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about the prospects for a three-house firm: "There is a very real desire to continue both L.F. and L.B. & Co., and a very strong belief that the Trio is in an excellent position because of their name, their connections, and their general lay-out, to play an increasingly important part, in the after-war development." He continued, "As they say, the firm had a first rate name before the war; the reputation of the house has if anything been enhanced during the war; and it should be possible to use our name and credit to greater advantage." Crisis averted.
    When he returned to New York after the war, Altschul began to assume, from Blumenthal, more and more of the day-to-day responsibility of running the firm. But Altschul's authority extended only so far, as he still regularly deferred to the more powerful Blumenthal about matters such as negotiating annual partnership percentages, the reprimanding of partners who were deemed to be lazy or underperforming, and the proper accounting of costs among the three houses. Like his father, Altschul had numerous interests outside of Lazard, one of which was international affairs. In 1920, he helped to found the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, and from the start he hoped the council would be able to influence U.S. foreign policy--one of the organization's continuing goals.

    AN INDICATION OF how important Lazard and Altschul had become in the world financial markets arose in 1923, when the French occupation of the Ruhr, Adolf Hitler's failed Beer Hall Putsch, and the resultant international uncertainty led to havoc in the market. France found itself in a full-blown financial crisis. The value of the French franc fell by some 50 percent. In January 1924, the French Ministry of Finance summoned Altschul to Paris to hear his views on solving the French currency crisis. In a carefully prepared speech, which Altschul delivered in Paris on January 24, he called for the French government to undertake what he called an "experiment" designed to stabilize the plunging currency. "This would involve arranging credits for the government in the United States and perhaps in England, in round amounts," he told the French. "It is felt that a banking group could readily be formed in New York to extend the necessary facilities under appropriate guarantees on reasonable terms. The present ease in the New York money market and the fundamental friendship for and confidence in France make this appear likely." He averred that with the cooperation of the media--and without being able to judge its political feasibility--"the experiment could be made to succeed." Altschul, though, was adamant about one thing: that Lazard Freres & Co. be kept out of the press. "As we do not desire publicity for ourselves, it must be understood that our name is not to be mentioned under any circumstances in connection with the following," he said. "If you care to, you may say that you have been informed by an influential banking house that they have advices from abroad to the effect that steps have been taken in Paris which seem adequate to restore confidence in France and to protect the French exchange, and the situation appears well in hand."
    The French government quickly adopted Altschul's plan and constructed a classic "short squeeze" of the speculators who had been betting against the value of the franc. Due to "the sensitivities of the French government," Altschul's partners in Paris were given the job of implementing his ideas. According to a discussion of Lazard's role in the 1924 franc crisis in The Fortune Encyclopedia of Economics, "Using a $100 million loan from J. P. Morgan, [the French government] bid the franc from 124 to 61 per dollar in a few weeks. Speculators who had sold the franc short in the expectation that its value would fall were hit by big losses." A month after Altschul's speech, with the Lazard-designed intervention looking successful, Christian Lazard, a partner in Paris and a son of one of the