The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1923. RECOVERY OF AUSTRIA.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXX, Issue 1, 3 September 1923, Page 4

The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1923. RECOVERY OF AUSTRIA.

A year aso Vienna was a Uyinp; city, but tO-day the v.iiicr would lvok in

vain for evidences of decay. The lot of the students, earning their living as waiters, cobblers or barbers is, indeed, tragic, as also is that of the middle-class people who exist on the money yielded by the pawning of their last belongings. There is also suffering among unemployed workers and workers on short time who earn wages wholly insufficient to keep their families; but the distress is no longer comparable to that of last year, and its form and dimension are now similar to that in other countries following a deflation policy. A correspondent of the "Manchester Guardian" states that even the unemployment figures show considerable improvertmit. In February there were 168,000 unemployed; by the end of April the figure had decreased to 132,000, and it Is still on the decrease. The foreigner who came to Vienna to live cheaply is no longer to be seen in the fashionable restaurants and night' clubs of the city. The stabilised exchange, high prices, high taxes, restricted imports, have converted the Austrian capital into a comparatively expensive place, and with a continuously increasing index number for the cost of liv'ng Vienna has now reached and surpassed the level of her most expensive period, that of September, 1922. These eight years of war and peace have impoverished Vienna immensely. Her population is still receiving salaries and wages much below the old gold level, while the prices of commodities are above it. But six months' reconstruction work has one all-important result to show—the return of confidence. Since September. 1922, the Austrian k"one has remained stable,vand no one in Austria now dreams even of the possihility of a fall of the currency; the industrials are afraid only of a possible rise which may endanger their chances of competition. This stable financial basis has restored a normal process 0 f calculation in industry and trade. People realise that profits of 100 to 1000 per cent, are no longer possible, and now calculate on the ordinary pre-war business profit. Prices are no loneer fixed in Swiss francs and English pounds, but in kronen again. Gradually there is being established a deflation mentality,. It is true that the Neue Freie Presse complained that the inflation spirit is still too strong, and that people, despite their limited incomes, are still spending freely, which only helps the continuous rise of prices. Nevertheless the return of the spirit of thrift is shown by the huge in-

crease of bank deposits. A third result of the reconstruction is the increase in the bona fide tourists visitine; the beautiful scenery of the country. The number of foreign visitors, compared with the 'period last year, has. increased considerably. The foreign visitor in i 1922 came here to live cheaply; I this year he is visiting Austria as he would visit Switzerland or Italy. Foreign money is now being invest-

ed increasingly in Austrian industrial and banking enterprises, and the returning confidence of the Austrians in their own currency is shown by the rapid recall of their deposits held abroad. Important banking, mining, and other shares can still be had for a trifling sum; first-class Industrial shares are quoted at two to three gold francs per share. In the first half of April the Austrian banking shares roso 40 per cent. The index number rose, for banking shares, from 205 in the middle of April to 209 in the middle of May; for transport companies from 1176 to 1445; building shares 668 to 827; iron and steel, 665 to 744; mining shares, from 23,244 to 23,817.