The Pulaskian., 1920-01-23
American Business Men See Small Chance for Immediate
 Improvement.
LOW MARK VALUE IS CAUSE
Specialization Plans and Heavy Tax ation Add to Unrest Among All classes-More Willingness to
 Work Is Noted.

Berlin.-It has been interesting to me to observe the reaction upon the minds of American business men of visit to Germany. These men have come here in considerable numbers during the last four or five months. Not few of them had previous knowl- edge of German business conditions; hence there was a rather pronounced optimism among them as to Germany economic future.
 They knew, some of them, the Ger many that existed before the war. They knew or had heard of the Ger man capacity for hard and intelligent work, for applying science to business and production and for organizing manufacturing and trading interests effectively. Americans of this kind fancied that they would find the same Germany of ante-bellum times. So they came with cheerful spirits as to their own business prospects; they felt sure they would be able to sell goods in large quantities here.
 All Disappointed.
 One of these Americans called to see me yesterday. I had met him some three months ago. soon after his arrival. Since then he has been most ly at Hamburg. There is where the import trade Of Germany before the war was chiefly centered, and he thought, after his disappointment here, that his best chances would be among the big importing houses there. But he came back here again, disappointed.
 The general trend of his report was that it is practically impossible to do business here with American goods owing to the vast depreciation of the German currency. The dollar is now worth about 45 marks. which gives the latter less than one-tenth of its normal value. Add to this the further fact that all American goods are now very high in America itself, besides high freight and insurance rates and it may be safely asserted that the Ger man must pay about ffteen-fold the pre-war prices for many American things.
 But high prices and the difficulties of doing business were not the only things that disappointed the American travellers. Some of them came not to do business at all, but to look into the general financial and business condi- tions on which all business must de- pend. They came in other words. to talk with bankers and manufacturers and get their point of view, to look with, their eyes into the business situa- tion and prospects.
 And 1t was precisely this class of investigators that took the most cheer less view of Germany's plight. The situation was regarded by them as far worse than they had expected and as offering but slight prospects for any early improvement of substantial character.
 What impressed them most was pre- cisely the depreciation of the currency already mentioned, together with the fact that nobody could give any au- thentic grounds for expecting an i'm .provement in it. Not only the depre- cldtlOh Ol tle HldIh, Dut dlSO US NloIeHl fluctuations in value, seemed to them to exclude all hope for Germany to get substantial financial assistance from abroad, for neither lender nor borrower could undertake the risk in- voved
 Pessinism Everywhere.
 This situation made a deep impress sion upon such Americans as were able to comprehend its significance. Moreover, there was a general atmos- nhere of pessimism here that strongly influenced their minds-pessimism as n business and politics. pessimism as 0 taxation schemes and specialization programs. pessimism as to the labor situation, pessimism as to the ultimate