Bemidji Daily Pioneer Newspaper, January 22, 1920, Page 8

14 'PAGE'EIGHT 'LITTLE HOPE IN GERMAN OUTLOOK American Business Men See Small Chance, for Immediate " Improvement. LOW MARK VALUE IS CAUSE Secialization Plans and Heavy Tax- ation Add to Unrest Among All Classes—More Willingness to Work Is ‘Noted. Berlin.—It has been interesting te me to observe the reaction upon the minds of American business men of a visit to Germany. These men have ecome heré in considerable numbers during the last four or five months. Not a few of them had previous knowl- edge of German business conditions; hence there was s rather pronounced optimigm among them as to Germany’s economic future. They knew, some of them, the Ger- many that existed before the war. They knew or had heard of the Ger- man capacity for hard and intelligent work, for applying science to business and production and for organizing anufacturing and trading interests ‘ecflvely. Americans of this kind fancled that they would find the same Germany of ante-bellum times. So they came with cheerful spirits as to thelr own business prospects; they felt sure they would be able to sell goods in large quantities here. All Disappointed. One of these Americans called to see me yesterday. I had met him some three months ago, soon after his arrival. Since then he has been most- ly at Hamburg. There is where the fmport trade of Germany before the war was chiefly centered, and he thought, after his disappointment here, that his best chances would be among the big® importing houses there. But he came back here again, disappointed. The general trend of his report was that It is practically impossible to do business here with American goods owing to the vast depreciation of the Qerman currency. The dollar is now werth about 45 marks, which gives the latter less than one-tenth of its mormal value. 'Add to this the further fact that all American goods are now very high in America itself, besides Righ freight and Insurance rates, and it may be safely asserted that the Ger- man must pay about fifteen-fold the pre-war prices for many American things. | But high prices and the difficulties of doing business were not the only things that disappointed the American travelers. Some of them came not to do business at all, but to look into the general financial and business condi- tlons on which all business must de- pend. They came, in other words, to talk with bankers and manufacturers and. get their point of view, to look with their eves into the business situa- ,/Ilon and prospects. And it was precisely this class of nvestigators that took the most cheer- less view of Germany's plight. The situation was regarded by them as far worse than they had expected and as offering but slight prospects for any early improvement of a suh‘zmntlnl character. What impressed them most was pre- clsely the depreciation of the currency already mentioned, together with the fact that nobedy could give any au- thentic grounds for expecting an im- provement in it. Not only the depre- clation of the mark, but also its violent fluctuations in value, seemed to them to exclude all hope for Germany to éet substantial financial assistance from abroad, for mneither lender nor borrower could undertake the risk in- velved. Pessimism Everywhere. ‘This situation made a deep impres- slon upon such Americans as were able to comprehend its significance. ! Moreover, there was a general atmos- phere of pessimism here that strongly influenced their minds—pessimism as to business and politics, pessimism as to taxation ‘schemes and socialization _programs, pessimism as to the labor situation, pessipism as to the ultimate outcome of peace negotiations. Alto- gether, therefore, the conclusion was reached that Germany is in a far worse position than is believed by Americans at home, The German outlook as the new year epens for business, discloses but few factors that make for confidence. One good factor, however, appears on the surface; namely, what seems to be a more reasonable attitude of the labor- ing people. The last great strike here, that of the metal workers which end- ed about three weeks ago, is thought to have exl‘msted the capacity of the Berlin workmen to wage any more big strikes this winter, It was so unwisely begun and carried on by the leaders that the radical elements have been somewhat discredited. Saner counsels are, therefore, expected to prevail in the Berlin labor orgalzations during this winter. A greater willingness to work Is also reported from most sections of the country. There is still considerable ~malicious loitering by radleal com munist and Socialist workmen ; but the wiser workmen are losing patience with those elements and are denounc- {ng them openly. The growing willing- ness to work is also shown by a vol- untary return to payment by the piece on the part of workmen in some es- tablishments. Not long ago a vote wns a———— - taken by the workmen of all shipyards of the country on this ques- tion ; but a considerable majority was cast against plecework. This week, wever, the workmen in several big ipyards at Hamburg and Lubeck have voted for pigcework. Applied Socialism War. The snme,thlng" has occurred in oth- er parts of the country. In all such cases it is t workmen themselves who act; an, side would only make matters worse. The hopeful thing in all thisys that it is the older, more reliable workmen who are taking matters into their own hands, with the determination to sup- press the young, unruly elements which had taken control of shop or- ganization "in many towns. But, looking further into the future, most German manufacturers just now are filled with grave misglvings about the development of the relations be- tween capital and labor. The National Assembly is soon to pass a law for the establishment *of shop councils which embodies the highest reach of applied soclalism that the world has yet wit- nessed. It will provide for the election of shop councils in all manufacturing and commercial establishments, except the smallest ones; and these councils will be entitled to elect one or two repre- sentatives in the boards of directors, with all the rights of “pay” members. They will make known the wishes of the working force and will be entitled to vote on all questions. But big public expenditures and big plans for taxation supply other grounds for deep discontent. Erz- berger sees clearly the need of a huge increase in revenues and he is setting about the task of passing laws to get It without much regard for all those local interests which are still so strong In Germany, Under the ante-bellum sys- tem the national treasury had to take a back seat as against the states. The latter claimed the big revenue-produc- ing taxes, the income and general property taxes, as their own peculiar preserves, and the nation was warned to keep off the grass. Erzberger has changed all that, under the stress of the huge revenue demands of the na- tion. He has made the nation supreme in taxation. The income and property taxes now belong primarily tb it. The states can get only a certain propor- tion of the revenues raised by the na- tion.—William C. Dreher in New York Tribune. FEAR NEW TURK MASSACRES Christians in Diarbekir Region Fles- ing to Lines of the Allies. Diarbekir, Turkey.—Fear of further massacres is causing numbers-of Chris- tians in this region to abandon their homes and seek safety in tife territory occupied by the allles, whose nearest post is at Ourfa. The Immediate cause of this exo- dus of Christians is the attitude of their Moslem neighbors. Back of it is a feeling of restlessness because of the fact that months have passed since the armistice, and as yet nothing has been done to' guarantee the safety of the non-Moslem population. The Near East Relief, an American organization, has succeeded in obtain- ing assurance from the authorities that the Christians will not he molested by the government. This assurance, how- ever, means only that the Christians are to consider, that if disorders begin they will not be at ghe open instiga- tion of the government. The situation is having its effect on the work of the relief organization in recovering the Christian girls who were curried off during the deporta- tions to Moslemn harems. The Moslems are threatening the girls with death if they permit themselves to be rescued, and many are afraid to leave their masters. Large numbers of these girls remain to be recovered. SKIRTS EHORT, ALSO HOSIERY Scarcity of Latter Attributed to Height of Former by Euro- pean Authorities. London.—Women are advised to buy their silk stockings now, for a famine in silk goods Is predicted in Europe next year. No more business is bejng accepted by continental silk manufacturers. Prices have risen 20 to 400 per cent more than before the war, and some Japanese varieties are six times more costly. The scarcity is partially attributed to the short skirt vogue, which has | meant an enormous demand for silk stockings. Concurrently ‘there has been a marked decline in production largely due to the adoption of the eight hour day In continental mills. Jews Bui|d Vessel; First Since the Ark Paris.—the first ship exclus- Ively built and manned by Jews since the Ark has just been launched at Jaffa, Palestine. The vessel bears the name of Hash- aluz. “Brownies” Quit British Service. London.—The last group of “brown- ies” has just left the government ser- vice, causing general lamentation. These were young messenger girls who were taken on during the war and were called brownies because of their special brown dresses, which were supplied by authorities. It is said that they proved themselves much smarter and quicker than boys. o - HEARDand SEEN at the CAPITAI pressure from the out- | THE BEMIDJI Oberlin college was founded. An elm at Huntington, Ind.. tree in the country. X Make Your Entry Now for the “Who’s Who in Trees” e T o, . ASHINGTON.—A “hall of fame for trees” has been inaugurated by the American Forestry association for the recognition of famous trees and’ the location of the largest shade tree in the United States. DAILY PIONEER Charles Lathrop Pack, president of the association, says: “There are many famous trees. For example, there is Liberty tree on the campus of St. on the corner of the campus under which was the first log house in which We want a complete list.” long has been regarded as the largest shade Now comes Dumont Kenunedy of Crawfordsville, Ind., with a picture of a tree on his property and the suggestion that it is larger than the tree at Huntington. This tree has a spread of 99 feet, while the Huntington elm has a spread of only 75 feet. The list of entries is growing rapidly. The “Wye Mills Oak.” near Eas- ton, Ind., covers a third of an acre of ground and has a spread of 140% feet. The circumference 1 foot from ihe ground is 51% feet. From Lisbon, comex the used fn making kettles. elm in that city. Ralph G. C. C. Royce nominates the Nir Joseph Hooker oak at Chico: Cal.; noinination of the tree under dians and white settlers came (o an agreement re: Smith of Circleville, which the 1In- ling Yron ore to be enters the Logan General Sherman estimates that 7,060 men could stand in the shade of this tree. A. D. Dart nominates the Ga., known to be a veteran in 1763. “largest live oak” in the South, at Brunswick, It has a circumference of 26 feer. T0O LATE TO CLASSIFY ; The rate for want ads may be found at heading of reg- ular classified department. Ads received later than 11 o’clock a. m. will appear un- der this head in current issue FOR SALE—Second hand furniture, including baby buggy, high chairs nenberg or Heck Bram. 2d1-23 nenberg or Heck Braun 2d AUDITOR .JOHNSON RETURNS FROM STATE CONVENTION County Auditor A. D. Johnson re- turned this morning from Minneapo- lis, where he has been attending a conference of the county auditors of the various countles in Minngsota. This session is an annual affair with the object of a general get-together when new ideas are brought up and discussed and is of mutual aid to all the county auditors in that each may learn just what the others are doing. REAL BABY ELEPHANTS. Four little Indian elephants were among a counsignment of live stock brought from India to London by an animal dealer. The baby jumbos stand about four feet high. They are so docile that they make excel- lent pets for children, to whom they are said to attach themselves de- votedly. A VENGEFUL SPIRIT, “Shall we ask the Jibways over for a game of cards, Henry?” “Do, by all means. I want to get even with John Jibway.” “What’s the matter ?” “The last time I was at his house he persuaded me to drink some of his home brew. I have some home brew now. ”—Blrmlnzhflm Age-Herald. S R | Bemidji Ma Maxket firm. and bulk, $4.75 to $4.90. Russets, $5.75 to $6. Bemidji Potato Markeff-—All varieties, bulk, small lots, $2.20 to $3.00 per cwt. Carload lots, sacked and loaded, $2.75 to $3.50 per cwt. BEMIDJI CASH MARKET QUOTATIONS. GRAIN AND HAY Oats, bushel Barley, bushel Rye, bushel........ Red clover, medtum, Ib. Popcorn, pound Wheat No. 1..... VEGETABLAES. Rutabagas, per cwt. Carrots, per cwt. Beets, per cwt. Cabbage; cwt. . Onions, dry, cwt. .. Beans, cwt. ... Dairy butter, pound Butterfat .......... . Eggs, fresh, dozen....... $4.00-$4.60 .$5.00-$6.00 .$6.00-$8.00 .65¢c-60c ..... 60c .b65¢-60c The followmg prices were being paid at Stxllwater, Minn., at time of going to press of today’s Pioneer: GRAIN AND HAY ‘Wheat, No, 1 ..$2.85-$2.95 Wheat, No. 2. ..$2.83-$2.92 ‘Wheat, No. 3. $2.79-$2.89 Oats ....... 75¢-77¢c Barley ..... 1.20-1.48 Rye, No. 2. $1.62-81.72 Buckwheat, per 1b.. ceeeea2%C No. 2 timothy hay..........$23.00 N. 1 clover mixed Rye straw... e+ $1.10- 31 15 VEGETABLES Beans, hand picked, navy, cwt. $6.60 Potatoes Beans, brown, cwt. X Beets, per cwt. ... eee....$31.26 Carrots, per ¢cwt.............31.60 Onions, dry, per cwt. $5.26-35.76 Eggs, per dozen..... ..ble Cabbage, cwt........ .$2.26 Rutabagas, per cwt... .$1.50 Butterfat .......... .60¢c Packing Butter........... ..40c MEATS Mutron, b ...............10c-15¢C Hogs s ..14c-16%c Veal . . ve..180 Beef, dressed. .. ... ...Tc-14c Lambs ...eccevevean....1234c-18¢ Cucumbers, hot house, doz. ....$2.00 “|Garlie, Ib. ... ciiiieninenn ..,-36c rket Quotations Chicago, Jan. 22.—Potato receipts today were 24 cars. Minnesota and Wisconsin Round Whites, sacked Michigan, $4.90 to $5. Idaho MEATS ve...12¢ 18c-19¢ ..11lc-18¢ . .40c-46¢ . .256¢-30¢ ..26c30c 16¢+18¢ ...22¢ ...22¢ Mutton Hogs, 1b Dressed beef, pound .. Turkeys, live, pound. . 0ld Toms, live, pound.. Geese, live, pound ... Ducks, live, lb. Hens, 4 lbs. aud over .. Springers, all weights, 1b. .. HIDES Cow hideds, No. 1, pound.. . Bull hides, No. 1, pound.. Kip hides, No. 1apound.....30c-32¢ Calf skins, No. 1, pound....46c-48¢c Deacons, each ......... $2.60-$3.00 Horse hides, large, each.$8.00-§9.00 ........ 10c-12¢ ve....40c-46C 26¢-26¢ 20c-22¢ Tallow, pouna .. Wool, tright ..... semi bright. . Wool, .30¢ John’s college at Annapolis under which a treaty with the Indians was signed in 1632. The experts tell us this tree is close to 800 years old. We all know of the Wil- liam Penn Treaty tree, beneath which Washington took command of the con- tinental army. At Oberlin is the elm .$1.76 .$1.26 Parsnips, per ewt...... Squash, cwt...... LIVE POULTRY s Turkeys fancy dry plckedq 8 Ibs. ...... ver. . o 40€ Turkeys, 9 1bs. up No. 2 turkeys .... Turkeys, old toms .. . Turkeys, small and thin. .. .At anuo Geese, 12 1bs. up, ana fat .. Ducks, dark .z . Ducks, clean’ Ducks, white . Hens, heavy, 4 Ibs. ‘and over Springers, live Hens, small. Ducks, No. 8 Geesa. bright and fat. Hens, 4 1bs. up, fat.. Hens, small and thin . Springers, dressed............. HIDES Cow hides, No. 1 Bull hides, No. 1. Kips, No. 1...... Calf skins No. 1.. ‘Deacons . Tallow ... Horse hides, B ‘Wool, bright..... P Woel, semi-bright i ) \ \ % 4 | THURSDAY EVENING, JAN(]ARY 22, 1920 Don’t Miss the Basket Ball Game |- THURSDAY EVENING, JAN. 22 AT THE ARMORY 8 o’Clock PARK RAPIDS TEAM vs. RALPH GRACIE POST LEGION TEAM A good exhibition of the best of all indoor sports will be given. The Legion team is getting their stride, and Park Rapids promises a hard contest. ) ADULTS 50 CENTS CHILDREN 25 CENTS Including Tax Including Tax Ve 0000 | WVhy Do We Offer You EATON'S IGHLAND LINEN HERE is a very good reason - why we offer this paper in pref- erence to others. YOU are the chief reason. We offer it knowing that it is of the quality YOU will o+ like—because it reflects the tastein style of envelopes and choice of tints YOU would approve, and last be- cause it is a paper that is YOU to your friends. When you are passing our way, come in and see some of the new- tints and envelope shapes, ’ASK YOUR DEALER Pioneer Stationery House Wholesalers N making a selection for your busi- ness stationery be sure that the paper measures up to.the standard of yoursuccess. Thesuperior qualityof BERKSHIRE TYPEWRITER PAPERS is immediately ev1dent to all who see them. ' They will lend to your business correspondence that quict dignity which goes with assured success. ASK YOUR DEALER If He Does Not Have It in Stock Have Him Telephone 799-J PIONEER STATIONERY HOUSE BEMIDJI, MINN, . Wholesalers s