The Washington herald., 1921-12-11
GERMANS HOARD
AND SPECULATE
AS MARK SINKS
Women Throng Stores
After Bargains and Gam.
BILE on Exchange.
by GEoRG BERNHARD.
Editor-in-Chief Of the vossische
Zeitung. Berlin.

T VI
ZeitunR. Berlin.
BERLIN, Dec. 10.-Speculation
and a buying fever mark the peo-
pie OF German cities today. A few
the German workman has TO work
for two days in order to earn the
German value OF an American dol
lar. In the meantime the Berlin
| rate of exchange for 81 has risen
to 900 marks from so. so that 81 is
nearly equal to seven days work.
II is true that you can still buy
more for 800 marks in Germany
than for 81 in America. But will
this last? The permanent sinking
OF the German rate OF exchange
has produced a state OF mind which
can only be fulkg understood by
the man who knows the conditions
prevailing here intimately
Wages Have Gone Up.
OF course wages and salaries
have already risen with the grow
ing dearness which began in the
fsu. The average daily earnings
OF simple workman may, IL lie
! true, be as high AS 20 marks. But
this is OF no account IL you con-
/ slider that the rise OF prices goes
| on necessarily. or course wages
will go up, too. But the rate OF
! these rises is dependent on the
| length OF tariff (wage) contracts
and before wages are raised. de-
I bates must take place between em-
| ployers and workmen. so that when
the raised wages at last are at the
disposal of the workers. the buy
ing power Of the sum gained has
again visibly decreased. That Is
the reason why everybody who has
a few marks tries to buy a store of
whatever goods he can find.
A sort Of shopping fever has
come over the ladies. They Ill the
| stores and all the shops which, have
a name for some special thing or
another. The owner OF one of the
largest linen stores told me a few
days ago that sales last month
were three times as high as those
of the preceding months. although
as a rule. a sort OF dead season
usually takes place shortly before
| the Christmas business.
Can Sell Anything.
Unstable articles which had
| been in stock since before the war
and could not be sold even in the
stress OF war timee, are seized
upon. The German shopkeeper has
never suffered from overpoliteness
/ toward his customers. Today, how
ever. the shopkeepers sell their
wares for dear money to the beg
ging customers with the mien OF a
| king dealing out favors. And the
ladies leaving with their goods
have the air of people who have
won a prize in the lottery.
a sure sign OF the times is the
patience Of the German buyer. The
Berlin markets sold hardly any po-
tatoes until a few days ago be
{ cause. the farmers refused to sell
/ for less than 100 marks a hundred
weight. Still. the women came day
I by day with their baskets and
fought for the meager lot Of poor
stock. And when the farmers. hav-
[ ing gained their object. at last sent
their potatoes to market. the buy
/ ers gladly paid their mark per
pound.
Middle Class Fares Hard.
Still. these were not the poorest
Of the poor, who at present can not
even pay for the meager potato
/ food. The poorest of the poor are
not the workmen, put those OF the
middle classes who have no income
| but their salaries
But large part OF the people
could not make both ends meet II
specializing in stock were not the
chief means today OF inCre asing
ones income. The rapid sinking Of
the German rate of exchange at first
induced many people to buy great
or small amount of foreign money.
. The German middle classes today
are as intimate with the Ereenhack
as with any German hanknoto.
Everybody has some dollars in his
possession. Chauffeurs who take
the strangers home from places Of
amusement always ask to he pa 4
their fare in dollars. which they
store up and the value Of which
! they reckon every day according to
the rate OF exchange
The sinking OF tho German rate
OF exchange, Of course. brought
about a rise of shares. and as the
exchange tends to rise continually.
a large part Of the population has
soon learned that the quickest way
to make money is TO borrow sum
and invest 1t in shares All ears
are open for tips. though II does
quite as well to draw lots and to
buy the share that comes out first
Learned TO Speculate.
The young people. who in this
way earned mountains or paper
money, get rid of II as easily in the
places OF amusement and at the
gaming tables, as they hope to
earn more by the same means. Quite
number of families, though. use
these winnings as addition OF in
come, and regulate their housekeep-
ing accordingly.
1t is characteristic that these
earnings are mostly made by women
who in this way provide their fam
lilies with additional income, INST
as the farmers wife earns a nice
bit of pocket money by breeding
poultry. The biting humor of the
people has nicknamed a large finan-
cial paper appearing every after
noon with a long list Of quotations,
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