The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1901-12-18
1HE CRISIS IN GERMANY
,xseent State of Affairs Attrib'
uted to Wild Speculation.
COUNTRY PLUNGED IN DEPRESSION.

"a he Due to Extraordinary
share speculation-When
Came, widespread Ruin Fol-
os-Few Months Ago Business
All Kinds Was Booming.
r,o New York Herald's European
odtjon publishes the following from
It's BerliD correspondent under the date
u , -a wear and half ago trade was
nooming in Berlin and throughout Ger
pU "nr Today all is dull and depressed,
and no business is being done.
az r,ohteen months ago the scenes on
-, berlin boerse were such as were
~ ror known before. People almost
songht in their eagerness to buy
lU Uoros Bankers grew rapidly rich,
S Snd co great was their business that in
On cases they bought adjacent
meas and doubled the size of their
nOnrs Brokers grew rich also and
bonght fine houses, race horses and
Uocbts. Everything fiourished.
Germans spoke Of German advance
,on+ with triumph. There were, they
cold but two countries in the world
,bpre trade could increase with such
ranid strides-Germany and the United
States Wages were high, and work
wos nlentiful Today all is changed.
Tho bankers are doing no business and
IN many cases have much deprecated
s+ock upon their hands, which they
would gladly get rid of. Brokers are
living low wondering how they are go
inc to find money to keep up the
bonses and horses which last season
tbpy had plenty of cash to buy.
The boerse is half deserted, and
business there is well nigh dead. Ic
looks as though there were exceedingly
little likelihood of any immediate resur-
recti0n.
How can such change have taken
Mace? It seems scarcely credible here
in Berlin that Germany was a few
short months ago footing it gayly along
the financial and commercial road to
the very same tune and time as the
United States, celebrating in fact the
most prosperous commercial period in
the existence Of the empire. Today
that financial situation is shaken and
that commercial prosperity, for the
time being at all events, is completely
gone.
What extraordinary thing can it be
that has brought about such change?
The answer is, electricity. At all
events, electricity has been the main
factor in the slump which caused even
the sturdiest financiers to feel some
what uncomfortable regarding the pres
ent and future.
To find out the reasons for such q
. sudden and terrible change in the as
j pect Of financial affairs throughout the
country / have asked the opinion OF
come Of the best business men in this
country [Germanyl and will proceed
to give you, as briefly as possible. some
4 Of the most practical ideas they give
as accounting for the particular state
Il Of affairs.
First, it is necessary to understand
that up to a period Of some twelve
months ago there had been, in Berlin
particularly and generally throughout
Germany, such boom in electrical de-
4 velopment as the world has never
known in any one country. Electrical
shares were the rage. People sold out
every other kind Of stock in order to
4 buy electric shares. A sort Of idea ap-
pears to have taken possession OF the
German people that electricity was ev-
i erything and all the rest nothing. Ev-
cry one who had little money to spare
put 1t into electric shares, thinking they
had purchased immediate fortunes.
Electric shares under such support
naturally doomed and rose to fantastic
prices. Not only did public support
send them rocketing unreasonably, but