The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1921-12-05
AUSTRIAN FINANCE
MINISTER PLANNING,
ECONOMIC REFORM.
New Official Will Endeav-
or to Abolish Food
Subsidies.
AID TO FINANCES
Printing of Paper Money May
Be observation-disclosures
Gain Support.
Qersiga cerrsspondsnos Of The Washington
Herald and the New York Evening Post)

VIENNA, Nov. 24.-Austria, now
almost the poorest country in the
world, after having waited for
months and months for the fulfill
ment Of the solemn promises of help
given to 1t on several sides. is trying
by a last desperate effort to save
itself from utter ruin. 1t is in the
situation of a man suffering from
mortal disease, who is being refused
the medicine that might save him,
and who then trusts to the knife of
the surgeon. resolved to try for life
at the price of whatever pain he may
have to suffer. II the operation fails
there will be no hope for him in the
future.
Austria's surgeon is the new A.
nance minister. DIR. Gurtler. whom
the anti-semitic party has placed
in power. dauntless energetic man,
one of the very few Austrian poll
ticans Of the present day whom
party considerations do not rob of
the faculty of seeing what the state
needs. He is. moreover. perhaps, the
only man whom political opponents
trust enough to negotiate with. The
first operation for which he has made
the necessary parliamentary and
administrative preparations is the
abolition of the states heavy con-
tribution towards the victualling OF
the entire nation. He hopes to carry
out his plan by the end OF the year.
Food Subsidies . Burden.
The weighty burden of these con-
tributions, more than anything else,
ha ~ g.. tal -
Austria The empire bequeathed II
to the republic, II having been the
policy during the war to pacify the
masses by not letting them feel how
the war Influenced the standard or
life. OF make this possible the gov
eminent sold the food at a lower
price than II paid for II. When the
empire broke down the republican
government found it absolutely i'm
possible to do away with this n
nancially ruinous practice. Manufac-
tories and workshops were Idle.
hundreds OF thousands were unem-
ployed and had by all possible pallia-
tives to be kept from following the
Bolshevist example OF Bavaria and
Hungary. In a comparatively short
time Austrian industry recovered
from the crisis that threatened to
ruin it altogether, business enter
prises began to be successful, en-
ployment was found for those who
were willing to work, and wages ad-
vanced
Plans Gain support.
But the Socialists, who we're
then still in full power, decreed
that the higher wages must serve
to raise the workman's standard of
life, that he and his family must
be well nourished at last There
was to be no talk of even reduc-
ing the government contribution
toward the victualling of the ma
ton. Then came the time when
the Austrian government was able
TO assure the nation about once a
week that foreign credit had been
willingly promised and would be
available within a very short time
Every one was convinced that the
value of the crown was about to
increase and that it would be pos
sible to obtain, imported goods at
lower prices and that the time had
come when the States contribu-
tons would cease of their own
accord.
Trusting to this almost certain
development no new measures
were taken and the government
continued printing bank notes and
increasing the national debt week
by week. The quotations of the
crown went on falling, and in No
vember, when this is written, a
crown is worth the thousandth
part of what il was worth before
the financial trouble began. Every
one in Austria, down to the most
enraged Socialist, is now convinced
that to continue in this direction
signifies humiliation; that the first
step which must be taken is to re-
store order to the States finances
by making the nation pay for .shat
II eats. The only way of raising
the value of the crown is by stop
ping the irrational printing of
bank notes for which there is no
covering.