The New York herald., 1922-06-18
EXPORTS IN BIG JUMP
Tourists Arrive With Small
Bag and Leave With
Several Trunks.
KNIT GOODS ARE POPULAR
Large American Stores Have
Agents and Take Most
Interest.

Interest.
Special correspondence TO THE New YORK
HERALD.
VIENNA. June 3.--The Austrian eco
nomic problem and the chances for
it's satisfactory solution have been so
much discussed in the international
press that 1t is worth while to throw
some light on the trade relations Of
this country with America. AS the
State that now goes under the name
of Austria is of very limited size.
with a population of not quite 7,000.-
900 inhabitants they are not nearly
of the same Importance as the Amer
lean trade with most Of the big or
middle sized European Powers. and
they would be altogether a negligible
quantity If there were not the great
commercial center of Vienna, with al
most 100000 inhabitants. a strong
demand for many kinds of imports
and a highly developed fashion. fancy
goods and luxury industry, which in
some lines rivals Paris successfully.
That Vienna is considered an i'm
portant commercial place in official
circles in Washington has been proved
by the establishment of Vienna
Office Of the American Department Of
Commerce, under the management Of
Mr.. William Ford Upson, who showed
the Viennese public In a recent lee
%,,~ @1,a% Ill l..
mere sinecure, but of considerable i'm
portance. which is likely to increase
in the near future. Since the war
Austria has become a regular con-
sumner of quite respectable quantities
of American foodstuffs and raw mate
rials.
Exports Increasing.
At the same time her exports to the
United States are constantly increas-
ing. although they remain far behind
the imports. In 1920 the Austrian i'm
ports from the United States reached a
total of 292.399 metric tons. with a
value of 245.7oo, 600 gold crowns The
Austrian exports In the same period
amounted to 1884 tons, valued at
100000 gold crowns. For 1921 only
the quantities are known. They are
164,7S2 tons of imports, 142, 900 tons of
which consisted Of foodstuffs. The rest
was made UP of $4,000 tons of cotton,
$500 tons of metals and metal goods.
200 tons of tobacco and $50 tons of
chemicals. Among the 35.5S7 tons of
goods exported to the United States
minerals (chiefy magnesite) range
first. with 34,700 tons. Then come pa
per and paper goods. readymade clothes
"a m or-ffn n 1f tr.,
and iron goods. chemicals and arts.
In 1922 the average monthly value
of the officially registered Austrian ex-
ports to the United States was between
s25O,o00 and 100000. But IL the
silent exports by American visitors and
tourists, who sometimes arrive with
nothing but a small portmanteau and
leave with several big trunks, are taken
into account. these figures are far be-
hind the reality. Yet they will sound
small to the American reader For
Austria they have. Of course a much
greater significance, especially when
the many dollars resulting from the
American tourist traffic are added TO
them. 1t Is expected that the passion
| play In Oberammergau will bring an
exceptionally big number of American
tourists to Austria this year.
II one analyses the Austrian exnor,s
more closely and leaves the minerals
aside, one finds that nearly all goods
sold to America are products of Viennese
taste and workmanship. Under the in
fiuence of postwar conditions and their
social consequences many new Industries
with huge army of cheap home work.
ers have sprung up. Middle class
women, pensioned officers and impover-
| ished aristocratic ladies have organized
themselves into producing associations
for needle work. knitting and the manu-
facture of various articles of applied
arts and started new kind of export.
which did not exist before.
Austrian knit goods have become
popular all over the world. and about
half Of them are hand made by many
thousands of knitting women, who get
| between one and three cents per hour
for their work and thereby make IL nos
sible to furnish America with products
which can be landed on the American
market at fair profit In spite of the
| high import duties. The same can he
said of embroderies. pearl handbags
and many other fancy goods, which are
often sold abroad as French goods. but
have their origin mostly In Vienna or in
Hungary.
| 1t Is the American department store
that takes most interest In the Austrian
market. The purchasing organization
of these stores, known under thu name
/ of Associated Merchandising CORPORA
/ tlon of New York. has opened a Dig o.
/ flee in the Karl Schweighofergasse, un-
der the management of Max Grab. a
/ very clever organizer. who also acts
as buyer and commission agent for
many other American firms Another
commissionaire transacting lot of busi-
ness with American stores Is Henry
Kuehn. at No. Breitgasse, not to
mention the minor firms who make a
/ speciality of such trade with America
They all say that there Is now an un-
precedented boom in Viennese mcrchan-
disc of the novelty type and that they
! hardly know how to cope with all the
| work. The boom is to a great extent
! due TO the fact that Paris has gone ND
! with her prices so much that American
/ buyers are forced to seek other markers
and that the Viennese product comes
nearest the Paris type
! vienna wins From Paris.
Mr.. Louis, T. KRISTEN, vice-prcsident
! OF William Filene Sons Company in
Boston. who visited Vienna recently on
continental tour after having studied
conditions in Paris, stated to the cor
respondent of the New YORK HERALD
that Partisan creations had become too
| dear for the American market for the
moment and that he found Vienna an