Evening star., 1939-09-25
Nozis, Lacking Koiser's Capital,
Have Own Way to Pay for War
Debt Huge, Gold and Exchange Totols SmoI:
Third Reich Can Roise Money at Home EosiIy

bank at the end OF 1918 tOtaled
l,067 900 900 marks. Preserves Of
other pre-war state banks were
negligible) There was good deal
Of gold coin In circulation at that
time, furthermore. BY calling in
this coin and carefully outstanding
It's resources the Reichsbank actually
increased its gold holdings in the
course of the war
The Reichsbank now, however,
lists gold reserves of only 77,0O0, 900
marks. The Nazis have further
gold holdings which are unlisted.
The total probably amounts to at
least 200 900 900 marks, possibly even
twice that much. But even maxi
mum estimates credit the Third
Reich with only a fraction Of the
gold that the Second Reich had
when 1t went to war.
In general, the Germany of 1899
already has been living on its fat"
and undertaking to "starve itself
into greatness" for several years,
whereas the Germany of 1914 had
considerable reserves on which 1t
could draw This difference sets
definite limitations to the methods
by which the Nazis can finance the
new World War.
Naxi State Has Advantages.
On the other hand, the Third
Reich also has certain advantages
which the Hohenzollern empire did
not enjoy.
The Nazis also enter the war with
certain capital reserves, such as the
nationwide contributions made dur
ing the summer toward financing
the annual party conference at
Nurnberg which never took place.
Hitler had named it in advance,
'The Congress Of Peace" "a gro
tesque irony and advance payments
made by tens of thousands of work.
mems families toward the low-priced
peoples cars" whose production
now has been suspended in favor
of that of military planes. Both
these funds have been taken over
for financing the war. They amount
to tens of millions of marks-but
are still only fraction of the re-
serves which the Reich had to draw
upon In 1914
More important than these re-
serves, in the long run, the Nazis in
financing the present war can profit
and are proflting-by the expe-
rience of the Hohenzollerns in the
World War.
Nazis Have Closer Control.
The Nazis also have much closer
control OF every phase of national
life than the regime of 1914 did;
they had the country organization
ally and psychologically prepared
for war long before the war came.
they understand much better than
the imperial regime did how to keep
up public morale, and they are con-
centrating their national resources
and national energies on prosecution
OF the war much more thoroughly
than the Hohenzollern regime.
Price control keeps consumer costs
down, gives the Reich a greater
share of national income, while
rationing and anti-hoarding laws
give the populace little else to do
with their purchasing power.
These considerations combine to
explain the differences between the
methods whereby the Germany of
1914 set out to finance the first
World War and those whereby the
Germany of 1899 is setting out to
finance its war.
The chief new war taxes which
the Nasis have introduced are q SO
per cent surtax on all incomes over
2,400 marks 1880 at par) yearly;
increased levies on tobacco, beer,
liquors and champagne, and a spe-
cial contribution to be made to the
Reich by state and local govern
ments, amounting to IS per cent