THE PLIGHT OF GREECE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21160, 18 April 1932, Page 8

THE PLIGHT OF GREECE.

The problems of the Danubian countries, in the throes of financial crisis, have been an anxiety of the Powers and of the League of "Nations for sonic time. With them Greece hns been bracketed, though not belonging, strictly speaking, to the Danubian area. It has now been announced by the Premier, M. Venizelos, that it will be impossible to balance the Budget without suspending payment- on overseas debt. This is the national equivalent to the individual's confession of bankruptcy- Greece has not reached this pass for the same reasons as those, behind the financial descent of Austria and Hungary. They have seen the territory over which their trade and industry normally operated circumscribed severely and they arc set in the very midst of the area in which prohibitive tariffs, embargoes and other barriers have brought commerce almost to a standstill. For three and a-luilf years Greece has enjoyed stable Government, after a long and hectic period of unrest and disturbances. In that time an energetic programme of public works, notably roadmaking and land reclamation, has proceeded. The difficulty at present faced has' been precipitated by a check in the flow of the loan money required to complete the schemes, while the works relied upon principally to increase the productive capacity of the country, to relieve the Budget, restore the balance of trade, and tinance the service of the foreign debt have not reached flic point of giving an adequate yield on their capital cost. Strenuous efforts to obtain more loans have not been successful. Greece has thus to face an emergency similar to that experienced by other countries which have had great activities stimulated by overseas loans, and have seen the supply of funds cut off suddenly. The fact that overseas payments have had to be suspended will necessarily intensify the crisis and make the process of recovery infinitely more protracted and difficult,