The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1920-08-15
AUSTRIA'S FOOD
OUTLOOK BETTER
5ountifuI Crops and American Flour
Credit Give People Reprive
From Winter HardshiPs.

Vienna, Aug 14.-Bountiful crops OF
early fruit and vegetables and prom
Use of an abundance of harder later
yields from field and orchard, with the
big American flour credit still avail
able for the ration of daily bread have
given Austria reprieve from the ter
rible hardships of last winter.
Fats are as scarce as ever, however,
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 means
it will be replaced.
Strikes and disturbances in the Tes-
chen coal fields, the situation in ST.
lesia, virtual suspension of the Hun
garian supply, little as it was and, fin
ally Austria's inability to enforce even
the meagre contractual supplies from
Bohemia, have prevented 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 a month Of
gas coal at a minimum consumption.
The last Austrian pig iron oven in
operation has just drawn its fires for
lack of coke.
Into this situation has been injected
a curious business phase resulting
from the increased value of the crown
dropped as low as $50 to the dollar on.
private exchange. Encouraged by this
Is small export trade was nourished
Austrian factories. famous for certain
forms of finished articles, began to re-
sumo operations on a limited scale,
foreign buyers seeing a good business
chance lin the low crown value against
standard monies.
Manufacturers were able to get adj
yances of credit to secure coal and
needed raw materials. 1t was a good
speculation for foreign values. Then
the Minister of Finance DIR. Reisch
dropped a hint one day during de-
bate in the assembly, that it would be
wise if Austrian retail sellers, were to
raise their crown prices to the equiv
alent of foreign values. They did it.
A suit of clothes that cost from 5000
to 1000 crowns rose in price to from
$4,000 to $4,000 crowns. Everything
else went up in proportion.
Then the government, acting on the
gone on the Zurich exchange, which
controls crown quotations, with large
amounts of foreign money and forced
the crown up Their efforts were as
sisted unexpectedly by an influx into
Austria of foreign money spectators.
Appreciation of the monies of the 9TH
err countries of Central and Eastern
Europe made this their last field for
speculation. Pounds, dollars and
francs became plentiful with small de-
mand and the crown rose in value un-
til the official price was 100 to the dol
lar and $50 i nprivate deals. Retail
prices continued to go up so that with
the rise in the crown cutting foreign
values one-half the plan literally "cut
its own throat"
Foreign buyers quit. Retail trade |
stagnated. Native Austrians did not |
know whether to laugh or cry at a |
straw hat in a window bearing the |
price mark of 1000 crowns But they |
were not sold.
The next stop in the reaction hit the |
basic industries. The few factories |
running have begun to curtail or close |
down as orders are cancelled and new |
contracts fail to come. The Ministry /
of Specialization is besieged with re- /
quests from manufacturers to be per-
mitted to discharge employees 1T being |
reported that as high as twenty a day /
have been received.