Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1916-08-01
Popular Spirit in France.
BY Henry Wood.


found in my house today"
With eyes flashing pride and voice
vibrating with enthusiasm those words
were pronounced to me by Professor
Alcide Betrine of No. 166 Boulevard
Montpamasse. L picked him at random
to tell me something Of the spirit of the
French people after two years of war
Professor Betrine has grown gray in
the public school service of France.
He is entitled to retire on pension but
he won't do it while the war lasts.
Professor Detrine is proud to be able to
say:
"For the first time in my life and in
generations in the history of my family,
there is not single gold piece to be
found in my house today. | have turned
it all in to the Bank of France for the
national Defense"
The boast Of Professor Betrine today
is the boast of prac tically every family
in France. Within the last year the
French Voluntarily have exchanged for
Tlimsy French banknotes over $325, 5,000,-
900 gold. This stream of gold has been
flowing for a year and is still flowing
at from $l,000,000 to $1,500,000 week.
Such is the spirit of the French after
two years of war.
The Little Hoard of Gold.
"In every French family there are
but two great passions-THE ONLY
SON AND THE LITTLE FAMILY
HOARD OF GOLD"
1t is the "little hoard of gold" on
which every French household is built.
Gold, in the popular French conception,
is the one real, tangible thing in life
on which anyone under any circum-
stances, can always count. 1t is the
family's life, death, accident, health,
marriage and disaster insurance in one.
Even if the "Boches" had actually
reached Paris, the average Frenchman
would have known he could still count
on his gold to help him out.
This confidence in gold has reached
in France, among the masses the status
almost of fetish. In thousands of fam
lilies the gold has passed from genera.
tion to generation and been added to
until it has taken on the additional
sentimental value of most highly
priced heirloom. The average French
man figures his future and that of his
family on his gold reserve.
Knowing all this, the government did
not hesitate to ask for it. But it ask.
ed, it did not command. 1t knew that
however much the gold meant to its
sons and daughters, ola Patrie" meant
much more.
The average French family man is in
clined to be rather hard headed, calcu-
lating money:seeking and saving.
&" Hard headed thrift - might easily pass
as the motto in French family life.
Early in the war there was publish
ed in France and elsewhere an article
of presumed German origin explaining
why the war with France would not last
long.
Patriotism Above Pocketbook.
The French common people, it assert.
ed, would never permit the war to reach
a point where it would effect either
their regular sources Of income or the
amount of money they might already
have saved. That was one of the things
the Germans counted on for a quick
short campaign in France before turn
ing to smite Russia.
Germany was mistaken as in the Irish
rebellion, Canadian secession and No
hammedan uprising in English colonies
The French population has placed pa.
triotism before pocket books.
The greatest test that could be ap.
piled to the French people after they
had parted with their sons was to ask
them to part without sou of recon.
pense or premium, with their little fam.
lily hoard of gold.
This is far from telling all the story
of the possibilities of French thrift. II
has enabled them to do far more than
give the government gold The French
people have also subscribed some 49,,
900, 100000 to Frances famous "Loan
of Victory" French thrift-coupled
necessarily with French spirit-has fur.
nished France with the financial sinews
for prosecuting the war. Parting with
the gold was purely a matter of pa.
triotic sentiment. Subscribing TO the
loan was q matter of careful invest
ment. Yet this thrifty investment speaks
perhaps more for the spirit of the
French people than did the parting with
the gold, for the loan subscription spell
ed in great big capital letters the one
word CONFIDENCE in the finan
cial stability of the French government
and in its ability to win the war.
Loan France S120,000,000,
Now final test is being made of the
spirit of the French people. Minister Of
Finances Ribot has just estimated that
there are being held in France no less
than $l20,000,000, 1000 of foreign bond,
and securities. These would be of the
most supreme value to France in en-
abling her to offer them as security FOL
her large purchase of war and Other
materials in foreign countries, without
diminishing her gold reserve and with
out suffering the terrible rate of ex
change-it is nearly 20 per cent in the
United States-eaused by the dispropor
tion of her importations over her ex'
portations.
So France has asked-not ordered az
has been necessary in England-her
people to loan her these 100000, ,000 00C
of foreign securities until after the
war. The response has been the same
as to the request for gold and for wal
subscriptions.
The Bank of France has been obliged
TO open special bureaus in all principal
cities and villages of France to receive
these securities and so great is the mum.
ber turned in and so fast have they
come, that the Bank of France. at the
moment this article is being written, is