New Britain herald., 1922-04-28
GRAVE CONDITIONS
 EXIST IN GERMANY
(Continued From Page Thirteen)
picture of the situation, and may not be considered seriously
 OClD hs oc Coal c2 rO

picture of the situation, and may not be considered seriously.
 2240 Lbs. of Coal S3.5O.
 With the impending danger of un- employment hanging over the govern ment it is doing all it can to cncour- age production by supplying cheap coal, cheap raw material, cheap la bor through low rentals, and cheap bread and, as many claim by keep ing the exchange way down, which is vital and a big feature of Germany's export. Manufacturers told me that, should the mark be doubled in value they could not compete any more with many countries. Today the govern ment furnishes coal to the factories at 900 marks per long ton or today about s3.50 With Germanys coal territory materially reduced by Pol ish possessions of some provinces and with large amount to be sent out as reparation, the German government is compelled to purchase coal from England and France, and resell it at great loss to the factories. Some am- bilious Germans assured me that Ger many, when buying coal, gets back her own product delivered on account of reparation, but this has to be proved.
 Production Falls.
 Germanys capacity for production, as compared with pre-war conditions, has, of course, fallen a great deal. Let us analyze the causes underlying this decline. Firstly the eight hour law, against the former 10 and 12 hours, pulls the production down 20 to 80 per cent. Secondly, the workman is not working as intensively as he used to and his production now is roughly 80 per cent per given time unit of which it was formerly. Thirdly, the curtaiment of Germany's territory, having lost considerable coal and iron area, is also bound to reduce the quantity of manufactured goods Fourth, many skilled marksmen were lost in the war and that affects pro- duction as well. It is true that I 6st of this will be. counteracted by intro ducing more automatic machinery, which seems to be the tendency Still Germany will not make half the quantity she formerly dumped on the markets of the world. Even now, with the greatly reduced number of markets, and with the diminished de- mand everywhere, Gcrmany's fac tories, as a rule, are at present over taxed beyond their capacity, and many of them are months behind in their orders. Should conditions be stabilized all over and the Russian market opened. Germany will not be lNr fnI- 1,nt- goods, nor will she be able to fur nish anywhere the quantity she for merly did. In this there is a bit of consolation for our American manu- lecturers, who are bound to enjoy a fair proportion of the worlds trade, when the time comes, and Germany's competition will not be as keen as it was before the war.
 Whereas, at the beginning after the armistce, the German manufacturers sold their products for export in marks, as cheaply as they possibly l could, the tendency now is to charge | as much as possible and differential | over domestic prices from 25 10 100 | per cent is made, and besides invar iably foreign exchange is demanded l in payment This last feature is made obligatory by the government, | which takes for itself 25 per cent of 1 the foreign exchange received for any | shipment abroad, and no export li- | cense is granted without this eX- change allotment.
 Export Prices Regulated.
 There is also controlling com sion which regulates export prices | which are not 10 be lower than cer- tain fixed prices. These regulations cause many evasions of the law, which is sometimes accomplished by bribing officials. This state of af