Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-02-13
BY WILLIAM ULLMAN.
THAT prosperity is returning
gradually to war-torn Europe,
although indicated by other
Sisrnsr isi rat.a rfico LIZ, farn1yofa k,I,

gradually TO War-tOrn EUROPE,
although indicated by other
4 signs, Is practically proven by
glance at the automobile
registration figures which have been
gathered by United States commercial
attaches stationed at the capitals of
Europe and acting under Secretary
Hoover'S Department of Commerce.
These figures clearly indicate that
those countries which suffered most
severely during the four-year period
of carnage and the distress which
followed in it's wake are slowly but
surely regaining measure of pros
perity comparable to that of pre-war
Europe.
In the Eastern European and Bal
kan countries. where the predomina'
ting class is the peasantry. where the
general level of prosperity and the
standard of living are relatively low
and where the lack Of good roads and
highways hampers the development of
the motor vehicle industry, the auto
mobile still Is something to be looked
upon with awe and Wonderment by
the large majority of the people. but
in the industrial centers of Europe, In
England, Germany, France and Bel
glum, it is as good a test as any for
determining the national prosperity.
Russian Figures Show Contrast.
The United States, the most pros
porous nation in the world today, has
d total registration upward of 90,
000, 900 motor vehicles, ratio of ap
proximately one machine to every five
persons. The figures of Russian
Europe, where the population is
virtually the same as in the United
States, present quite a contrast. The
total number of automobiles regis
tered in Russia, according to figures
available, is slightly in excess of IL,
900, with ratio of one machine tC
every 9,490 inhabitants.
In Western Europe, however, the
fstatistics tell different story. Great
Britain leads all other countries in
the number of cars registered, with
total of about 1000, 900, and, with
the exception of the dependency OF
Gibraltar, leads in the ratio of cars
per number of persons, which Is one
TO every As inhabitants.
Gibraltar, viewed by the average
person as just a large bare rock jut
ting out of the sea and capped by
Notifications, has a: proportion of one
car to every AZ persons. 1t has a
population of about 10000 and q car
registration totaling about 500. This
high ratio is accounted for partly by
the fact that. by special arrangements
with the Spanish authorities. cars are
enabled to pass freely across the Dor
der and, since there Is no import duty
on commodities which are brought tC
this colony, automobiles are. in many
cases, cheaper than on the home
market of the country manufacturing
them.
France Shows Recovery.
France, which suffered greatly dur
ing the war. is rapidly recuperating
Judging from the ratio of cars pei
number of persons, which now equals
approximately one to every Al inhab
itants. Belgium shows a ratio of one
car to every 80 persons.
These high ratios, it is pointed out
are due chiefly to the great activity
which has been displayed in the in
dustrial and commercial circles o.
these countries since the war. Ths
backbone of a. nations industry ]:
iron, steel and coal, hence with tn,
recovery of Alsace and Lorrain,
France has been plentifully supplied
with these commodities. Belgium
into which the iron and coal fields ex
tend, always has been an active manu-
IdCtuTluS Country along tleSc INES.
Neither of these territories has beer
troubled with a very great labor sur
plus, nor have they been forced tC
contend with any serious labor dis
putes, as has been the case in Eng
land. For that reason the economic
situation has steadily progressed. and
with the gradual rehabilitation of the
devastated areas prosperous condi
tians have Dreyailed
Germany, due to her heavy wal
debt and to serious financial and eco
nomic difficulties, lags behind the
other industrial nations of Europe
with the exception of Italy. The mum
Der of motor vehicles in use in Ger
many is approximately 100000, which
gives a ratio of about one car to every
200 inhabitants.
Business Depression Ends.
During the latter part of 1925 and
most of 1926 the German market was
undergoing a period of serious de
preston due to inability to secure
capital for business expansion and the
consequent decrease In the purchasing