Anti-semite Indictment of Jews in France ‘absurd’

(J.T.A. Special Correspondence)

The part played by the French Jews in the economic life of their country has again been the subject of the most absurd statements on the part of certain French anti-Semitic elements. According to them, the Jews practically own the country, and are its financial and economic overlords. France, like most of the countries in the world, is passing through a fairly severe economic crisis, and the first tendency is to blame somebody for all the difficulties. And, in accordance with the good old tradition, certain sections of the population are using the Jew as the whipping boy. The assertions of these anti-Semitic elements are so grossly exaggerated as not to deserve serious consideration. At the same time, it is of some interest to examine the part played by the Jews in French industry and finance, for this is a field which has so far not been investigated.

The heavy industry, to start with the most important, is entirely free from Jewish influence. In spite of the fact that the French Jews are almost completely assimilated, they have never succeeded in establishing a foothold in this economic life of France. This applies equally to the iron and engineering and to the coal-mining industries. The only exception is the Strass-burg coal-owner Bauman, whose interests, however, lie chiefly in Germany. With this sole exception, not a single Jewish name of any importance is to be found in this or any of the allied industries.

NO JEWISH LIQUOR BARONS

The most representative French industry, wine and champagne, is also completely in French hands. The same applies to the very important textile industry in Northern France, though a certain number of Jews can be found in the textile industry of Alsace. This in due to the fact that Alsace was in German hands for nearly fifty years, and the Jews have Kept the influence they gained there under the Germans. No Jews can be found in the building trade, or in the ship building or shipping industries.

With the exception of the Alsace textile industry, then, the Jews are non-existent in the above-mentioned industries, which account for more than two thirds of the French national output. This in itself should be sufficient to in validate the assertion that the Jews “own the country.”

Then come a number of industries in which the Jews are to a certain extent represented, though even here the part they play is a very small one. The oil industry has one important Jewish firm, that of Wallabreg, and in the sugar industry a fairly important part is played by the old Franco-Jewish family of Schwob-d’Eri-court. Fuld-Springer is one of the leading men in the tinned foods industry. In the cloth industry there is only one Jewish name of note: Andre Herzog. But he is known not because of the size of his undertaking, but because this name “Andre Herzog” is the name of the famous author who writes under the pseudonym of “Andre Maurois.” The sensation-hunting French journalists, discovering this fact, have. Boosted this relatively small family enterprise of the famous writer and historian.

An important part in the economic life of France is played by Heineman, who is not a French Jew at all, but a Belgian one, and who controls a considerable number of electrical undertakings. His mane-is frequently used, or rather misused, in the anti-Semitic press.

THE JEWISH FOR

In the large and growing motor industry, there are two Jewish undertakings of importance, Citroen and Resergarten. The latter has recently been very successful in launching a new light and elegant. though relatively cheap car, and has thus evoked a lot of hitterness among the competition. But Cilroen and Resengarten together are not nearly as big as some of the “French” firms, such as Renault, Peugeot, etc.

This, then, is a short survery of the Jews in French industry. As can be seen, the part they play is by no means important. There remain the banks and the stock exchange. Of the seventy-one registered agents on the Paris stock exchange, only two or three are Jews. Among the exchange brokers, there is a larger number of Jews, but even here it would be quite impossible to speak of “Jewish domination.”

Among the banks there are a few Jewish ones of importance, the chief of them being. Lazard Brothers, Louis Hirsch, Rueff and Daniel Dreyfuss. The vast majority of the so-called “big banks” belong to pure Frenchmen, mostly members of old aristocratic French families. Not a single Jewish name can be found among them. Here again there is one exception, the “Comptoir National d’Escompte,” in which the Jewis banking family of Bachman hold a large parcel of shares. Among the directors of the big banks there is only one Jewish name: Finali.

And the Rothschilds? No, I have not forgotten them. The Rothschilds are still regarded as the personification of wealth and power. The Paris Rothschild is still one of the wealthies men in France, with a fortune estimated at $60,000,000. He has kept his wealth, but he has long ceased to be a factor of very great importance in the financial world. His fortune is to a large extent locked up in very sound long-term securities, which reduces the element of risk to a minimum, but at the same time reduces its importance as a financial factor. The times are passed when Baron Rothschild could make or unmake governments. For the last thirty years, Rothschild has ceased to play his previous part in the financial world. His money is invested in the “Chemin de Fer du Nord” (Northern Railway Company). His bank does little banking business. It merely administers the Rothschild holdings, and has little importance either in the banking world or no the stock exchange. Rothschild has long ceased to be the active leader that he once was in the financial world of France.

DREYFUSS BANK IN ASCENDANCE

The Dreyfuss bank, on the other hand, has grown in importance or late years. The Dreyfuss family used to be among the greatest corn merchants in the world, with large interests in Russia, Argentina and Australia. The Russian revolution deprived them of a large section of their trade, and they began to think of other means of using their energies and their capital, which is estimated at some $13,000,000. They became interested in a large number of different industries, among them the film industy, and became the chief shareholders in the biggest and most influential French newspaper, “l’Intransigeant.” Louis Dreyfuss himself, the present head of the firm, also takes a considerable interest in polities, and represents one of the Alpine constituencies in the French Parliament. In business circles, however, it is said that he has not been very lucky with many of his new undertakings.

In trade, too, there are very few #rominent Jewish names. Of the cen large department stores, only one, the “Galleries Lafayette,” is in Jewish hand. Its owner, Bader, also holds considerable interests in the clothing and boot trade. In the French boot trade there is one other Jewish under taking of not “Andre” belonging to Jero# Levi. The world famous French fashion and dress industry contains not a single promiment’ Jewish firm.

The result of our investigation is more than modest. It shows that the Jews play an almost in significant part in the economic #Ife of Prance and proves the aburdity of the assertions of the French anti-Semities.