Norwich bulletin., 1915-09-01
Stories of the War
Getting Gold in France.

There have been some remarkable
scenes at the Bank of France since
Alexander Felix Ribot, the French
minister of finance. issued his call
spending two billion francs a month"
he said. Its frightful sum and we've
got to keep it up another winter-bring
on your gold" The call spread rap
idly. and the response has been
prompt.
Monsieur Ribot is only one month
older than Monsieur Colin, of the Rue
des Tours, who was 70 this spring.
Madame Colin so wrote on the slip she
delivered in the Bank of France with
hundred francs of gold to be ex-
changed for national defense bonds. Il
had saved it to make a present to
Monsieur Colin on cur golden wedding
day." she added but we decided that
we could both get more pleasure and
satisfaction out of that gold by turn
ing it over as a sort Of homage to
Monsieur Ribot."
Hundreds of school children will as
sociate the name of the venerable min
lister with their first visit to that mys-
FERROUS and awe inspiring institution.
always so inpressively guarded by the
handsomely uniformed republican
the teller's window where gold is ex-
changed, and they are generally dis
appointed not to see the patriarchal
head of Monsieur Ribot' somewhere
behind the counter.
One woman showed a pile Of coins
amounting to $50 francs through the
teller's window at the Bank of France,
with the concise explanation For
Monsieur Ribot." She turned to 60
away without her bank bills and had
to be persuaded that Monsieur Ribot
was not seeking gold without giving
the equivalent in exchange.
man who had SnoY7f vaaPS roll
lecting hundred franc gold pieces, and
had gotten together a hundred Of con-
secutive dates. including the rarest
efigies, brought it to the bank. Worth
as a collection five times as much, he
went away satisfied with 10000 francs
in bank notes. Another numismatisi
sacrificed a unique collection of 200 OF
double louis"-forty franc pieces.
Another man, in the familiar peasant
| blue frock. came in, took his place
hesitatingly in the line and fidgited
continually while waiting. He left the
line once and got to the door, hesitated
turzed back and took his place again
at the foot. When his turn finally
| came, he cast fond glance at the
sock he pulled out Of a vest pocket
then poured seven thousand francs in
| gold upon the counter.
The counting of the millions OF
| pieces received would take too long, il
| would also be too complicated since
| with the louis "napoleons," and 're-
publics" there are "soVereigns'
| eagles" double eagles,"-in fact
| pieces of nearly every nation that
| coins gold. Consequently every deposit
| is valued by weight. Sometimes
| weight is the only possible means OF
| valuation, as in the case of the Cure
of Huron, who deposited at the branch
of the Bank of France at Chalons-
| sur Marine, a ehapeless mass he ha6
recovered from the ashes of the pres.
| bytery after the retreat of the Ger.
| mans. Coins of the total value of 4St
| francs had been melted and run to-
gether by the heat of the conflagration
1 The million and a half francs received
| at Chalons included a twenty franc
| piece of the eff1gy or the republic tina
had been nearly pierced by a German
bullet.
A newspaper announcing the golt