Evening star., 1923-09-26
Can Europe Hold Together?
XlII-Can Austria Live?.
nv JOHN +. SINCLAIR

forced to quit only to black boots or
sell papers on the streets of Vienna
for a living. That's what wrecking
the international exchange machinery
has meant to Austria. The league OF
nations decided to take hand. Some
body must make the attempt, Aus
tria, desperate, demoralized. diseour-
aged, her national vitality gone,
would agree to anything. Could
Austria be made to function as an
economic unit? Could she pay her way
or must she die2
DR.. Zimmerman. former mayor of
Rotterdam, was appointed commits
sfoner general of Austria in October,
1922. He is directly responsible to
the league of nations. He arrived in
Vienna in November. 1922. He rules
Austria as financial dictator.
What is he trying to do? His job
is to make a living economic unit
out of a shattered economic wreck,
Here is his plan of action.
u To establish a new bank OF
issue based on gold
CD To balance government receipts
and expenditures by July, 1924.
, cd To secure foreign loan of
s125,000,000 to pay the deficits in rum
INNS thC up 10 July, l5Zf.
(4) To stop further printing of un-
secured paper kronen and thereby re-
store stability to the money and conf
dence In the future of Austria.
DR.. zimmerman has been in Aus
tria nine months. What has he done?
The new gold bank of issue opened
it's doors in January of this year with
| paid-in capital Of s7.50O.00o Today
its gold reserve is equal to 80 per cent
OF its bank notes and deposits.
Government expenditures are being
reduced. Thirty-fi thousand govern
ment employees have been dropped. De-
partments are being merged.
DR.. zimmerman told me that by
July /. 1924. he believes, the govern
ment receipts and expenditures will
oa1ance. pa The foreign loan of s12S,-
] 100000. OF which United States took
! s25, ,000, 900, has been raised. This will
take care OF the government deficit
| until July 1, 1924.
The printing of more unsecured
/ papers kronen stopped on November
Is, 1922. The krone since then has
become established at 1000 for one
dollar. That is the important thing
now-to know that next month OF
| the next six months the money will
not fluctuate either up or down. Saw
. ings bank deposits have increased
500 per cent during the past three
months. Confidence is returning &c
her people.
The most serious problem is that
OF the increase of unemployment
There are twice as many men out
of work today as there were six
months ago. 1t has become a real
1t is useless to balance the budget
without at the same time promoting
healthy industrial life. This is
| Austria's real difficulty. Can she sup.
port herself? Can she pay her way?
No financial scheme, however, car
| completely solve the problem fol
I, Austria. She must, in the final an.
alysis. earn as much with her ex
ports as she purchases. plus the in.
terest charges on her foreign debt
Austria 10 solve. The loaning o.
i money TO Austria will not keey
Austria from collapse unless she car
pay by her excess of exports tn,
cost of her imports and interes
charges on her borrowings
| Can she do it? The league of ma.
tions has helped her over the frs
| hurdle. but the other hurdles are
| much harder to get over.
J kx
| I cannot say Austria's problem /.
insoluble. though. in my opinion
fseveral hundred millions of dollar,
will be needed TO increase her in.
dustrlal activities sufficiently to en-.
able her to pay her imports and in
terest charges and live.
What 1 do say is that in addition
to being able to obtain huge sum.
for industrial expansion, the recover,
of Austria cannot take place with
out an immediate restoration of tht
| Industrial life of Europe, and espe-
cially of those countries OF central
Europe who are her neighbors and Gus
! tomers-Hungary, Germany, Russia
| and the Balkans.
| More even than Great Britain. Italy
land Belgium. Austria must have Eu.
ropean markets to pay her way
! Tarin walls must give way to free
trade. For years to come her ioac
| will be heavy one. Another Eu.
trCpean war-or even localized
Balkan affair-would leave Austria
! an economic desert.
| Austria. too. must Join hands will
the other nations OF Europe, who
know that modern industrialism anC
modern warfare are deadly enemies
Which win the world throw into
| the discard?
Next--Cxnckoslovak the Champion
of Defatfon.
! Copyright. 1928. in United States and Grea
Britain by North American Newspaper
Alliance. All rights reserved.l