New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1922-03-22
(The Natiom.)
How Can Europe Be Saved!
John F. Sinclair.

hundred years of the work and struggle
of three hundred million men and women,
is dissolving. There are no forces moV
at work strong enough to arrest the ap-
preaching disaster.
Russia has taken eight years to COM
plete the wreck. Her cities have passed;
her fields are idle; thirty million OF her
peasants, according to Miss Anna Halnes,
head of the Russian Friends Relief, are
starving to death in the most appalling
famine disaster which history records;
and these unfortunates are the rural
peasants-actual tillers of the soil. Inc
industrial organization has broken down
completely and Russian money, both IN
side and outside of Russia, is worthless.
An American dollar in 1916 would pur-
chase two rubles. Now it will buy 10000
of them.
Austria in eight years has fallen from
the center of a prosperous empire OF
fifty millions to a wretched country OF
about one-tenth it's original size and with
one-eighth it's original population, with
her old economic unit hopelessly shattered.
In eight years l914-1921 inclusive) she
inflated her currency from two and a
half billion kronen to seventy-fve billions
all paper money, no gold or silver. In
1914 an American dollar would buy five
kronen; in December, 1921, it would pur-
chase 5000 kronen. In 1921 Austria
raised only Is per cent of what she must
have in order to live. The balance she
must import but her money is valueless
outside and she has no further credit to
purchase the 100000 tons of foodstuffs
necessary to keep her people from starv-
ing this winter. Z"
Poland, in 1919 established new
national currency, assuming certain of the
obligations of the old Russian regime.
This original amount of three billion
marks has grown to the stupendous
amount of over sixty billions, all in a
short space of two years. Meanwhile
trade has ceased. For the year 1921
the Polish government expenditures a
mounted to 200 billion Polish marks,
marks The disastrous condition of her
finances is mainly due, according to
John Moody, "to her pronounced mill
tary policy and her mounting military
expenditures. $50 .n,
Italy tells a similar story. In 1914
the circulating medium was less than two
billion lire, amply protected with a large
gold reserve By 1918 it had been in
creased to eight billions and since the ar
mistice it has been further increased to
over fifteen billions. The American dol
lar will purchase four times as much
Italian money as before the war. Can we
expect trade to be resumed by Italy with
us with such a handicap?
Take Spain, a country not influenced
directly by the war. Her paper currency
increased from 1900 pesetas before the
war to 1920 millions on July 80, 1920,
and to 4,160 millions one year later.
The peseta originally was worth 1913
cents, a decrease of IS per cent.
In France the circulating medium rose
four billions in 1919. And since the ar
mistice it has further increased to about
forty billions. But this does not include
her constantly increasing and just as dan
gerous floating debt. Her budget for
1922 does not balance by 2,50O,O00,000|
francs; and yet her army and navy are
costing France 4,5O0,0O0,000 francs an
nually. The franc has deprecated So
per cent.
But Germany is the key to Central
Europe What is her real underline
surface condition? In 1914 Germany had
outstanding, including floating debt, about
five billion marks against which she car
ried 70 per cent gold reserve: In 1919
when the war closed, she had outstanding
twenty seven billions, and the mark had
gone down in value from 1882 cents to
II cents. By December, 1921 this had
increased to the enormous total of one
hundred and eight billions with less than
l per cent gold reserve. The mark is now
worth about half cent. In addition the
floating debt stands in round figures at
OAK billions while this item shows that I