Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-08-14
BIG FRUIT CROP
HELP TO AUSTRIA
American Flour Credit Also Aids
in Repricve From Hardships
of Past Winter.
Hy Associa ted Press 90 Every Evening

by Associated Press 60 Every Evening
Vienna, July "a ---Bountiful crops oi
early fruit end vegetables and promise of
an abundance of harder later Yields
from fields and orchard, with the big
American -four credit still available
for the ration Of daily bread have given
Austria n reprievc from the terrible
hardships of last Winter
Fats are rs scarce as ever, however.
but IN this gracious weather their need
is not SO keenly felt Meat, too, e
scanty and high, beyond reaeh of the
masses The American -four credit will
bc exhausted before the Winter sets
fairly in and no man in Austria knows
from where or by what means il will
be replaced.
Strikes and disturbances in the Tescben
coal fields, the situation in Silesin, virtual
suspension of the Hungarian supply,
little as il was and, finally. Austria 9
inability tu enforce even the menpre
contractual supplies from Bohemia have
prevented the hoped for accumulation
of n modest fuel reserve during the
Summer months Public utilities of
Vienna are reported 10 have but week g
reserve of coal for power ard light and
less than month Of gas coal at n mini
mum consumption The last Austrian
pig iron oven in operation has just
drawn it's fires for lack Of coke
Into this situation has been injected
curious business phnse resulting from
the increased value Of the crown on
foreign change In the late Winter
and early Spring the crown dropped
as low "a $50 10 the dollar on private
exchange Encouraged by this small
export trade was nourished Austrian
factories, famous for certain forms of
Of finished articles. began 70 resume
operations on limited scale. foreign
buvers seeing good business chance
IN tho low crown value against standard
monies.
Manufacturers were able 10 get ad-
vances of credit to secure coal and need
ed raw materials II was a good sneciila-
tion for foreign values Then the Min
ister nf Finance. nr Reseh dfuunnd
a hint one day during debate in tho
Assembly that IL would he wse II Aus
trian retail sellers. were tn rniae their
crown prieee 10 the equivalent of foreign
values They did H. A suit Of clothes
that cost from 1000 % 1000 crowns
rose in price to from 5000 10 1900
crowns Everything elze went up in
proportion.
Then the government. acting on the
same principle, ~ reported To have
gone on the Zurich exchange. which
controls crown quotations. with large
amounts of foreign money and forced
the crown up. Their efforts were assist
ed unexpectedly hy an influx into Aus
tria of foreign money spectators Ap-
probation of the monies of the other
countries Of Central and Eastern Europe
made this their last field for speculation
Pounds. dollars and francs became
plentiful with small demand and the
crown rose in value until tie official
price was l3n to the dollar and $50 i'm
private deals, Retail prices continued
to 60 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 10 laugh or cry at straw
hat in a window bearing tho price mark
2 900 crowns. But they were not sold
The next step in the reaction hit the
basic industries The few factories run
ing have begun TO curtail Of close down
as orders are cancelled and new con-
tracts fail to come. The Ministry Of
is besieged with requests
from manufacturers to be permitted
to discharge employees, it being reported
that as high as twenty day have been
received.