The Washington times., 1920-01-11

BEHNE, Switzerland, Jan. ii.-As
result of the war turning topsy-
turyy the worlds basis OF values. es-
pecislly in the matter OF foreign ex-
change. Switzerland has become the
seat OF the most fantastic finance the
world has yet seen.
BY not having participated In the
war. switzerland's financial. indus
trial and economic condition at the
present time is one to be envied-no
matter how much the Swiss them
selves may deplore IL. Especially as
the result OF not having contracted
any war debts OF expenditures and
OF not having made any unlimited
Issues of paper currency with which
to tide over the war period, Swiss
currency has remained almost unaf-
fected by the crisis of foreign ex-
change and the depreciation OF cur
rencies from which all the belliger-
ents are now severely suffering.
Five francs of Swiss money today
are worth just about 81 the same as
they were before the war. where
from eight to ten or twenty francs
OF other countries are necessary 10
purchase a single greenback OF the
minimum denomination.
Retains standing.
As a consequences Switzerland, the
only country in central Europe which
retains something of it's normal
financial standing, has become sort
of an oasis in a desert of financial
disaster. 1t is sort of clearing
house. or solid financial rock where
the bewildered people of other coun-
tries can come for the time being and
get their financial balance readjust-
ed and their sense of values re-estab-
lished before embarking on new
financial enterprises.
The resulting operations are often
wierd and fantastic to the extreme
degree, resembling something In un-
expectedness the high finance adven-
lures of America and yet always with
a different note. These financial
happen by the score in
Switzerland daily. Here are a Few
that will give some idea Of what they
are like and some idea of central
Europe's shipwreck.
Recently CzechoSlovak deputy
had occasion to come down to Switz-
erland for a few weeks to take care
of a number of important affairs con-
corning that ambitious but finance
less republic. To meet his expenses
or. the trip he brought with him 10000
CZecho- -Sloyak crowns, the nominal
value of which Is about the same as
a Swiss franc.
Business Completed.
However, with the money of his
own country exceedingly deprecated
by the war and the lack of any solid
standing to date OF the new republic,
the deputy was obliged to change his
80, 900 native crowns into only 10000
Swiss fraLcs.
The deputy stayed at Berne for
about two months stopping, as his
position rendered necessary, at .the
principal hotel in the city, the prices
at which have not been decreased by
the war. and paying his expenses out
of his 10000 Swiss francs.
Eventually. however, his business
was completed and he was ready to
return to Prague. He paid off what
he still owed in BerLe out Of the
original 10000 Swiss francs and then
what was still left he had changed
back into Czecho-Slovak crowns.
But in the two months which he
had been at Berne, Czecho- -Slovak cur
rency had gone down further, with
the result that when he got what was
left of his original 10000 Swiss francs
chaLged back into his native cur
rency, he received a total of $4,000