National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1875-01-28

blance cannot easily be found than that bstween
AustrO Hungary and North America. The North
ern States hold the same position with regard to
the Southern ones that Austria has long occupied
toward Hungary. The HuDgarians are Just as
shortsigbted free-trRders as your SOutherners.
All knowledge and experience Is thrown away
upon them. Our currency relations are also not
unlike yours. We have also q bank note and
Government note circulation which Is compuI-
cory; the first about three hundred MIL
lions, the latter three hundred and twelve
million guilders, 1.-TWO gullders one doIlsr) An
Treasury bonEs, at variable rate Of interest, or
in case Of necessity would be put again In cfrcu-
Ii3Ga siai I'm IN dz srSsE scale tSr the
OF Inhabitants three hundred, or at the most
three hundred and fifty, millions Of dollars is an
insignificant sum. The rate Of interest Is, there
fore, enormously high with US.
In order to make our condition clearer, permit
me to tell you that our iron industry is completely
Frustrated. The production Of pig-iron has en-
tirely ceased, the furnaces haViog been blown
out. From the furnsce Of lips, in Hungary, where
iron ore Is now exported to protected PTus. fo
Silesa, where the iron industry has so increased
that considerable export Of that and other arti-
cles Is carried on with England. In the Reich
stag" at Vienna, they cry out that the Govern
ment should build railroads to enliven the iron
trade; yet it is Just that Government Which is to
blame for its ruin, because for the last fifty years
1t has allowed everything needed for the con-
struction Of roads-iron, rails, locomotives, and
even the cars, to De imported free Of tax or else
on payment Of very trifing duty. The reaction
upon the prosperity OF the whole empire was con-
seQuently so great that, although the Govern
ment guaranteed fve per cent. interest on the
railroad shares and priority bonds from the year
1855 until 1867, railroads were built. Then the
payment In specie OF the national bank notes was
compelled up to 1887, and a continual diminishing
of the me ans Of circulation went on. The con-
dition Of things was already very bad; the value
cent. The war Of 1885 brought this state Of
affairs to end, for tthe Government in
consequence was compelled to issue 400, O100O0
in Government notes, with forced circulation,
and the national bank was also released from
its obligation to redeem in silver the notes of 1861
But what the Government gave with one hand 1t
took away with the other, through the inclusion
in 1867 of the commercial treaties with England,
France, &c. Now we are again where we were in
1855. The value Of all property has fallen about
forty per cent, and the Government struggles
with an enormous deficit. Hungary is on the
brink Of bankruptcy. and is obliged to raise loan
of one hundred and fifty millions at ten per cent.
In Austria it is not any better. Aud this Gov
eminent is to build railroads While only two
Of the old roads bring in anything over the FIVE
per cent interest the others have not yielded
the five per cent. interest, and all the Later ones
scarcely cover their expenses, so that the Govern
ment, in order to pay the interest guaranteed, is
forced to issue about forty millions. The large
and celebrated "Bruner" wooden factories have
industrious Austrian Silesia is bankrupt and
almost ruined. 1t is the same with Bohemia.
And do you believe that it is in the newspapers
that we learn all this? Ga the contrary, these
corrupt concerns are silent. The merchants and
travellers who visit those quarters bring US this
sad intelligence. One must despair for the
future.