
THE BOURSE IF FRANCE History and Methods Of
 That Financial Monop|y WRITTEN BY FRENCHMAH A Part of the Collection of
 Data Made By the Ma
 tional Monetary Commis-
 sion Regarding Banking
 Methods Elsewhere.
WRITTEN BY FRENCHMAN


 Monetary Commission has just pub lished a volume entitled "The History and Methods of the Paris Bourse," by E. Vidal, editor of La Cote de la Ban que ct de la Bourse. The author traces the development of the French money market, describes the organization of the Bourse, explains in great detail it's methods and regulations, and consid- CTS its influence upon French credit
 In France the profession of stock holder is described by the author as a monopoly. It is not state monopoly. like that of the sale of tobacco or of carrying the mails, but one held by certain persons for their own benefit. This monopoly. enjoyed under the old regime, was abolished in 179f under the government of the Revolution, but re-established in 1795. According to the law which brought back monopoly to the stockholders, the committee of
 
 appoint ''25 stockholders; 20 of them shall be assigned to banking opera tions andl iegotiatioIis in foreign bills in Paris; the remaining five shall be assigned to the purchase and sale of coined metal and gold and silver bull lion" This return to monopoly was due to the desire of the government to regulate speculation in gold, which 1t held responsible for the depreciation of the assignats. the legal notes of the Revolution. The monopoly of the stockholders, however, applied only to bullion and bills of exchange
 This monopoly of the stockholders was reaffirmed by subsequent enact ments which enlarged the powers of the bourse. The extent of the mono poly is fixed by article 7s of the Code de Commerce, which dates from 1907. ''The stockholders, organized in the manner prescribed by law, have alone the right to negotiate government se- curities and other securities suscepti- ble of being quoted; to negotiate for account of others bills of exchange. notes, and all other commercial in- struments; and to verify the quota tions thereof" The law does not for bid the direct sale of these securities without the intervention of a stock i broker. but when the sale is through | an intermediary resort must be had to these government-appoint stock l brokers.
 But the stockbroker need not be em- ployed in the negotiation of all trans ferable securities; it is only in the case of government securities and | other securities susceptible of being quoted" By government securities" are meant "the securities issued by | the duly constituted authorities (es- pecially the rentes of the French gov ernment or of foreign governments, securities issued by the departments | or townships, French treasury bonds, which form the floating debt, etc.) or issued by permission of the authori- ties (shares and bonds of railroad | shares and bonds of cor porations created with the authority of the government by virtue of article s7 of the Code de Commerce). On the other hand, similar securities issued by private corporations not subject toi preliminary authorization are not "ef-- fets publics' "Other securities sus- ceptible of being quoted fare those which have been acknowledged by the as qualified to be placed on the official quotation list of the bourse.
 Certain securities can not be place on the list. Among these are the shares of foreign corporations the par value of which is not on plane with the par value of shares sanctioned by French law Article 5 of the decree of February 6. 1880. also empowers the minister of finance to prohibit the official quoting of a foreign security. |
 Frequently one may hear on the