Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1920-08-14
GOOD CROPS HELP AUSTRIA.
Big Supply of Fruit. Vegetables and
Flour Relieves Hardships.


Vienna. Aug. 14.-Bountiful crops
of early fruit and vegetables and
propise OF an abundance of harder
later yields from field and orchard
with the big American flour credit
still available for the ration of daily
bread have given Austria a reprieve
from the terrible hardships of last
winter.
Fats are as scarce as ever. how
ever. but in this gracious weather
their need is not so keenly felt. Meat,
too, is scanty and high. beyond reach
OF the masses. The American flour
credit will be exhausted before the
winter sets fairly in and no man in
Austria knows from where or by
what Sneans it will be replaced.
Strikes and disturbances in the
Teschen coal fields, the situation in
Silesia, virtual suspension of the
Hungarian supply. little as it was
and. finally. Austria's inability to en-
force even the meagre contractual
supplies from Bohemia, have pre-
vented the hoped for accumulation
of a modest fuel reserve during the
summer months. Public utilities of
Vienna are reported to have but a
weeks reserve OF coal for power and
light and less than month OF gas
coal at a minimum consumption. The
last Austrian pig iron oven In oper-
alton has Just drawn its fires for lack
of coke.
Into this situation has been IN
jected n curious business phase re-
suiting from the Increased value of
the crown on foreign change. In the
late winter and early spring the
crown dropped as low as $50 to the
dollar on private exchange. EN-
couraged by this a small export trade
was nourished. Austrian factories.
famous for certain forms OF finished
articles, began to resume operations
on limited scale. foreign buyers see
ing good business chance in the low
crown value against standard monies.
Manufacturers were able to
get advances of credit to secure coal
and needed raw materials. It was a
good speculation for foreign values.
Then the minister of finance DIR.
Reisch, dropped hint one day dur
ing debate In the assembly that it
would be wise If Austrian retail SELL
ers, were to raise their crown prices
to the equivalent of foreign values,
They did it. A suit OF clothes that
in, price to from $4,000 to $4,000
crowns. Everything else went UP in
proportion.
Then the government. acting on the
same principle. is reported to have
gone on the Erich exchange, which
controls crown quotations. l.sitn large
amounts of foreign money and forced
the crown up. Their efforts were as
sisted unexpectedly by an influx into
Austria of foreign money specula-
tors. Appreciation of the moneys OF
the other countries of central and
eastern Europe made this their last
field for speculation. Pounds, dollars
and francs became plentifuf with
small demand and the crown rose in
value until the official price was 100
to the dollar and $50 in private deals.
Retail prices continued to 80 up, SO
that with the rise in the crown cut
ting foreign values one-half, the plan
literally Scut Its own throat" :
Foreign buyers quit. Retail trade
stagnated. Native Austrians did not
know whether to laugh or cry Mt a
straw hat in window bearing the
price mark OF 1000 crowns. But
they were not sold.
The next step I'm the reaction hit
the basic, Industries. The few fac-
tories running have begun to cuEtail
or close down as orders are cam
celled and new contracts fail to come
The ministry of specialization is be-
sieged with requests from manufac-
turers to be permitted to discharge
employees, IT. being reported that as
high as twenty day have been re-
Gently received.