The Washington herald., 1921-01-23
Monte Carlos Founder Well Paid
Blanc Family Built Vast Fortune

Luck, according to Webster, is that
which happens to one, whether it be for
good or for evil. There is bad luck and
there is good luck Many WOO the latter;
none want the former. The average man
in his lifetime experiences one or two
pieces of sheer luck-if he is lucky.
But it's rare man upon whom the goddess
OF chance bestows more than a passing
smile. 1t is rarer still to find family
whose destiny revolves about the throne of
the goddess.
There died in Neuilly the other day,
one Edmond Blanc, French sportsman,
owner of a famous racing stable, and
seven times winner of the Grand Prix.
Well known, however, as he was at the
French race track he was even better
known as the owner of the gambling con-
cessions at Monte Carlo His was the sec
ond generation to possess the concessions
OF this famous casino, for his father
Francois Blanc, before him bought the
right when the worlds greatest gambling
house was in its infancy in 1860, and It
descended in the family from father to son,
having created in the sixty years from that
early day to this huge fortune that runs
far into the millions.
Builder of Monte Carlo.
Luck was a household god in the Blanc
family. Francois, the father, who died in
1877, had more than his share OF it. The
French courts in 1887 tried to put him and
his twin brother, Louis Joseph in prison
for one of the most sensational swindles
perpetrated in the Nineteenth Century. 1t
was swindle that won the brothers a for
tune; it involved the bribery of the sena-
nh 4L,A LzI
to the French provincial cities the stock
market returns. They escaped on the
merest technicalty-one of those failures
to dot an / or cross t. There was no
doubt of their guilt-a mere matter of luck
But it was nearly quarter OF a century
later when Francois Blanc laid the founda-
ton of the family fortune \
In 1886 the Prince of Monaco was an
impoverished monarch His little principal
ity was down at heel and out at elbows;
there was no money in the treasury, there
was no magnihcence at court. His sub
Jects were poor, they were tax ridden;
there was no commerce, no trade, nothing
upon which to build. The outlook was
about as unpromising as any outlook could
possibly be from the princely point Of view.
But in the year 1856 certain DR.. Harcourt
wandered into the old town OF Monaco,
decided to open gambling house, sought
and obtained from the prince a concession
for thirty years and then began business
in little place not far from the palace.
For four years DR.. Harcourt's venture
had fair success. Then in 1860 it was de-
cided to build a superb casino on the prom
ontory across the bay from Monaco, and to-
convert the rocky promontory into mag
nihcent park. Accordingly it was started
and christened Monte Carlo after the late
Prince Charles Ill The enterprise pro-
ceeded very slowly, howver, Tor funds were
inadequate, and doubtless would have fall
len through altogether had not Francois
Blanc appeared on the scene. He is de-
scribed as a very eccentric little old gentle
man, clad in long coat, and walking with
the aid of yellow cane without which he
was never seen in his waking hours. Blanc
looked the gambling house over in very
short time, then said in businesslike man
ner: 81 will give you. 100000 francs tor
your rights and property, and l will allow
you just two hours to decide"
Redeemed a Principality
The doctor desired more time, but NJ.
Blanc was unmoved and would make no
other terms. He went to lunch, and when
he returned the offer was accepted. The
transfer was made Immediately. M. Blanc
became sole proprietor and his success was
tremendous. He completed the marble ca
sino that stands at Monte Carlo today, he
made the gardens and the park, built. the
fountains, the broad drives, planted the
tropical shrubs, and all the while his for
tune mounted, and the fortunes OF the I'M
poverished prince likewise. The conees-
sion cost M. Blanc pretty penny, but he
made a prettier one by it In 1898, when
the terms of the concession were revised,
the new agreement between the prince and
Edmond Blanc, who died the other day,
stipulated that the sum of $4,000
600 to be paid Immediately to. the prince,
100000 to be paid in 1914, 100000 to
be spent on public works, 81 900 for the
projected new opera house. Moreover, the
prince was to have S per cent OF the re-
ceipts of the casino when they exceeded
ss.oooooo. There were other vast sums in
the overhead of the casino; salaries to the
staff, upkeep of the gardens, the orchestra,
grants to private agents and pensioners.