The Idaho recorder. [volume] (Salmon City, Idaho) 1886-1927, 1920-02-06
American Business Men See
Small Chance for Immediate
Improvement.
Low MARK VALUE IS CAUSE
Specialization Plans and Heavy Tax
alton Add to Unrest Among All
Ciasses-~More Willingness to
Work 10 Noted.

Berln.--It has been interesting TO
me to observe the reaction upon the
minds of American business men of a
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 II rather pronounced
optimism among them as to Gcrmany's
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 aud Intelligent
work, for applying science to business
md production and for organizing
manufacturing and trading interests
effectively. Americans of this KIND
fanclcd that they would find the same
Ger,naay of ante-belum times. SO
they came with cheerful spirits as to
their own business prospects; they
felt sure they would be able to sell
gocsls N large quantities here.
All Disappointed.
One of these Americans called to
see ne Yesterday. had met him
some thee months ago. soon after his
arrival. Since then he has been most
~ at Hamburg. There Is where the
import trade of Germany before the
war VAS chiefly conferred. and he
Thought. after his disappointment
hnt Inn
among the big importing houses
there. Hut he came back here again,
disappointed.
The general trend of his report was
that II 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 1. marks, which gives
the latter less than onc-tenth of Its
normal value. Add 10 this the further
fact that NIL American goods are now
very high In America itself, besides
high frcigh, and insurance rates an'i
II may he safely asserted that the Ger
man must pay about tifteenfold the
pre.war prices for many American
things.
Hut high prices and the difficulties
~ doing business were not the only
things that disappointed the American
travellers. Some Of them came not to
do business ut all, hut 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, tn loas
with their eyes into the business sstua
tion and prospects,
And u WAS precisely this class a
Investigators that took the most cheer
less view Of Germany's plight. TIL,
situation was regarded by them as IN
worse than they had expected and a.
offering hut slight prospects for an
early Improvement OF substantial
character
| What Impressed them NEST was rre
| .iseiy The depreciation az the currenc.
already mentioned. stogcther with IN,
fact ths, nobody could give any au
theniic grounds for expecting an I'm
proyrment In II. Not only the d,'pre
citation ~ the mark. hut also It's siolen
fluctuations In value. seemed Ia then
to exclude all hope for Germany I
ret substantial financial assistanc
from abroad. for neither lender M
borrower could undertake the risk n
voived.
pessimism Everywhere.
This situation made deep tnpre.
sion upon such Americans rs Wei
able To comprehend Its siyniti.anc
Moreover. there WIS general atmo
phere of pe<simlsm here that s,rongl
influenced their min,is--peSsimiSm d
Ia business and politics, pessimlsm 1
To taxation schemes and socializatio
programs, pesslmism as to the lab,
N'na,iop pss.simism ms In the ult imal