Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1916-01-06
FOUND INDUSTRIES
IN BAD CONDITION
Germans Found Everything in a
Serious Condition When
LODI Was Occupied.


LODI, Poland, Jan. 5.-When tn
Germans first occupied LODI perma.
nently they foud the industries in F.;
bad way because of a shortage OF
coal, due to the difficulty Of getting
| freight cars in which coal could be
imported. This difficulty was over.
come, but coal no sooner began tC
come in than a shortage Of raw ma
terials again tied thing up, and, il
it continues, will bring every factory
in Lodz to a standstill not later than
March, it is estimated. If this con-
dition Of affairs comes it is feared
that the present very great need will
| increase, and that thousands will
face actual starvation.
LODI in the past has been a large
importer OF cotton, both from Amer
lea and from Turkestan. Neither
| market is now open to them. The
little that remains from old supplies
is being doled out in quantities suf-
,ficient to allow few of the mills
to operate three days week. About
40 percent of the full quota Of labor
ers in the textile mills now work 80
hours week.
In addition to the food, and fuel
shortage that exists everywhere in
Poland, Lodz was particularly handi-
capped from the very start by
shortage of cash. The Russians had
taken every rouble they could lay
their hands on, and such factories
as were running could pay off their
hands only with difficulty.
The city accordingly was necessi-
tated to issue paper currency in 20
and so kopeks, and one and five rOu-
BILE notes. A total of 100000 rou-
bles was put out. Of this sum, L.
100000 roubles were issued on the
strength of the promised loan of
100000 roubles from the Russian
government. This sum had been
promised before the German occupa-
ton to help Lodz bear the expense Of
war, but only 100000 roubles had
been paid.
The balance of the issue was guar
anteed by Industrial firms and mer
chants, who were required to back
the paper with securities and credit
in twice the sum of the issue. This
paper flows back and forth and TEN
porarly supplies the needs of the
population, but will be taken up gra-
dually by the notes of the proposed
national bank which is to be estab
lished for all Poland soon.
Lodz's debt gradually piled up be-
cause with the withdrawal of the
Russians all taxation ceased. The
Germans found it out OF the question
to impose taxes for the simple reason
that the people had no money with
which to pay them. In place Of col
lecting taxes in fact, the Germans
have had to pay out some 100000
marks to the wives of reservists and
pensioners, whose income from the
Russian government has stopped and
in addition are feeding between 100,-
600 and $4,000 of the population.
A force of 900 Germans speaking
Polish policemen has been appointed
to take the places of those who fed
with the Russians. The old force
consisted, on paper and the payrolls,
of 400 men, in actuality Of only 800,
hardly one of whom remained on De-
cember 6, 1914.
Until February of this year the adj
minstration Of LODI was purely mil
itary. Hindenburg at that time ord !
cred the creation Of city govern I
ment after the German model. with
a mayor and city council This
latter body, which at the start had
TO be appointed, eventually will be
elected from the Polish, German and
Jewish population. There are at the
present time some 100000 persons
living in LODI and its suburbs. About
one third are Jews, 100 600 German
and the balance Polish.
The industrial crisis has been
helped by the immigration of some
where working conditions are more
favorable than ever before in history.
Thirty thousand, however, are little
better than a drop in the bucket in
a city where not only men but wo-
men and children have always been
workers.
The government has installed both
a coal and a meat monopoly, for the
purpose of not only of regulating the
distribution of the available supply,
but also to stop the pernicious activ-
ity Of spectators. The police pres
ident Of LODI, Won Open, has charge
of the distribution of coal to whole
salers and factories, while the civil
of LODI watches over the
to the people direct.
In one minute a housefly, when in