The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-12-28
GERMANY FACING COMING YEAR WITH FEAR AND ALARM Depreciation In Foreign Money Is Giving Them the
 Opportunity of a
 Lifetime
sv Associated Press

Berlin. December 27-The specter Of the enormous emergency levy on property which theratens drasticany to reduce German industrial fortunes In the heAs ten years makes 1t difficult for Ger mans to forecast the economic OUTLOOK of their country for 1920 Leaders in financial, political and social circles are divided in their opinions of the measures for national relief proposed by Mathlas Erzberger minister of finance.
 There is. a widespread belief among sinanciers. bankers and financial writers in Germany that if two of Erzpergers plans are put into effect Germany wlli face a future overcast with oiacK ciouus, if not actual ruin. The most important of these two measures is the emergency levv m property which financial writers assert will reduce industrial fortunes or 10 600 600 marks to less than 3OO'VU HI decade The second measure IS the m- come tax, which, it is claimed by some, will beggar every modest fortune as ~eh as every great fortune
 Bankers say 1t all comes down to this that .'American must come to our alo,
 They wish comparatively small, dl- reef credit and disapprove of the much discussed international loan which they beIieve. would saddle the deots or Eng .1and and France on the United States anu thereby. perhaps, reduce the amount or credit Germany might obtaln.
 The opinion appears to be gainlng ID Berlin financial quarters tnat ErzDel- rer,s days are numbered and that ne cannot long continue to exert his infiu- erce on the majority who pay least, ana therefore support his financial policy.
 Berlin writers declare that Germany s nolitical future depends in the last anaiy- sis upon the working out of the peace treaty. and that until this document mas been consummated in all its technicai ue- fails Germany will be unable to locate har fresh starting point. This is regard ad here as the crux of the whole situation and c.ermans expect the situation 10 re- ,oain acute until this has been accom- p1ished. ,,5+,-,, leaders frankly admit bolshev1st gains .sl tbe next election. They say the reus
 may capture 50 seats instead or 'the AS rnhic, thev won a wear ago. and that they
 may poll 5,0O0000 instead Of the z,oe'V" rhey obtained in the last national cleo tion. The conservatives, however, assert that the independent, sparticist ana communist clements will become less pop uIar as the opportunities for worK m crease in Germany.
 Political leaders say that lndlcatiofs point to an indefinite postponement or the elections on the ground that the present government. on the strength or
 it's popular mandate, is entitled to con tinue with programme of soctalizatloh at a pace in keeping with the nation s economic recovery. It is pointed out also that the new liberalism may satlsfy
 itself with a lifelong president as sup stitute for constitutional monarchy.
 It is agreed by German industrial lead CTS that the German workers are weary of striking and that the labor situation has improved so far as the shortage or coal and raw material permits The au- thorities say that German industries are working an average of perhaps four hours daily and that this is the limit possible with the present undersupply of coal. When the coal situation improves it will be possible. they say to make real in- dustrial beginning with raw materials. Germanys recovery and progress dur ing the next year is felt by Germans to depend on a whole succession of ifs.'' Many of them believe that if Erzberger drains German industries with his taxes there is lit.le hope of their recovery. The same critics declare that if the en- tente does not tighten Germans load a l little bit the nation may be driven tc l communism. If German industry cannot recover some measure of it's former eff | ficiency, they say, the world will be tho 1 loser in the end.