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Show rEKy Eighteen Billions of Francs of Russian Bonds Listed on Paris Bourse. PARIS, Jan. 30. (Correspondence.) The repudiation by the Bolshevik government of Russia's entire bonded debt caused some anxiety among French people who held at least half of the debt of the empire outstanding at the beginning of the war. Eighteen billions of francs of Rus-.sian Rus-.sian bonds, at the price of issue, were listed on the Paris Bourse. Twelve billions, bil-lions, according to the lowest estimates, esti-mates, and fifteen billions, according to other calculations, were bought by the French republic. Servants in white aprons, bareheaded bare-headed market women, domestics ofj all categories and men in the blouses of the peasant and the laborer made' up the long lines of investors in front jof the wickets whenever Russian loans wore offered for sale, j "I haven't a sou invested in Russia," a millionaire Parisian said to the Associated As-sociated Press, "but every one of my( servants has one or more Russian . bonds. Another millionaire said the! same was true of his household. "Instead "In-stead of hitting the counting house and the salon, the Bolsheviki arc hitting hit-ting the servants' hall and the backstairs" back-stairs" was the way he put the situation. situa-tion. There is no little apprehension in socialist circles as to the effect of this heavy blow the extreme revolutionary revolu-tionary element in Russia has delivered de-livered at the extreme liberal element in France. A peasant or workingman who may overlook or disbelieve news of Bolshevik excesses or misconstrue their effect will be unable to doubt the evidence of his own despoilment. Until now the holders of Russian bonds have been reassured by the pay- ment of the January coupons which the French treasury assumed. It appear yet. however, whether the French government will assume the burden indefinitely and if the bankruptcy bank-ruptcy of the revolution is allowed to become effective, the greater number of the smaller Investors who have been financing the Russian empire since 1888 will be ruined. A contrast is drawn here between the action of the Bolsheviki and that of the French revolution. The Maximalists Maxi-malists pretend that the money loaned to Russia was used to buy arms to keep the people in subjection. This was true to a far greater extent of the money borrowed by the French monarchy mon-archy prior to 1789, yet the convention made it a point of honor to take those debts to the account of the republic. The claims that money furnished bv j France brought no benefit to the people peo-ple of Russia is also contested. It Is possible to trace the money through the official list of the loans floated in (Paris and It is found that more than three-fourths of the capital represented repre-sented was employed to buy railroads, ito build them, or to develop industry 'and agriculture. Russia had improved only about a third of her land at the beginning of the war and the question Is asked how the peasants to whom the unimproved land is turned over will find means of (improving it if Russian credit is for-jcver for-jcver destroyed by the repudiation of her debts. |
