The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-11-23

~ ERLIN, November 22.-(speciai' III
R +ha manufacture and sale of pro-
~ ducts for mass consumption by the
state the half bankrupt Balkan hatiohs
see their one chance of re-estabhshins
financial equilibrium. In Servia the flrst
administrative step of the all-powertul
nremer Pashitsch, after the war, was
TO decree in the provinces torn from
Turkey complete state monopoly III
the trade in. tobacco salt Matches
bettoleum spirits. and cigarette paper
and TO forbid the import of these artcies
into the annexed districts. ihe Ireeh
and Bulgarian governments also propose
new monopoies which will bring the flrst
in abo.lt 81, 100000 and the second about
81 100000 a year-both large sums for Bal
kan finance.
Al tho same time state monopolies have
been given a strong impulse. In ST
Petersburg an lnter-departmental confer
ence has lust been held to discuss the
exploitation Of oil fields by the state,
and the ministry of communication iaV-
ored a complete state monopoly. Russia
Is considering also drug and medlclile
monopoly. Austria has got two monopoiy
projects on hand. Italy last year causeu
q minor international crisis by her plan
for an insurance monopoly; and Germany
lately planned what were to be practicaily
monopolies in potash and petroleum. All
these plans were on top of very great
monopolies which already exist. About
$3.50 coo. 900 of the total revenues of all
Europes states come from monopolies in
love nit
lures or sells products, or does both; or
in which the state in return for an an
nual rent grants its monopoly right TO
be exploited by a private corporation.
About the merits of monopolization by
the state of the trade in necessarleS
politicians and political economists dill
fer. On state financial grounds all ap-
prove of monopolies. On social grounds
particularly from the viewpoint of values
and qualities, a good deal is said against
them. Some state monopoly products,
In particular tobacco and matches, are
bad and dear compared with the products
sold under private competition IN nom
monopoly countries. Still greater opposl-
ton comes from democratic politicians.
Democrats complain that monopolization
makes the population dangerously ue-
pendent on the state 1t decreases the
number of men and women employer
freely in private enterprise; ana IL multi
plies the army of officials, who are at
the mercy of the state. The state con-
trolls the politics of this army, and where
the state is reactionary the monopoly
army must be, or at least vote, reaction
airy. The Russian state, when IL mace
a monopoly of the brandy trade, took 81
coo persons out of private life and turned
them into officials, and it further gained
measure of indirect control over about
10000 other persons.
Germany's state railroads (Which are
practically a monopoly employ '4o'
600 officials and workmen, and in 9TH
er state monopoles of Europe dnclud-
ing railroads) over 100000 are EN-
ployed.
The socialists, whose programme de-
mands state ownership, see state own
ership being used as weapon against
themselves. The Hungarian progress
sive leader, Justh, says that hungary
Is an instance of the extent to which
state monopolies may cripple popular
movements These political critics Of
monopoly declare that the state must
be democratized first and the monop-
olies introduced afterward; as, if mon
opolies come first, they check the DEM
ocratization of the state. A case in
poitn is Switzerland, which is first of
al states monopoly countries. Here the
alcohol and bank note monopoly are
reserved to the state by the constitu-
tion The cantonal governments have
their own monopolies, including even
fire insurance. AS Switzerland has al
ways been democratic. this system
does not operate in the interest of re-
dictionary politics.
Europe's present greatest state mon-
opolies, apart from railroads, are in
matches, alcohol tobacco and salt.
Also there are partial monopolies in
explosives. There are state match mon-
oplies in France, Spain, Greece, Ser
vi and Roumania: and Austria has "A
plan in hand. The French match mon
opoly has existed since 1872. 1t en-
braces the whole trade from manufac-
ture to retail trade. The government
appropriated 600 match factories with