The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1920-03-06
AUSTRIAN GOVERNMENT
RAISES BREAD PRICE
Refuses Longer to Bear Burden of Loss
of About 100000 Crowns Week
to Cover the Difference.


Vienna, March 6.--The Austrian gov
eminent has refused longer to bear the
burden of the loss of about 100000
crowns week to cover the difference
between the purchase and selling price
Of cereals and, consequently has raised
the price of bread and -four.
This problem of providing bread and
flour at prices which the people can
afford has been made much more diff
cult by the constantly declining ex-
change value of the crown. In the lat
ter part of January the treasury was
paying 280 crowns to a dollar while in
some private trades as high as $40
crowns were paid for dollar
The food problem has been made
worse by the failure Of neighboring
countries to live up to agreements and
contracts. For months Jugo Slavia has
had some 100000 real dollars of Aus
tran money which was given to pay
for stipulated food supplies. In not
one week, it is said, has more than
small percentage of the agreed upon
VI iODdSluIS DttI lltliNkItus
although, according to allied inyestiga
tors, there is food surplus in Jugo-
Slavia.
Neither the pressure of the entente,
the representations of the sub-commis-
sion of the reparations commission, nor
the visit of Chancellor Renner to
Prague has brought Czecho- Sloyakia TO
the fulfillment of her coal agreements.
The proportion of the agreed upon coal
deliveries from that country has been
negligible and is regarded as the prin-
cipal factor in Austria's present plight.
The disruption of the railway system
of the old empire also plays vital
part in present conditions, 1t was de-
signed as single system and adapted
to the needs of the then existing state
But it has been broken into separate
systems in each country Austria, Bo-
Iemia and Jugo- Slavia each is attempt
ing to operate its portion as independ-
emit system, while railway experts Of
the allies have pointed out in vain
that none of them can be made eff
Gent under the circumstances. There
has been an unequal distribution Of
cars and locomotives and while the en-
tente representatives and commission
ers are struggling with the problem Of
fair ALLEGATION of rolling stock and
motive power, each country charges the
other with diverting its ears when sent
across the borders or using them to
the delay of their return.
Frontiers remain drawn with rigid
restrictions throughout this part of
Europe. There are prohibitions of food
import and export, limits to the
amount of money the traveller may
take with him out of the countries
police and passport regulations OF APP
Railing strictness, all carried almost to
the point of absurdity, CALLING personal
and baggage examinations al every
border and everywhere soldiers and
armed men.
The foregoing applies to Austria as a
country. Vienna's situation is the
same with relation to the other prov
inces. If Jugo -Slavia and Bohemia will
not send food and supplies into Aus
tria neither will the Austrian provinces
send them to the capital. They too
have utterly failed to live up TO their
agreements of last summer to furnish
certain quotas Of foodstuffs. They re-
strict the visits of Viennese within
their boundaries. while the peasantry
refuses to sell for valueless crowns at
official prices and deals through the
smuggling trade at enormous profit.