The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-10-07
CARPENTER FINDS POLAND IS AN AGGRESSIVE REPUBLIC
 WITH ENORMOUS RESOURCES
Roman Catholics Versus Orthodox Church Presents One Of Worlds Unique Situations-Business Of Country Is Transacted By Jews-sAge-Herad Correspondent Gives Adventures With Polish Money

'AOAA~J
 chusetts. Poland raises millions o1 | bushels of wheat, rye, oats and bar | ley, and It's potato crop at times 1 runs as high as S00,000,0o0 bushels l It Is cattle breeding country, ane
 rears also hogs, horses and sheep It has 5000, 900 geese, 16,000,o00 fowls and 1t exports annually more than one billion eggs.
 Do you know that Poland is one
 of the big mineral properties of
 Europe7 It has something like 2,o0o square miles of coal next to Germany
 and Is now mining millions of tons
 every year. The coal reserves oi
 Upper Silesia is greater than those of Great Britain. and they are a se-
 rious loss to industrial Germany. Poland has Iron, zinc, lead and oop- per. It has some of the greatest salt mines of the world, one of which has
 been worked for centuries and has 23,ooo,o 900 tons left. In the southern part of the country are rich deposits of petroleum.
 A Great Manufacturing Proposition.
 Do you know that Poland Is bound to be one of tho industrial factors of tho new Europe2 Before the war 1t was annually producing almost 8 billion dollars worth of manufactures and 1t had almost two million work CTS. It Is one of tho great textile centers of Europe, making cottons and woolens for Russia, the Balkans, and the countries about. Its metal Sn- dustries arc very important. It has great foundrieB and rolling mills. It makes iron and steel, and before the war its annual exports of machinery to Russia ran into tho millions. It makes glass and chemicals, and 1t 4sA fn a n- merce. It buys as well as sells. and our exports to 1t already amount to about s7o,o0o,ooo per annum.
 Some Matters of Money.
 Tho trade of Poland depends upon credit. It's people claim that their mark has now a stabilized value. all though 1t takes many thousands of them to equal one dollar. have just changed 200 Swedish kroner and 200 Finnish marks into Polish currency and have received for them almost 500 900 Polish marks. Before the World war the mark and the kroner were about equal. The Swedish kroner Is still worth almost its gold value but the Polish mark Is on the to- began and 1t bobs up and down like a cork on tho water. Polish money looks like wallpaper. The notes are half the size of lady's handkerchief and it would take only ten 5000 mark notes to cover page of this news paper. It Is cheap, of brownish color, and soon grows dirty and nasty.
 It takes time to get money in drawing $500 on my letter of credit. The first clerk translated the letter into French and then spent 20 min utes writing out a draft in that Ian guage. After I had signed 1t, he took 1t to 6 clerk. called tho, controller and rave mo 8 piece or paper. the size of a dance program bearing a number. There was a string through the card, which suppose was that l might tio 1t to 6 button on my coat to prevent it's loss while l waited. l took the card to the cashiers window where 80 nondescript persons were waiting their turn. After an hour l went back to the man who had made out tho draft and protested. l showed him various official credentials as an evidence of my Importance and final ly got action. When l received the money I was glad had brought with me . sachel The sum was 5000 .o00 marks. and the denominations were such that tho notes were as many as the leaves in . big family Bible They half filled the bag.
 Selling Farms For Wnwte Paper. These small Polish notes are not worth as much as the paper on which they arc printed. Indeed, the story is told of . farmer who. having agreed to sell his estate for so many million Polish marks, became afraid of the money. He went to the purchaser and asked him to give. in place of the blank paper. The man replied: T will not do it. You are asking twice as much for your farmr'
 For a long time the Germans look ed down on tho money of Poland. Just before tho plebiscits in Upper Silesia tho German shops there, in order to show their contempt. gave . hundred Polish marks as present with every purchase. l understand tho same is now being done in Hol- land with the German marks. Along the same line Is the act of brewer in Austria His product has long been known as Kroner Beer, and so when the crown went down to almost nothing. he took lot of crown notes and pasted them on his beer bottles because these groners were cheaper than the paper labels which he would have to have printed.
 am paying for my room at the which, if the currency were normal. would equal $1,600 Q day. The actual | cost Is just 66 cents, but this has
 been evened up by the bribo I had | to pay the room clerk to get in al all. Tho bribe was ten American dollars. I expect to take 8 motor trip of a week through tho country but I shall not give up my room. It will cost mo $4.61 to keep 1t but that will be cheaper than another bribe of $1o upon my return. However
 all things at the hotel are paid for in this debased Polish currency. get a good dinner with wine. for 30 cents. and thls includes soup. meat