The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-10-07
BUSINESS BOOSTERS IN GREECE IN SPITE OF WAR CONDITIONS Only People Who Suffer Are Very Poor, Who Can
 not Buy Sufficiency
 of Food

Athens, September .-(Correspondence of the Associated Press )--Despite the governmental chaos in Greece during re- cent months, culminating with the block ade of Greek ports by the allied fleets and the abdication of King Constantine by some Strange economic phenomena the country has enjoyed a year of un- exampled prosperity, with huge profits plling up, enormous fortunes being made. and such an accumulation of riches ;Is modern Greece has never known before. About the only people who have suffered are the really poor, who have been re- duced to a state bordering on starva- tion by the high prices and the lack of foodstuffs caused by the blockade.
 The blockade was in effect about eight months, beginning December 6. last, and running until this midsummer, when Constantine decided to abdictate. During all this period every port in Greece was tightly sealed by 8 cordon of French, British and Italian warships which con1- pletely encireled the country and watched all the outlying island. Even before the blockade the entente allies had exer- cised a control so that not even the ordinary necessaries of life, such as oil, could be brought in from America with out special license issued from one of the allied legations. The allies were in
 
 Id 8 good many other functions
 BITS ese very restrictions seemed to atlanisss people to greater economy and tarlGs. end. as . result, the last year .AUws ais unprecedented prosperity and increas of wealth. Banks made more ncaey han ever before, and people had larger bank deposits. The big corpora tions paid the largest dividends in their history. Crock money was at a premium over French and Italian money, and the rate of exchange at all the great financial centers continues to be strongly in favor of Greek money.
 Some of tho biz profits made under these unusual conditions are as follows: Greek shipping made profit for the year of s45, ,00o,0O0. This was chiefly be- fore the blockade. but the profits are reckoned for the year. The National Navigation company paid dividends of 7e per cent, and the Hellenic company paid the unheard of dividend of 16S per cent.
 Bank shares have scared in the same way during the year. So also the big trading companies paid from Is to 23 per cent dividends.
 People even had money to spare to buy foreign war loans, and about 12,000. 600 francs of the French loans were taken in Greece, 1.o00000 rubles of the Russian loans. and similar amounts of the Brit fsh loan. New banks were founded to take care of the growing business. and building operations went ahead with 8 boom.
 These conditions of boom and pros- perity strike all countries from time to time. but how they should have struck Greece when the government was In a state of steady convulsion and the al- lied fleets were closing in all around it, has been hard for the experts to ex- plain. One theory for the high premium on Greek money is that the presence of great numbers of allied warships poured q flood of foreign gold Into the country But the chief reason is believed to be the practice of economy. The blockade and restrictions kept out lot of high priced luxuries People lived simpler and got along with their home products.
 The outside world has heard much of the troubles of Greece during the last