The New York herald., 1921-06-10

which was then excessive. and had
placed the legal currency below the gold
value. With the paper circulation to-
day of ~ mlliards II is generally con-
sidered by Independent observers that
the gold basis is only about s per cent
as compared win pTe-k.urcpean tnot
pfe-italian) war days. This @rp&rcnty
enormous sum of 1884 nilli2rds would
thus at pre-war gold value represent
1867 miliiard OF lire. In itself. however.
an extremely respectable sum for poor"
Italy, 1t is to be noted that the Govsrp-
ment for import duties has arbitrarily
fixed the gold standard at 10 lire gold
to 40 paper.
In order that small investors In Italy
shall be fully protested and that their
hard-earned savings during the war
shall be OF full benefit to the country
and not only to controlling groups three
things are principally necessary. The
first is u radical change in the banking
laws OF the country. by which the am
bilious rivalry of two groups. such as
/ The Perroni group and the Toeplitz
group. shall not be allowed 70 be carried
on. to the detriment of hundreds OF
thousands Of individuals.
The evil of this was seen in the IA
NOUS "Scalata del banchi" In 1918, when
the Perroni group obtained temporary
control of the Banca Commerciale, and
the shares of that bank were forced to
fantastic prices. The industries of Italy.
which are largely based on these two
credit banks. can never become really
stable until some reformation Of the
banking law Is carried out.
The second necessity is a thorough or
ganization OF industries to secure mar
llets Undoubtedly In the last year ITALY
fact 1.,.a cf in l1a nnrf
trade owing to the great lack OF organi-
zation OF the selling departments of her
Industries. American buyers preferred
to purchase italian fibre on the London
market rather than In Italy itself. They,
with English buyers, went to Germany
for silks, artificial flowers and similar
goods rather than to Italy, not so much
on account of the price. as owing to
the discrganization of Italian industry
and this before the labor troubles Of
last September had injured foreign con-
fidence.
German Competition Felt.
The third point is that the young
italian industries must be protected
against German competition. In the
electric industry, largely developed dur
ing the war. this competition Is particu-
larly felt. although Italy is to-day In a
position to manufacture and export ma
chinery, for winch before the war she
was entirely dependent on other coun-
tries Not only is this competition felt
IN the home market but important con-
tracts were lost in foreign markets, nota-
bly, Spain, Portugal and South America.
For example, several hydro-electric
plants In Italy are on the point of COM
pletion and tenders were invited for the
1 H.; tn taII IA1 IN
Guiding two large alternators. four
smaller alternators, four transformers.
various alternating transformers. mo-
tors, &c The German tenders for this
lot, including transport and duty, We're
2977,800 lire below the national ten
ders. The average German cost worked
out at 1890 lire per quintsle (200
pounds). while the Italian cost was
1.s10 lire. The cost to manufacture
electric machinery in Italy to-day is
about ten times the pre-war figure.
Taking as basis an electric motor
OF 30 horsepower. a type much In use.
and therefore manufacturable in series.
the respective costs are:
Lire.
Pre-war COST. -..t......''''.'.... l's2o
is19 cost .;:.:'....:. :..'.......--.''.' 9'ooo o
| 1,7OO Per Cent. Increase.
The cost of material has increased ton
| fold, and labor seven times In hydrau-
| lie machinery, also Germany can bes
Italy by about 10 per cent, although
in pre-war days certain Italian firms
had a worldwide reputation for this
class of machinery. In other lines it is
the same thing.
There has just concluded at Bolzano.
in the Italian Tyrol, a German fair. at
which was shown every sort of German
product that could possibly interest
Italy. including machinery. Industrial
and agrarian implements. cloths. glass.
electrical appliances. &c. In fact, it
was a small edition of the Leipsic fair
From January to September. 1920.
Germany exported 70 Italy goods to the
value OF 1880, coo. 900 paper marks. In
the same period, in 1913, her total was
| 262. .000,0 900 gold marks. As the paper
100 mark note Is quoted on tho Bourse
here at 32.3S. and both countries are
dealing In paper, It will be seen that
Germany Is making up lot OF leeway
In this lost market.
II Is only by the Government setting
to and putting UP some protection
against Germany. and by the deliberate
and careful organization OF the indus-
tries and labor, that young Industrial
Italy will be able to stand up and not
only retain ner own nome market, Dut
also fill those new markets which she
has rightly conquered. Otherwise there
win be a financial crisis. to which the
black days Of the nineties. which led to
the Introduction of German capital. will
appear as nothing.
Details OF the Industrial depression,
which shows signs of improvement. will
be given in to-morrow's article on e0ndi.
tions in Italy. It Is expected that by tho
end of summer affairs viii be at or near
normal. One happy circums stance Is that
Socialists are advising their followers TO
give mp agitation and devote their time
TO work.
FINGER PRINT ANTfOOTE
rs BATTLING TO POLICE
Burglars Use ColIodion IN
$4,000 JeweI Haul.
Burglars who smeared their fingers
with collodIon. an albuminous prepara-