Charlevoix county herald., 1920-03-12
Austro-Hungarian Bills Re-
stamped in One Week.
BORDERS CLOSED At Time
Dramatic Bit Of Reconstruction Work
by New RepubIic-Preparatiens for
the Stamping Of the Money Were
Made With Great Therouohness--
All Intercourse With Outside World
Suspended While the Stamping 10 in
Progress.

A dramatic bit of reconstruction
was the way Czecho- Slovakia changed
Austrian bank notes in one strenuous
week into Czecho-Slovakian money.
One morning the country woke to find
its borders closed against the outside
world and carefully patrolled, while
an army Of officials, sprung up over
night, were ready to stamp the old i'm
perial currency with the mark of the
new republic.
BY the end Of the week about $780,
100000 crowns Isl, 600, OOO,0OO) were
stamped, the army of money stampers
demobilized and the borders opened
again.
After the organization Of the repuO-
lie it faced the danger Of being buried
under mountains of deprecated Aus
TRAN notes, says writer In the New
York Sun. These bank notes Of the
Austro- Hungarian bank, Of course,
were the money of Bohemia as well as
of all other parts of the former EN-
pire at the time of the armistice. They
had been issued to an amount Of more
that $4,000, OO0, 900 crowns, covered by
100000 crowns in gold, commercial
paper, and, to the extent Of about 30
OOO, 100000 crowns, by the certificates
of indebtedness of the Austrian and
the Hungarian governments.
Exchange Steadily Against Crown.
Exchange steadily went against the
Austrian crown, and -SlOvakia,
where are concentrated the industries
of the former empire, provided. by a
law of February 20. 1919, for the diff
ferentiation of its money from other
Austro- Hungarian bank notes. 1t was
provided that all bank notes circulat-
ing In the republic should be presented
to government officials to be stamped
as Czecho- Slovakian money. and that
a part Of this money should be re-
tanned by the government as forced
loan.
Preparations for the stamping of the
money were made with great thorough
ness. Government officials, bank
clerks, teachers, an imposing army of
helpers, were impressed into service
for the receiving and the stamping of
the money. All intercourse with the
outside world was suspended. Trains
were stopped at the frontier and even
the roads were closed. Every precau-
ton was taken to prevent "a single
outside bank note from crossing the
border while the process Of convert
ing the old imperial money into a ma
tional currency progressed.
Advertisements calling In the bank
notes were posted In public places and
public buildings and were carried In
the newspapers. The public was
warned that II must within the short
period prescribed present every scrap
of paper money in It's possession to be
stamped. or that money would become
valueless in Czecho- Slovakia.
Part Held as Force Loan.
This brought all money out. Each
person who deposited unstamped bills
with the government agents received
receipt therefor and later received his
bills back again with the stamp
thereon, minus that part that the gov.
eminent withheld as forced loan.
Everybody in the republic was occu-
pied with this business while 1t lasted,
/ and the matter was carried through
I'm record time for so large and
thorough attention to detail. When the
last note was stamped the army which
established a Czecho-Slovakia money
went back to Its ordinary jobs and
! the country's borders were thrown