The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1919-12-18
DYING AUSTRIA
ASKS CREDITS
Nation Is Starving, Chancellor
Renner Tells Allied DipIo-
mats in Paris.
MANY CHILDREN HAVE DIED.
sto,ooo,ooo Is Needed to Preserve Ma
tion Until Next Fall, He Says.
Lamentable Picture of Con-
ditions in Vienna.

Paris.-Austrla must have help
from the allies In order to save ner
from famine and bankruptcy. Chan
cellor Karl Renner of the Austrian
Republic told newspaper correspond
ents in explaining his presence in
Paris, where he came to present 10
the Supreme Council the situation
which he declared faces his country.
when l left Vienna we had only
1000 tons OF flour for six and three
quarter millions of people, a supply
for six days only" said DIR. Renner.
"Childen are dying of hunger and
cold In Vienna, and 50 per cent OF
those between nine months and three
years of age are suffering with ricketts,.
The loss Of weight on the part OF
nursing mothers is serious, resulting
in the diminutiOn of the nursing ca
pacity
For these reasons ii is OF utmost
Importance that supplies go forward
at once, even while we are in Paris
awaiting the result Of the negotiations
for credits, because weeks must pass
before supplies ordered even now can
reach Austria.
by help l mean such assistance as
will facilitate our task of keeping our
nation alive and at the same time Of
fulfilling our obligations to the allied
powers.
we are now paying 30 prices for
everything we buy That is to say.
the crown has deprecated to one
thirtieth of its normal value At the
same time we have exhausted our re-
sources in securities and we have moth
ing left but the resources, which, ac-
cording to Article 1877 Of the treaty of
ST. German, are mOrtgaged to the al
lies for payment of reparations.
II am going to ask the Supreme
Council to release from that mortgage
a sufficient amount OF our national
wealth to form the basis of security for
loans that are absolutely needed to in
sure the feeding Of our people What
we need first is a long term credit
abroad of S100,0OO,OO0 with which to
procure food until the end Of October,
1920.
"In the second place we need fur
ther credit for providing raw mate
rails, and, thirdly exemption from
mortgage of our national wealth. pro-
vided for by Article 107, that Will en-
able us to furnish a basis for credits
absolutely requisite to the re-establish-
ment Of our economic life-and that
establishment, IT should be noted. is
primordial and essential to the pay
ment by Austria of reparations to
which she has agreed
I'VE are not seeking to escape any
responsibility. OF course we who are
In closest touch with the trials and
needs of our own people, with an in
fant mortality of 60 per cent in Wen
ma, are confronted by an immediate OBJ
ject lesson which we cannot overlook
"Relief now is the only thing that
can alleviate the present distress, and
credit alone can deliver us from the
menace of general famine and make
1t possible for us eventually to pay
our debts.
"Humanitaransm and moral prln-
ciples, apart from the interest Of the
allies, demand that a people indebted
to them be safe from catastrophe, their
future assured and their fortunes saw
ed from dilapidatlon.
"Our existence and working Capaci-
ty must be assured by cooperation
from those to whom we are obligated
at least for several months I'm advance.
If we are to save the situation. We
have sold all our foreign securities,
have pledged everything available and
have tried every way to keep afoat
since last August, with the result that
there has been an enormous lmpover-
ishment Of our resources and most
alarming depreciation Of our curren-
cy"
Dr. Renner pointed out that the Aus
trian home supply would take care of
only One-third of Austria's needs