South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1919-12-09

especially tu the matter or foreign
exchange. Switzerland has become
the seat Of the most fantastic finance
the world has yet seen.
BY not having participated in the
war, Switzerland's financial, indus
trial and economic condition at the
present time Is one 20 be envied-no
matter how much the swiss them
selves may deplore IL. Especially as
he result OF not having contracted
any war debts or expenditures and
o. noe having made any unlimited
issbes Of paper currency with which
- tide over the war period. swiss
currency has remained almost un-
Affected by the crisis OF foreign ex-
change and the depreciation OF cur
rencies from which all the belliger-
unts are now severly suffering.
Five francs OF Swiss money today
are worth just about 81 the same
IA they we're before the war. where
from eight TO ten or twenty francs of
ether countries are necessary to pur-
chase a single greenback Of the min
imum denomination.
Retain Standing.
As consequence Switzerland. the
only country In central Europe which
retains something or It's normal fl
nancial standing. has become a sort
OF an oasis in a desert OF financial
disaster. II is sort of clearing
house. or solid financial rock where
the bewildered people OF other cOun-
tries can come for the time being and
get their financial balance readjust-
cd and their sense Of values rees-
tRblished before embarking on new
financial enterprises.
The resulting operations are often
wferd and fantastic 90 the extreme
degree, resembling something in un-
expectedness the high finance ad-
ventures Of America and yet always
with a different note. These fnan-
clsl Oddessys happen by the score in
Switzerland daily. Here are a few
that will give some idea of what
they are like and some idea OF cen
trail Europe's shipwreck.
CzcckO-SlOvak Incident.
Recently a CzeCkO- SlOvak deputy
had occasion TO come down to swift
erland for "A few weeks to take care
90 a number of important affairs
concerning that ambitious but fl
nanceless republic. To meet his ex-
penses on the trip he brought with
>kim 30. 900 Czecko-SlOvak crowns,
the nominal value of which is about
the same as a swiss franc.
However with the money Of his
own country exceedingly deprecated
10y the war and the lack OF any solid
standing 20 date Of the new republic
the deputy was obliged to change his
$4,000 native crowns into only TO-
coo Swiss francs.
The deputy stayed at Berne for
about two months stopping. as his
position rendered necessary, at the
principal hotel in the city the
prices at which have not been de-
creased by the war, and paying his
expenses out his 10000 Swiss francs,
Eventually, however, his business
was completed ard he was ready to
return to Prague. He paid off what
he still owed in Berne oiC of the
original 10000 Swiss francs and
then what was still left he had
changed back into Czecko-Slovab
crowns.
Value Decreases.
But in the two months which he
had been at Berne, CzeckO-S lovaH
currency had gone down further
with the result that when he got
what was left Of his original 10,0OC
Swiss francs changed back into his
native currency. he received a tOta
of $4,000 Czecko-Slovak crowns OF
12.000 more than the original so,
600.
Here is another-and which il q
matter or official record.
Several months ago company
was organic, d at Berne for launch
Ing a big illustrated political weekly
magazine at Vienna. Swiss capitalists
who had made a fortune out OF the
war and Switzerland's neutrality
backed the enterprise, and paid NJ
the capital in advance-namely
100000 swiss francs
The total amount was deposited in
q Berne bank TO be changed int
Austrian crowns for meeting the ex-
penses Of the new magazine at Wen.
ma as soon as the latter could bt
launched.
In the meantime the prospective
editors. publishers and business man.
ayers began meeting with consider
able difficulty in getting the machin.
cry together for the plant, in max.
ing sure of an adequate supply OF
paper, etc.
Foreign Exchange.
Foreign exchange on Austrian
money has since decreased to such
an extent that the 100000 Swis.
francs nov on deposit in the Bern,
bank Will bring 90, 1000 more Austrian
crowns than at the moment they
were paid in for launching the mas
azine.
This is believed 10 be the only
case on record where a magazine oil
newspaper has made money by no
publishing-Or in any event IA.
made more money than IL could pos
sibly have hoped 10 make by actual
~ doing business. And the longer 4
keeps from starting up. the NOR,
t. money II n-akes-in Austrian
crowns.
The only way 90 avoid this fantas
tic finance now going on in Switzer
land Is 10 do business by direct bar