The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-11
ASSOCIATED WITH THE ExTRAVAGANT French Cashier Tells the Court His Troubles CAUSE OF HIS THEFTS Fellow Was on Salary of Seven Dol lars Week, But Had to
 Associate With Spenders
 of Fortunes
CAUSE OF HIS THEFTS

The most extraordinary defense ever known in criminal trial was offered by Paul Durand the cashier of one of the great Paris hotels, charged with robbine his employers of sG0,0OO.
 Durands defense was that his mind and morals had been unbalanced by the nsensate extravagance of the cosmopoli- ton horde of potentates and millionaires who throng to Paris.
 The poor fellow, who was paid 5 francs Gust SD a week. had, to associate con- stantly with people who "blew in'' hun dreds of thousands of dollars for utterly useless things.
 As he described his experiences he elic- ited exclamations of sympathy from the judge and spectators.
 "One evening"" said Durand, "an Amer ican millionaire who had been chatting with me at the desk picked up a match to light his five franc cigar. He tried three matches in succession without get ting light. Then he remarked, Con found your French government matchess and calmly pulled out a thousand franc note, lighted it at a gas jet and then lighted his cigar with it. That's one French thing that will burn," he re- marked"
 "Ah-h-h," exclaimed the spectators with sympathy and indignation.
 Another day. continued Durand. Ian American woman who was staying at the hotel stopped and said: oh, Mir Durand, you must see the darling little collar I've bought for dear Toto. She produced a horribly ugly little dog from under her cloak. He was wrapped up in a silk and fur garment like an opera cloak When she had removed this l saw that the beast had a magnificent pearl and dia- mond collar around his neck.
 ''rhe American lady explained that the collar only cost $6O,000 At that moment l had a doctors bill for 10 francs in my pocket for attending my child, which I was unable to pay"
 "Ah-h-h," said the spectators again.
 Sometimes these visitors treated him with unexpected generosity and thus helped to upset his ideas of money Imagine the usefulness of a s2OO gold cigarette case to a man earning S a week.
 The caprces and extraVagances of the Oriental potentates were even more mad denlng than those of the Americans.
 The climax In these extravagances oc- cured when the Maharaiah of Behawal- pur arrived with an enormous suite of black men and pet giraffe, 15 feet high.
 It was absolutely necessary that the giraffe should stay in the same hotel as the Maharajah, as His Highness was in the habit of spending hours in his so- ciety. The prince was misogynist, who had grown weary of his 300 wives. and sought the society of the giraffe, an absolutely voiceless animal.
 
 apartment on the ground floor intended for banking office. The ceiling had been cut through to the floor above. Here the giraffe could sit or stand in comfort. The apartment cost 1000 francs a week. The giraffe had to have quarts of cham pagne every day to keep his coat in good condition.
 Then came the Nizam of Hyderabad, with two superb dromedaries.
 Among the other mind-disturbing epi- sodes Durand mentioned were:
 Persian satraps who spent S1200 a day in the hotel and drank Hout Brion at S30 bottle; Abyssinan chiefs un- used to chairs. who cooked their outlets In the middle of their drawing rooms and ate them squatting about as if in the desert; Englshwomen with so trunks and tame alligators; foreigners from Af- rica with young lions in a leash.
 Poor Durand's s idea of money value and orthodox morality had already been com pletely upset when very beautiful princess, one born on the steps of the throne.' his counsel said, smiled upon him gracously and casually asked for an advance of $5000 He gave her these out of the hotel funds and many subse- ouent advances, which he concealed. Most of his defalcations were explained in this way. The name of the princess was suppressed.
 The judge and jury were evidently im- pressed by Durand's defense, for al- though they found him guilty, he was only sentenced to two years imprison- ment. very light punishment for the of- fense of which he was convicted,
 Durands case is very striking, con- crete illustration of the tendency of wan ton extravaganza to unbalance the minds of poor people, or even people of moder- ate means. When a man who has not a dollar to buy Christmas dinner for his children sees a woman lavishing hun- dreds of dollars on a pet dog. he cannot help feeling a fierce. blind resentment, which in the case of a weak mind may well develop into insanity.
 When a railroad is forced by poverty to lay off a number of sl5 a week em- ployes and one of the numerous descend ants of the railroads founder buys. A s2O0OOO necklace for his new wife and pays $2000e0 year alimony to his first wife. the railroads employers are unable to see the justice of the enconomy. The poor people are rarely able to reflect that the total extravagances of the rich. if divided among the whole laboring popu- lation, would do very little to improve the condition of the latter. The unmistakabe lesson of these facts is that foolish extravaganza does an enor- nous amount of harm to those who com- init it and to those who witness it.