Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-11-02
Business Seen on Eve
Of Decline i'm France
BY GERvILLE REACHE,
A Foremost Journalist Of France.

It is currently believed that France
has been spared in the world crisis and
is passing through the present depres-
sion period without suffering the slight
est harm. Here. is the real situation:
AS in America, the crisis in France
began with the Stock Exchange crisis.
AS early as March 1929, long before the
slump hit Wall Street, the Paris market
began o ceaseless decline and losses to
French stockholders fortunes were ut
least equal proportionately to those Of
American or British shareholders.
The official index of shares with .
variable return decreased from 540 n
February, 1929. to around 400 in Octo-
Der, 1880, and as this index Is based
on 800 of the best stocks listed on the
Bourse, it may be considered that this
reveals the reality only in part.
Several banks-of the second cate
CORY, it is true-have been stricken In
Paris and the failure of one weighed
very heavily on the end-of-Octeber
liquidation on the Bourse.
The chief argument advanced in con-
nection with French prosperity Is that
the country has no unemployment. But
it must be remembered that this coun-
try always has lacked labor since the
1921. It has 1000 900 foreign laborers
employed, who give certain elasticity
to its labor market.
It is only since last June that the
equilibrium has been upset and a clear
out-and-out repression been noted in
the economic field. The falling of of
exports has been considerable in the
past eight months; the index Of the
volume Of exports is lower by "a per
cent compared with the average. OF
the previous year. In particular, iron
and steel exports have regressed almost
without interruption for the last three
years to the extent Of 80 per cent, ex--
ports of cotton yarn so per cent and
those of cotton cloth, 80 per cent.
The textile industries crisis is self
evident. After a flve-week strike work
has only partly been resumed. Lux
ury" industries also have been much
trafac.
The wheat crop has fallen to 63,-
900 900 hundredweight from the co.
900 900 hundredweight Of last year.
Other crops also are mediocre and
prices to the producers have dropped
considerably without the consumers
benefittng in any way. Precisely in
this Latter fact Mes the. principal indi-
cation of the economic crisis which
threatens to be exceedingly severe in
France next Spring. Whereas prices
have fallen throughout the rest of the
world, prices in France still 1mper-
turbably follow the ascending march
with salaries. This phenomenon Is
very characteristic in the matter Of
French industrial coal, which has re.
manned pegged at an index base OF
English coal landed in French ports
fell 10 per cent in the course OF
year.
In order to avoid dismissing workers,
many firms have continued to produce
goods for stock purposes; but. despite
the seasonal trade which lasts until
Christmas, sales are becoming difficult
even in the internal markets. A rather
accurate indication OF the situation Is
furnished by the automotive industry,
where used cars are unstable.
If there Is added to this survey the
railroads deficit Of $64 ,000, 900 and the
extremely marked decline in colonial
produce, which bids fair to ruin part
of the French colonial companies, 1t
cannot truly be said that France is
rich and prosperous amid the gen.
eralized crisis If she is suffering less
from it than her neighbors. it is due
entirely to a certain harmony in her
production, which is partly agricultural
and partly industrial, and to support
resulting from the recent monetary
restoration and to the reconstruction
Of factories destroyed in the war. But
these factors have now played their
parts out and France, like other coun-
tries, is about to know the stern reality
Of the general economic slowing dowo
(Copyrieht. 1930.)