PROSPEROUS GERMANY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3775, 20 July 1926, Page 35

PROSPEROUS GERMANY.

SPEEDY FINANCIAL RECOVERY. WANGANUI. July 17. Some rather interesting information about Germany has been given by Mr W. J. Poison, who formed one of the commission to visit Europe in connection with the proposed agricultural bank From the appearance of the country, said Mr Poison, Germany seremed to have suffered less through the war than other European countries. The taxation of the farmers was ridiculously low. and the actual purchasing power was not less than 10 per cent below that of pre-war tiroes Germany had passed through the war and through the worst inflation period in the history of the world, rod had undertaken heavy reparation obligations. As a result of the Dawes plan, in Mr Poison’s opinion, she was in a more healthy position than the Allies. She had escaped a great deal of her obligations, which had improved her standard of living, and had given her such impetus and progress that it would not bo long before she would be back to the position she held of old. 'The effect of the Dawes Plan had been to relieve Germany of her obligations to an extent which has not been fully appreciated by the rest of the world. “We saw no poor people." added Mr Poison,” although we searched the slums. We saw grapes in the poorer areas for sale at abbot equivalent to our money, at Is 6d per lb. The people all appeared to be well dressed, and the total unemploy ment at the time of the visit amongst 65,000,000 of people was considerably less than the unemployment figures in Britain showed at that time. The farmers in the fields were working, it being the spring of the year, and every acre appeared to be under cultivation.” As far as the visitors could observe the farmers were evidently working with a desire to reetsablish themselves and get back to the petition they occupied before the war. Mr Poison spent some time on the frontier of Denmark, and met some of the Danish farmers who were German subjects before the territory was handed back to Denmark. Mr Poison found that these people still fraternised with the Germans. “They told us,” added Mr Poison, “that “that the Germans made no secret that in a few vears thev would get back the territory obtained bv the Danish people, and it would not be their fault if they did not obtain other territory as welL’V Mr Poison did not know how much importance could be attached to the statement. The visitor came to the conclusion that the Democratic Government was well established in Germany, and he did not think that there was much probability of a return to the old regime. Mr Poison considered that Germany by her resources and liehf taxation would return to r >» , o , »nerity much earlier than anyone imagined she would do a few veer« a«?o.