A work, therefore, which exposes the evils of 'speculation,' which shows the company promoter on the war-path, and the 'guinea-pig' basking8 at his ease, which demonstrates how the public is fooled and ruined by the brigands10 of Finance, is evidently a work for the times, even though it deal with the Paris Bourse instead of with the London market. For the ways of the speculator, the promoter, the wrecker, the defaulter, the reptile11 journalist, and the victim, are much the same all the world over; and it matters little whence the example may be drawn12, the warning will apply with as much force in England as in France.
The time for prating14 of the purity of our public life, and for thanking the Divinity that in financial as in other matters we are not as other men, has gone by. When disasters like that of the Liberator15 group are possible, when examples of financial unsoundness are matters of every-day occurrence, when the very name of 'trust company' opens up visions of incapacity, deceit, and fraud, it is quite certain that things are ripe for stringent16 inquiry17 and reform.
Of course the cleansing18 of the Augean stable of finance in this country will prove a Herculean labour; but although callous19 Governments and legislators may postpone20 and shirk it, the task remains21 before them, ever threatening, ever calling for attention, and each day's delay in dealing22 with it only adds to the evil. We are overrun with rotten limited liability companies, flooded with swindling 'bucket-shops,' crashes and collapses23 rain upon us, and the 'promoter' and the 'guinea-pig' still and ever enjoy impunity24. It is becoming more and more impossible to burke the issue. It stares us in the face. Even if the various measures of political and social reform, about which we have heard so much of recent years, should yield all that their partisans25 declare they will, it is doubtful whether there would be much national improvement. For the rottenness of our social system must still remain the same; the fabric26 must still repose27 upon as unsound a basis as it does now if the brigands of Finance remain free to plunder28 the community and to pave their way to ephemeral wealth and splendour with the bodies of the thrifty29 and the credulous30.
One may well ask why this freedom should be allowed them. The man in the street who wishes to lay odds31 against the favourite for the Derby is promptly32 mulcted in pocket or consigned33 to limbo34, but the promoter of the swindling company, and the keeper of the swindling 'bucket-shop,' who deliberately35 defraud36 other people of their money, are at liberty to ply13 their nefarious37 callings with no worse fate before them than a short suspension of their discharge should they choose to close their books with the aid of the Bankruptcy38 Court. There cannot be two moralities, although a distinguished39 Frenchman, the[Pg ix] late M. Nisard, once tried to demonstrate that there were, and was laughed to scorn for his pains. We know that there is but one true morality—the same for the rich as for the poor, the same for the legislator as for the elector, the same for the defaulter who dabbles40 in millions as for the welsher who sneaks41 half-crowns. And it should be borne in mind that the harm done to the community at large by the thousands of bookmakers disseminated42 throughout the United Kingdom is as nothing beside that which is done by the half thousand financial brigands who infest43 the one city of London. It may, I think, be safely said that more people were absolutely ruined by the crash of the Liberator group than by all the betting on English racecourses over a period of many years.
There have been, I believe, over 2,200 applicants44 for relief to the fund which has been raised for the benefit of the sufferers of so-called Philanthropic Finance, and among the number it appears there are nearly 1,400 single women and widows. Some of the victims have committed suicide, others have gone mad. Thousands, moreover, who are too proud to beg, find themselves either starving or in sadly straitened circumstances, with nothing but a pittance45 left them of their former little comforts. This is a specimen46 of the work done by the brigand9 of Finance.
Of course there are reforms urgently needed in the very organisation47 of the Stock Exchange; and reforms needed with regard to the conditions under which public companies may be launched. Why should men be allowed to ask the public to subscribe48 millions of money for the purchase of properties which are literally49 valueless? Why, moreover, should directors be allowed to proceed to 'allotment,' when but a tithe50 of the shares placed on the market have been taken up? And surely the time has come for the proper auditing51 of accounts under Government supervision52. The neglectful auditor53 and the fraudulent promoter are as much in need of abolition54 as the ornamental55 'guinea-pig.' And such abolition, and the enforcement of many reforms, might be secured by a self-supporting Ministry56 of Commercial Finance. Some[Pg x] institution of the kind will doubtless be founded in time to come; and, meanwhile, if all that is told us of the purity of our public life be true, I fail to see why a series of measures directed against the brigands of Finance should not promptly receive the assent57 of both Houses of Parliament and become law. Surely no member of the Lords or the Commons would dare to stand up and plead the cause of the negligent58 director who imperils the safety of other people's money? Surely not one of our legislators would dare to take the fraudulent promoter and the rogue59 of the 'bucket-shop' under his protecting wing? And, as such measures must of necessity be non-contentious, why do not some of our social reformers initiate2 them, instead of for ever and ever harping60 upon 'Bills' which are not likely to be included in the Statute-book for another score of years?
I am not against public companies. Let us have them; let us have as many good ones as we can get, but let them be honestly founded and honestly administered. It is through the multiplicity of public companies that we may eventually attain61 to Collectivism, which so many great thinkers of the age deem to be the future towards which the world is slowly but surely marching. And when that comes, perhaps, as Sigismond Busch, one of M. Zola's characters, foreshadows in the following pages, we shall have some other means of exchange than money—the metallic62 money of the present day. Sigismond Busch is a Karl Marxite, a believer in the universal fraternity of humanity, a fraternity which he regretfully admits is still far away from us. Of a very different stamp to him is M. Zola's hero—if hero he can be called—Saccard, the scheming financier, the sanguine63 promoter and manager of the Universal Bank, the poet of money, the apostle of gambling64, ever intent on gigantic enterprises, believing that the passion for gain should be fostered rather than discouraged, and that in order to set society on a proper basis it is necessary to destroy the financial power of the Jews.
Saccard is one of M. Zola's favourite creations. After figuring in the 'Fortune des Rougon,' he played a prominent[Pg xi] part in 'La Curée;' and he is further alluded65 to in 'Doctor Pascal,' Clotilde, the heroine of that work, being his daughter. Certainly Saccard, the worshipper of Mammon, the man to whom money is everything in life, is a true type of our fin-de-siècle society. It has often occurred to me that in sketching66 this daring and unscrupulous financier M. Zola must have bethought himself of Mirès, whose name is so closely linked to the history of Second Empire finance. Mirès, however, was a Jew, whereas Saccard is a Jew-hater, and outwardly, at all events, a zealous67 Roman Catholic. In this respect he reminds one of Bontoux, of union Générale notoriety, just as Hamelin the engineer reminds one of Feder, Bontoux's associate. Indeed, the history of M. Zola's Universal Bank is much the history of the union Générale. The latter was solemnly blessed by the Pope, and in a like way M. Zola shows us the Universal receiving the Papal benediction68. Moreover, the secret object of the union Générale was to undermine the financial power of the Jews, and in the novel we find a similar purpose ascribed to Saccard's Bank. The union, we know, was eventually crushed by the great Israelite financiers, and this again is the fate which overtakes the institution whose meteor-like career is traced in the pages of 'L'Argent.'
There is a strong Jewish element in this story, and here and there some very unpleasant things are said of the chosen people. It should be remembered, however, that these remarks are the remarks of M. Zola's characters and not of M. Zola himself. He had to portray69 certain Jew-haters, and has simply put into their mouths the words which they are constantly using. This statement is not unnecessary, for M. Zola counts many friends and admirers among writers and readers of the Jewish persuasion70, and some of them might conceive the language in which their race is spoken of to be expressive71 of the author's personal opinions. But such is not the case. M. Zola is remarkably free from racial and religious prejudices. And, after all, I do not think that any Hebrew reader can take exception to the portrait of Gundermann, the great Jew financier, the King of the Money Market,[Pg xii] who in a calm methodical way brings about the ruin of Saccard and Hamelin. Gundermann, moreover, really existed and may be readily identified.
In Daigremont, another financier, but a Catholic, we have a combination of Achille Fould and Isaac Pereire. Daigremont's house is undoubtedly72 Fould's, and so is his gallery of paintings. And there are other characters in the story who might in a measure be identified. For instance, readers acquainted with the social history of France during the last half century will doubtless trace a resemblance between the Princess d'Orviedo and a certain foreign Duchess. Then the Viscount de Robin-Chagot is strangely suggestive of a Rohan-Chabot, whose financial transactions brought him before a court of law during the latter period of the Second Empire. Various personalities73 are merged74 in the character of the courtly Marquis de Bohain, that perfect type of the aristocratic rogue; but Rougon is undoubtedly Eugène Rouher tout75 craché, whatever M. Zola may pretend to the contrary. M. Zola himself will be found in the book, for surely Paul Jordan, the impecunious76 journalist with 'an idea for a novel,' is the author of the Rougon-Macquart series in the far-away days when he lived on the topmost floor of a modest house on the Boulevard de Clichy.
In Huret we are presented with a specimen of the corrupt77 Deputy, and in this connection it may be pointed78 out that the venal79 French legislator by no means dates from the Panama scandals. In fact, there were undoubtedly more corrupt members in the Corps80 Législatif of the Second Empire than there have ever been in the Parliament of the Third Republic. Only, in those glorious Imperial times, anything approaching a scandal was promptly hushed up, and more than once the Emperor himself personally intervened to shield his peccant supporters. M. Schneider, who presided over the Corps Législatif in its later days, was undoubtedly a very honest man; but it would be impossible to say the same of his predecessors—Walewski, who claimed descent from the great Napoleon, and Morny, who was the little Napoleon's illegitimate half-brother. It is notorious that[Pg xiii] Morny made millions of money by trickery and fraud; and that the Emperor himself was well aware of it was proved conclusively81 by the papers found in his cabinet at the Tuileries after the Revolution of 1870. Roguery being thus freely practised in high places, a considerable number of Deputies undoubtedly opined that there was no occasion for them to remain honest.
'L'Argent,' however, is no mere83 story of swindling and corruption84. Whilst proving that money is the root of much evil, it also shows that it is the source of much good. It does not merely depict85 the world of finance; it gives us glimpses of the charitable rich, the decayed noblesse striving to keep up appearances, the thrifty and the struggling poor. Further, it appears to me to be a less contemplative work than many of M. Zola's novels. It possesses in no small degree that quality of 'action' in which, according to some critics, the great naturaliste's writings are generally deficient86. The plot, too, is a sound one, and from beginning to end the interest never flags.
In preparing the present version for the press I have followed the same course as I pursued with regard to 'Dr. Pascal.' Certain passages have been condensed, and others omitted; and in order to reconnect the narrative87 brief interpolations have here and there been necessary. Nobody can regret these changes more than I do myself, but before reviewers proceed to censure88 me (as some of them did in the case of 'Dr. Pascal'), I would ask them to consider the responsibility which rests upon my shoulders. If they desire to have verbatim translations of M. Zola's works, let them help to establish literary freedom.
And now, by way of conclusion, I have a request to make. After perusing89 the story of Saccard's work of ruin, the reader will, perhaps, have a keener perception of all the misery90 wrought91 by that Liberator crash to which I have previously92 alluded. I would point out, however, that whereas Saccard's bank was essentially93 a speculative94 enterprise, the Liberator and its allied95 companies claimed that they never embarked96 in any speculative dealings whatever. Their shareholders97 had[Pg xiv] no desire to gamble; they only expected to obtain a fair return from the investment of their hard-earned savings98. Their position is therefore deserving of all commiseration99. Unfortunately, the fund raised for their benefit still falls far short of the amount required; and so I would ask all who read 'Money,' and who have money to spare, to send some little of their store to the Rev82. J. Stockwell Watts100, at the office of the Fund, 16 Farringdon Street, E.C. In complying with this suggestion they will be doing a good action. And I may say that nothing would afford greater pleasure either to M. Zola or myself than to learn that this book had in some degree a contributed to alleviate101 so much undeserved misery and hardship.
E. A. V.
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1
initiated
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| n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入 | |
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initiate
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| vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入 | |
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continental
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| adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的 | |
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remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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inefficiency
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| n.无效率，无能；无效率事例 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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basking
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| v.晒太阳，取暖( bask的现在分词 )；对…感到乐趣；因他人的功绩而出名；仰仗…的余泽 | |
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brigand
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| n.土匪，强盗 | |
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brigands
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| n.土匪，强盗( brigand的名词复数 ) | |
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reptile
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| n.爬行动物；两栖动物 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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ply
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| v.(搬运工等)等候顾客，弯曲 | |
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prating
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| v.（古时用语）唠叨，啰唆( prate的现在分词 ) | |
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liberator
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| 解放者 | |
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stringent
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| adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的 | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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cleansing
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| n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词 | |
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callous
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| adj.无情的，冷淡的，硬结的，起老茧的 | |
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postpone
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| v.延期，推迟 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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collapses
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| 折叠( collapse的第三人称单数 )； 倒塌； 崩溃； （尤指工作劳累后）坐下 | |
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impunity
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| n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除 | |
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partisans
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| 游击队员( partisan的名词复数 )； 党人； 党羽； 帮伙 | |
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fabric
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| n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织 | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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thrifty
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| adj.节俭的；兴旺的；健壮的 | |
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credulous
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| adj.轻信的，易信的 | |
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odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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consigned
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| v.把…置于（令人不快的境地）( consign的过去式和过去分词 )；把…托付给；把…托人代售；丟弃 | |
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limbo
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| n.地狱的边缘；监狱 | |
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deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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defraud
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| vt.欺骗，欺诈 | |
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nefarious
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| adj.恶毒的，极坏的 | |
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bankruptcy
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| n.破产；无偿付能力 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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dabbles
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| v.涉猎( dabble的第三人称单数 )；涉足；浅尝；少量投资 | |
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sneaks
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| abbr.sneakers (tennis shoes) 胶底运动鞋（网球鞋）v.潜行( sneak的第三人称单数 )；偷偷溜走；（儿童向成人）打小报告；告状 | |
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disseminated
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| 散布，传播( disseminate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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infest
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| v.大批出没于；侵扰；寄生于 | |
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applicants
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| 申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 ) | |
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pittance
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| n.微薄的薪水，少量 | |
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specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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organisation
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| n.组织，安排，团体，有机休 | |
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subscribe
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| vi.(to)订阅，订购；同意；vt.捐助，赞助 | |
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literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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tithe
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| n.十分之一税；v.课什一税，缴什一税 | |
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auditing
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| n.审计，查账，决算 | |
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supervision
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| n.监督，管理 | |
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auditor
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| n.审计员，旁听着 | |
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54
abolition
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| n.废除，取消 | |
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ornamental
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| adj.装饰的；作装饰用的；n.装饰品；观赏植物 | |
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ministry
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| n.(政府的)部；牧师 | |
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assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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negligent
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| adj.疏忽的；玩忽的；粗心大意的 | |
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rogue
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| n.流氓；v.游手好闲 | |
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harping
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| n.反复述说 | |
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61
attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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metallic
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| adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的 | |
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sanguine
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| adj.充满希望的，乐观的，血红色的 | |
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gambling
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| n.赌博；投机 | |
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alluded
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| 提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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66
sketching
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| n.草图 | |
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zealous
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| adj.狂热的，热心的 | |
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68
benediction
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| n.祝福；恩赐 | |
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69
portray
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| v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等) | |
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70
persuasion
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| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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71
expressive
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| adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的 | |
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72
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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personalities
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| n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 ) | |
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merged
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| （使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中 | |
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75
tout
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| v.推销，招徕；兜售；吹捧，劝诱 | |
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76
impecunious
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| adj.不名一文的，贫穷的 | |
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corrupt
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| v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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venal
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| adj.唯利是图的，贪脏枉法的 | |
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corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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81
conclusively
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| adv.令人信服地，确凿地 | |
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rev
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| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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84
corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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85
depict
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| vt.描画，描绘；描写，描述 | |
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deficient
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| adj.不足的，不充份的，有缺陷的 | |
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87
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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censure
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| v./n.责备；非难；责难 | |
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89
perusing
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| v.读（某篇文字）( peruse的现在分词 )；（尤指）细阅；审阅；匆匆读或心不在焉地浏览（某篇文字） | |
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90
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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91
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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speculative
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| adj.思索性的，暝想性的，推理的 | |
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allied
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| adj.协约国的；同盟国的 | |
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96
embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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shareholders
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| n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 ) | |
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98
savings
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| n.存款，储蓄 | |
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99
commiseration
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| n.怜悯，同情 | |
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watts
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| （电力计量单位）瓦，瓦特( watt的名词复数 ) | |
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101
alleviate
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| v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等) | |
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