Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-12-12

yearly dividends were promised John
LAW mouse Was haunted from morn
ing until night by eager applicants
Tor shares buses marquises. couats
ana their wives Matted in tae streets
Tor hours every day before his door
10 know IL they We're so fortunate
as to be. COUNTED as stock holders In
the scheme. They rented apartments
near his nome to avoid The plebeian
crowds thai thronged the streets as
eager to obtain shares as the upper
Classes. They had visions of untold
wealthy. II WAS necessary At night
10 send troops of soldiers to clear
ta- =, e-s. Boul"Natas anu PARIS
were forsaken; the favorite prone
made was before John Laws house,
Enormous fees were paid Laws
servants merely to have their names
announced to him. Every kind OF
subterfuss was employed to obtain
shares. The price of shares woult
rise from 10 to - per cent in few
hours Every one fortunate enough
to have shares prospered Great es-
tates were rebuilt The Duke de
bourbon. son OF Louis XIV and Nine
Mont-span. WAS so fortunate in his
speculations in mississippi paper THAI
he was able to rebuild Chantilly In q
style of unwont-d magnificence. Hs
erected range Of stables long re-
nowred in Europe and imported Ian
"f the fin..s; racers from England 10
improve TIE breed m France.
This baseless system continued until
1920 and its last fl'al month. wher
the bubble reached the breaking
point. Prince de Cont was offended
that Law would not sell him fresh
shares of India stock at his own price
Re revengefuIly sert to the bank and
dema nded specie for such an enor-
nous quantity OF notes that three
wagons were required for its trans
port. Law was indignant and COM
planned to the regent. who required
the prince to return two-thirds OF ths
specie. This was the beginning OF
withdra wals of the precious metals TO
England and Holland by the sus-
picious. Wary stock jobbers surnised
.haf prices would not continue to rise
forever and they helped to circulate
dstrust -.
Edit after edict was published de
n-eciatine ehA valve Of coin. and paw
ments at the bank were restricted ~
one hundred liyres in gold and ten "
silver. In February Of this year a.
adi"t was published forbidding the u.s.
Of specie. This drove the rnuntrrT.ff
the verge of a revolution. The rp'u
of the shares fell SO rapidly that th'
! pnonle lost al confidence in the Mis-
si-sipni project.
A novel maans was conceived ta
overcome the d's'rust of the neople. 4
general eopscr;ption of 5000 OF the
very poorest Gown-and-out wretches
in the slum districts In Paris were or
derad to parade through the streets
with picks. and shove1a. and then senf
on in small detach"ents TO me ou.-
norris to he shinpAd to Louisiana. TO
give sem bIaf,ce tn the story OF tn un-
fold wealth in that province. TWO
thirds OF these 5000 mon never reach
ed their ports. but dispersed them
selves over the country. SOLD tnetr
fools for what they would bring. and
after less than three weeks. had re-
turned to their old haunts.
Another EFFORT was tried. The law
was abolished which made II Grim uaf
to amass coin OF more than 500 tivres
Every one was permittsd 70. nave az
much specie as he. could obtain And
still amottier scheme was devised
twenty-fiye millions of new notes WEIR
created on the security of the city nj
Paris at 90 per cent. The old bank
notes were Withdrawn and publicly
burned. The new notes were not ponu-
lar anIpnr4 the large holders Of Mis-
sissippf stock. Another. edict was pub
Iished depriyinGkthese notes OF all
value and the >Ntseiasippi company
was reduced to a private company.
This was the death blow.
The life OF John Law was not safe
In France and he fed the country as
poor as q beggar. He had NOT Sc
questered his property in other coun-
tries II he had not had implicits faith
in his OWN ScnemtS W I'LL IVA
OF debt and make her the most power
full and richest nation in Europe. he
W ould have. foreseen the evil and hid
den himself" and his 100000 livres
and everything else he possessed
would not have been confiscated.
Law found. after a long flight, sane
tuary. In. Copenhagen. While there the
English ministry gave him permission
to, reside. In his native land. sent him
pardon for the murder of Wilson and
took him home in an admiraPs ship.
The returned adventurer, whose me-
teoric brillfance. had dazzled all Eu-
rope, remained in England four years
and then went to Venice. where he
died in 1923. in abject poverty. GER
tainly a. pathetic and Illogical ending
ut a one Time controller general OF
finance.
Immediately after the bursting of
the Mississippi bubble and the flight
of its author. the French published
many caricatures, songs and epigrams
in derision of the regent and the great
financier..z