The Washington herald., 1914-03-29

| colony without any reservation -
I direct you % negotiate this affair with
the envoy Of the United States. Do moi
even await the arrival Of Mr.. Monroe
Have an interview this very day with
Mr.. Livingston. But l require a greal
deal of money for this war
necessity of making the sale. want
fifty millions Cnearly slOO 600 900, and for
less than that will not treat
It was Talleyrand who opened the
| trade by asking Livingston how he
| would like to buy all OF Louisiana. The
American Minister replied that he wanted
only New Orleans. and the Gulf Shore.
and that France ought to throw in the
British in Canada. Even New Orleans
was not worth much, the Yankee trader
maintained-"barIe sands and sunken
marshes "a small town built of wood. '.
But TaIleyrand. who was somewhat of
real estate dealer himself. protested
that If he sold only New Orleans he
would have IN his hands a worthless
remnant and tina: he must sell the entire
territory Livingston Coolly replied that
he had not thought much about ii, but
inquired in casual tone how 100000
rand shrugged his shoulders and, saying
the bid was too low. asked the American
to think IT over.
A RenI Estate Auction.
That was Monday: on Wednesday Mon
roe drove into Paris. While he and Liv-
ingston were dining the next day Mar
bois was seen passing by and was called
ury Minister was leaving he whispered u
Livingston to come to his office. There
in the Department of Finance they held
midnight auction. MarbOls said nothing
of Napoleon having made the selling price
SO 00.00o but demanded IS. 000O O00 s. 900 coo
of that sum. however, to be returned 10
the United states for the payment Of the
French spOliation claims, arising from
depredations by French vessels on Ameri-
can shipping in the little war of 1895.
After two weeks of chaffering. the
French demand at S25.ocO.OO0. when Mar
bois suddenly dropped to $50 600 and
the Americans agreed to that price. 81,
$4,000 of which. however. was not to he
settlement of the American claims against
the French. Napoleon scolded Narbois
for letting that s.. 900 get away. but
when his minister reminded him that he
himself had asked less than so. 900. CO., and
was getting moro than SIl. l.OJ0.O 900. the first
consul beamingly exclaimed. 1T is true,
the negotiations leave me nothing to de-
sire: '60.O00.0O0 0rancs) for an occupation
he chuckled as he thought OF the huge
territory he had thrust upon the United
States: They asked me for a town and
/ have given them an empire
When the Americans complained that
the eastern boundary toward the Floridas
was not defined with sufficient clearness
It did not trouble him: IF an obscurity
at would perhaps be good policy to put
one there" For. after ali. Spain hao
not ceded the Floridas with Louisiana in
her treaty with France, and that coast
remained in her possession.
The very day after Napoleon signed
the treaty, and on the very day that he
formally ratified IL, the great war be-
closely bound ~ to the last was the ces-
sion OF Louisiana with the progress OF
events in Europe.
As the American negotiators finished
their momentous task and rose from the
table where, with a movement Of their
pens. they had Just added almost a mill
lion square miles to the area Of the
have lived long. but this is the nobIest |
work Of our whole lives" Yet he had !
. Va. SfsyS;uv . N.,, MI