The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1922-12-19
FLVGTUATIQNSOF
.GERNANY'SMARB
CAUSING MISERY
Success in Foreign Trade Of
Country Declared Due to
Cheap Currency.
BY MILTON BRoNNER

we are, fairly sure or our dollar:
BERLIN. Dec. 19-In America
nobody In Germany Is sure about
1.-THE mark.
The dollar may not buy, as much
mark today doesn't buy as much
asst did yesterday-Sometinles
mot as much as an hour before.
II the dollar is an ace In the
worlds financial deck OF cards,
the German mark is the deuce.
Nobody wants It II he can get
his hands on some other major
| coinage That is why tho German
government had to prohibit Ger
mans buying American and Eng
lish and Dutch money.
The fact that the mark rises
and falls, but mostly falls. upsets
all German business. Neither the
government nor the people know
where they stand from day to day.
Throughout Germany thers Is
generally a very anxious desire
for sterilization Of the mark:
FIrst-on the part Of the shop
keepers who buy and sell mainly
in Germany.
second-on the part of the
middle class whose salaries put
them near the starvation line.
Third-on the part Of the work
men, who even with their unions
and their increased wages, find 1t
hard to make both ends meet.
The feeling Of the German gov
eminent, from President Ebert
down, is mixed.
When the falling value Of the
mark compels it to pay more 10
all its employees. and more pen.
sions to the insured old people
and to the disabled soldiers, the
F., government would like TO see q
stabilized mark.
But the government has issued
billion of even cheaper paper
marks.
Sudden sterilization at a fairly
! high value would vastly increase
the burdens Of the government so
! far as deflation and interest pay
+, ments were concerned.
And one heards 1t openly charg-
ed that the great captains Of in-
dustry do not want a stabilized
mark because they sell quantities
Of goods abroad. AS an economist
explained to me:
"The thing that Is keeping
many German industries going to-
day. Is foreign trade. We ara
keeping that trade because We can
undersell our competitors. We 90
SO by reason Of the fact that ou.
competitors pay their workmen IN
dear currency and we pay in
cheap currency. -r.47. ~
"lf the mark were stabilized,
our factories could not offer buy
ers Of goods prices SO much lower
than others as to justify using
German goods"
And the same thing has been
charged In "Die Bank" one Of the
leading financial monthlies IN
Germany Its editor, DR.. Alfred
Lansburg. discussed the agree
ment between Hugo SHINES and
Marquis de Lubersac, and other
similar arrangements between
Germans and Frenchmen whereby
Germans are to supply the ms-
terials for the rebuilding Of raw.
aged northern France. 4,
"The agreement sets a pre-
MUM upon all efforts made to de-
press the mark and send up the
franc" says Lansburgh.
There is still another reason
why big German industrlalists OPP
pose a speedy sterilization OF the
mark. Many Of them have borrow
ed billions in cheap marks; they
pay the interest III cheap marks.
II tho mark were stabilized aud
thereby increased in value, auto
matically the real debt Of the hlg
industrialists and the interest they
would have to pay would be in-
! creased.
p On the other hand and to COM
plete the picture, 1t is but fair to
I say that owners OF German fac.
tories which are mainly engaged
in supplying home demands, claim
the falling mark Is cunning them.