50 per cent for December, and in January, 1915, full payment to
bank-depositors, although legally the moratorium stands to March 1,
1915.

Among other temporary devices in French finance was the issue by French
chambers of commerce in the south of France of small pieces of
paper,--as low as 50 centimes or 10 cents,--used only for circulation
and change locally.

Many banks closed their branches because they had not the clerks to man
them. Many bankers lost three fourths of their staff when the
mobilization orders were issued, and all over Paris the banks are
closed from twelve to two because of the limitations of the staff.
When the Crédit Lyonnais reopened its branch in the Champs Élysées a
few weeks ago it was manned by women clerks.

The government loan issued in the summer of 1914 met less than half of
the floating indebtedness and 1914 ordinary deficit. The balance as
maturing has been merged into the national-defense loan, which is only
short-term financing. On the 10th of December there were 1,000,000,000
francs of the new national-defense loan outstanding, but it was being
subscribed for all over France daily. This national-defense loan
consists of three, six, nine, and twelve months' government bills
bearing 5 per cent interest. I figured that the amount issued December
10 was for the most part used to provide for the maturing floating
indebtedness, and for the deficit on the government budget aside from
the expense of the present war.

As the government is advancing money to Servia and to Belgium, the loan
of 20,000,000 pounds, or $100,000,000, from England can be readily