The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1920-08-18
Austria Has
Good Crops
Outlook is That There will Not
be the Hardships Endured
Last Winter

Vienna, August 14--Bountiful crops
of early fruits and vegetable and
promise OF an abundance OF harder
ater yields from field and orch;.ld.
With the big American -four credit still
available for the ration of daily bread
nave given Austria a reprieve frou the
.errible hardships of last winter.
Fats are as scarce as eve. how
ever, but in this gracious weather iheir
need ia not so keenly felt. Meat, too,
is scanty ana high, beyond reach OF
he masses. The American flour cred
{ will be exhausted before the winter
sets fairly in and no man in Austria
knows where or by what means it
will be replaced.
Strikes and disturbances m the
Teschen coal fields, the situation n
;ilesia virtual suspension of The Hun
gariah supply, little as it was and, IL
naliy, Austria's Inability 10 enforce
wen the meagre contractual supplies
rom Bohemia, have prevented The
hoped for accumulation of a modest
.fuel reserve during the summer
months. Public utilities { Vienna are
eported to have but weeks reserve
IF coal for power and light ond ress
.shan, a monih, OF gas coaL9t. .mlpsrN2l
consumption. The last Austrian pig
ron oven in operation has Just drawn
Is fires for lack of coke.
Into this situation has been injected
a curious business phase resulting
from increased value or the crown on
'oreign change. In the last winter
md early spring the crown dropped
rs low as $50 to the dollar D,l private
exchange. Encouraged by :liS 4 small
export trade was nourished. Austrian
factorieS, famous for certain fOrEIs Of
finished articles. began to resume Cp-
eratiUns on q limited sc3ll, foreign
buyers seeing a good business chance
in the low crown against standard
monies.
Manufacturers were able to get
advances of credit to secure coal and
needed raw materials 1t was good
speculation for foreign values. Then
the Minister of Finance, DR.. Reisch,
dropped a hint one day during debate
N the assembly that il would be wise
if Austrian retail sellers, were to raise
their crown prices to the equivalent
of foreign values. They did ii. A suit
Of clothes that cost 5000 to 1000
crowns rose in price TO from Is, 00G -
$4,000 crowns. Everything else went
up in proportion.
Then the governm ent, acting on the
same principle, is 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 as
sisted unexpectedly by an influx into
Austria of foreign money spectators.
Appreciation Of the monies of the
other countries Of Central and East
ern Europe made this their last field
for speculation. Pounds, dollars and
francs became plentiful with small de-
'nand and the crown rose in value until
the official price was 100 to the dollar
and $50 i'm private deals Retail prices
continued 70 go up. SO that with the
rise in the crown cutting foreign val
hes 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 y
straw hat in n window bearing the
price mark of 1000 crowns. But they
We're not sold.
The netl step in the reaction hit the
basic industries. The few factories
running have begun to curtaiI or close
down as orders are Cancelled and new
contracts fail 10 come. The Ministry
OF Socialization is beseiged with re-
quests from manufacturers to be ner-
mIttod To discharge employees. il be-
ing reported that as high as twenty
cay have been recently received.