Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-03-05
FINANCE AND INVASION

History il = perpetual lesson with
persistent repetitions. The Germans
have always been re-
Historv and preached with brutal
ity in war. the French
0ePeutlonS. with lack of prepara-
ton. A recent dispatch from Paris al
luding to q lax system OF war graft"
by actual army contractors. says 'it
shows little signs of change from
ancient wars
frequently invaded in the seventeenth
century. and tho capture of the line of
tho Somme caused CONSERVATION in
Paris. Sully. in his memoirs. recounts
that when Henry w. in 1886, was in
formed that the enemy had crossed the
border and occupied Amiens. the king
sent for him. Sully found him in night
cap and dressing gown, pacing to and
fro. his hands crossed behind his back,
a prey to gloomy reflections. SEEKING
Sully's hands. Henry " exclaimed, with
effusion. "Ah. my friend. what a ca
lamity: Amiens is taken."
But time has modified somewhat the
financial situation, although not entire
ly, as we have seen. Invasions in the
past were not SO serious as now, be-
cause they were local, and affected only
inces did no, always participate. Ma
tiona1 unity had not yet been accepted
as a necessity to national existence.
Now invasion involves the very life of
universe even is affected economically.
The essential causes of the thirty
years war were religious and political
the antagonisms between Lutherans
and Catholics and the disquiet pro-
duced by the invasions of the house of
Austria. The incident of the "defenes-
tration of Prague" put fire to the pow
der magazine. The demonstration Of
Prague" was term applied to acts OF
violence committed In 1913 against inn
the windows Of the palace by the Prot
estants Of Bohemia, whose religious
rights had been violated by Matthias,
Emperor of Hungary, Bohemia and
Germany.
The thirty years war is divided into
four periods: First, the palatine pc
riod (161S-1623), dur
The Thirty ing which Frederick,
Elector Palatine and
Years War. King of Bohemia, was
conquered at the White mountain
U620) and shorn of his states; sec
ond. the Danish period Q624-1629).
during which Christian ~ of Denmark
placed himself at the head of the Prot
estants: third, the Swedish period
GS3o-16s3). in the course of which
Gustavus Adolphus. victor at Leipzig,
was killed at Lutzen; fourth. the French
period (1635-164s), thus called because
Richelieu, after having secretly sus-
tanned the adversaries Of the house of
Austria, interviewed directly against her
after the defeat of the imperialists at
Nordlingen.
The inefhciency of the finances was
chronic condition Of governments, and
France was no exception to the RUE.
The finances Of the first half Of the t.
wretched. Richelieu. in the unpublished
documents, appears incontestably as
knowing nothing of finance and as hav-
money when he wanted it and left to
Bullion, the superintendent Of finances
under Louis XIII, the task of finding 1t.
without regard to the means employed.
The voluminous manuscript CORE
spondence in the ministry in the matter
Of finance shows the cardinal as spend
ing without counting-spending osten-
tatiously. Richelieu besides in his pri-
tendants (superintendents), frightened
at the lack of method. lent money to
repair the breaches. In turn they Dor
rowed money from the cardinals estate
and returned 1t or did not return it, and
without apparent dishonesty. No one
could discover the origin Of the immense
fortune left by Richelieu. and the cardi
nal himself could not have explained it.
nj IN NM oh he
are due to NJ. Louis Battifol. who APP
pears to have elected them from the
above cited unpublished documents.
On the other hand, Cardinal Richelieu
has been given a very different char
acter by other writ
Card. Richeieu's ers Of history. and
o, notably by NJ. Aug
oAoA aGIeI. Thierry, who writes
of him: "All that it was possible in the
matter of social amelioration was
achieved by Richelieu. whose intelli-
gence comprehended everything; whose
practical genius omitted nothing: who
went from the whole to details, from
the idea to action, with marvellous
adroitness. He possessed to a unique
degree the universally and liberty of
spirit. A friend of letters, he founded
the French Academy"
With all the virtues ascribed the
great cardinal by his historians, it is
not impossible that. s asserted by NJ.
Battifol, the great minister was igno-
rant of finance. Finance and letters,
for a fact, are not always associates.
The principles of financial organiza-
ton which existed at the time of Louis
XIII appear to have been that all the
taxes imposed in the provinces should
first of all serve to pay the current |
expenses; all that remained over was
"centralized' in the treasury at Paris. |
now called ''L'Epargne.' or savings
bank.
Another method employed in the sew |
enteenth century was to cause the !
"taille" taxes to be collected by the |
agents of the king, but those of Gus
toms and "gabelles." or salt. were un-
der the superintendent of special |
agents, which explains. perhaps. the |
scandaious fortunes amassed. 1t is |
probable that Richelieu had neither !
the time nor the disposition to look |
into or attempt to revise the vast sys- |
tenn Of graft more or less common still |
to all governments In the seventeenth |
cantnrv The foregoing is sufficient to |