Evening star., 1919-10-06
GREAT CZECH NEED
IS CREDIT IN TRADE:
U. S. Minister Crane States
Lack Of Materials Is
Present Handicap.
By ". j. BUTLER.
BY Cable to The Star and the Chicaro
Daily News. Copyright, 1919.

| DA W. Dc bOILl6N.
BY Cable to The Star and the Chicago
! Daily News. Copyright, 1910.
PRAGUE. Bohemia. October s-This
new little republic Of Czechoslovakia.
which sprang up like a tale Of fiction
from the ruins of the old Hapsburg
monarchy and now has a former
blacksmiths apprentice as its presi-
| dent and q former store clerk as its
premier. was saved from bolshevism
soon after the armistice by supply
fof food from the American relief COM
mission. Now. again in her hour Of
dire need America should help her by
supplying raw materials to start
the nations wheels of industry going
again. This is the substance OF the
hrst interview granted by the new
American minister. Richard T. Crane,
Sd, of Chicago.
Believes Danger, Passed.
rs there any danger Of bolshevism
now the young minister was asked.
| i do not believe So" he replied.
people here are of the steady, indus
trlous type who are the last to be-
come bolsheviki. but there are thou
sands of unemployed and hundreds of
hne factories with their excellent
equipment idle because of the lack of
raw material which America, and per-
haps America alone, can furnish Boil
there is no telling what the result
VIII be II hunger and unemployment
continue" .-ll
Mr.. Crane explained that Czecho-
slovakia has no gold reserve with
which to buy the necessary raw mate
rials. Her paper kronen have fallen
in value since the beginning of sthe
thirty for 81. She. has. however, a
large sugar crop ready Tor export
soon which will raise the value Of the
kronen, but even then not enough.
/ Influential Czech business men, In
Guiding the nations leading banker.
Anton Tile, told me that they at
tempted to have America extend long
term credits with which to buy raw
material particularly cotton. and let
them pay later after they had mar
keted the finished productl They
need $4,000, 900 Immediately to start
with. but they say that American
business men have refused to extend
them this credit, saying that they are
keeping their hands on such Euro
pean business until at least the Sen
ate ratifies the treaty OF Versailles.
Soundness OF Investment.
When asked about this Mr.. Crane
declared that he believed America
should not wait for ratification. but
should Immediately, come to the aid Of
the manufacturers here. They should
furnish the fong-term credits and the
raw materials asked for, first. because
it is a sound and good investme efit
with an honest, Industrious and demo-
cratic people, and, secondly, because
it will strengthen this important
strategic country of 12,ooo,oo0 souls
about which Bismarck said:,
He who holds Bohemia is the mas
ter of Europe
Czech business men often point to
the mistake of Americans in refusing
to extend iong-term credits in. South
America, which resulted in the Ger
mans coming in and being still
strongly intrenched there. There is a
socialist-democratic government and
the officials are emphatic in pointing
OF government and bolsheyisrn, de-
clarine that the Lenin, cs.sed has no
chance in Bohemia whatever.
:. Wheuss the American minister made
the statement that he believed MI.
shsysn HSSgss ths eaSKataEy ssKsay ssa ss
Czech official ever tell you thatT'
soon after took this post" Mr..
Crane replied, the acting minister
Of foreign affairs told me that Mr..
Hoover had saved the country. Ey-
erywhere there Is the greatest love
and respect for America Here she is
looked up to as the savior Of the
country in the past and as necessary
to it now and in the future. Every
where can be seen American da9s
and pictures of Presidents Wilson and
Masaryk side by side in the shop
windows"
Mr.. Crane said that the action of
the Czech government in seizing the
property OF the Catholic Church as
we'll as all the crown lands paralleled
the somewhat similar action of the
French government in separating the
church from the state, anti that plans
are now under way to divide the
property into small lots and parcel it
out to the Czech peasants.