THE FATE OF ICIODORUM. 209 
than they are at Paris or Lyons. So much has 
the octroi done for my countrymen.” And the 
mayor sent a message of congratulation, remind- 
ing the people that his promises had come true. 
“The octroi has reduced the price of boots, and 
has demonstrated the truth of the paradox that the 
quickest road to low prices is to make prices high.” 
The traders who had gone into bankruptcy left 
Issoire and were speedily forgotten, — except by 
their creditors, chief of whom was Monsieur Shy- 
lock. It did not much matter about them, in any 
event. Their loss was the community’s gain. It 
was not Issoire’s fault that they were dealing on 
borrowed capital and could not stand the strain of 
reduced prices. 
After the period of congratulation was over, the 
President of the Issoire Citizens’ Foot-wear Manu- 
facturing Association called the heads of a few of 
the rival houses to his office. They agreed to- 
gether to ask for an increase in the octroi, in view 
of the depressed condition of the boot-trade, after 
which they would, in view of the increase of the 
octroi, raise the price of boots to twenty-five francs. 
They formed a new association called the Issoire 
Equitable Confidence Society, the object of which 
was to prevent the Clermont dealers from flooding 
the city with cheap boots, — a thing which the latter 
had been steadily on the watch to accomplish. 
The Equitable Society took special pains to serve 
Issoire by regulating the price of boots according 
to the city’s real needs. The city had suffered 
from overproduction. Now, when any firm out- 
side the Equitable Society tried to resume work, 
14 
