Page:The Czechoslovak Review, vol3, 1919.djvu/380

Just as in the United States, so in the Czechoslovak Republic the great economic problem at present is the lack of coal. Although the country is well supplied with coal deposits, every industrial interest complains of an insufficient supply of coal. Sugar mills besiege the government with urgent requests to increase their share of the fuel, so that they can turn out beet sugar, the principal means by which the Republic pays for its purchases abroad; glass factories have to turn down foreign orders because they do not get their allotted quota of coal, farmers cannot thrash their wheat, and Prague street car service has to be cut down.

Minister of Public Works Hampl claims that the coal supply is still only about 70% of the normal. The efficiency of the workmen has been affected by the war, improvements in the mines have long been neglected, and the owners in view of the possible nationalization of coal mines have refrained from investing more money in machinery or opening new shafts. Importation of coal and coke from Germany has ceased, and on the other hand Bohemian coal has to serve much wider areas than before—Slovakia which formerly was supplied chiefly from the Salgo-Taryan mines which are now controlled by Roumanians, and Poland and Austria to both of which countries the Czechoslovak Republic is compelled by the Allies to deliver a specified amount of coal weekly. There is also a lack of railroad cars, but since Bohemia has the steel industry highly developed and possesses important railroad car and locomotive shops, this problem is being solved.

In the end the Czechoslovaks had to do what other European countries were compelled to do before them, namely reduce passenger traffic to save coal for freight traffic and for factories. Beginning with October 5 many passenger trains were taken off and on Sundays especially traveling has been reduced to a minimum. At that the Czechoslovaks are much better off than Austrians who have to depend for their coal supplies on what the Czechoslovaks send them; and on the whole the situation in Bohemia is not as serious as in France, to say nothing of Italy.

While many of the great Bohemian industries are still crippled by lack of raw materials, those industries which draw their material from agriculture have been producing and exporting. The amount of sugar, malt, beer and alcohol, available for export and for all of which a ready market will be found, is estimated at four billion crowns. Other exports consist of hops, lumber, manufactures of wood, chinaware and glassware, bringing the total to five billion. The problem has been, how to employ these products to get. for them partly the needed deficiency of food supplies, but mainly raw materials, like cotton, wool, copper, rosin, rubber etc.

Since the Czechoslovak Republic, like every European state and particularly the new states, finds it difficult to obtain loans, an arrangement was reached with a group of Holland-French banks to advance to the Republic 300 million francs on the security of the beet sugar crop. The loan is made at a rate one percent higher than the prevailing Dutch bank rate which in September was ⁠5+1/2⁠%, and a two percent commission was charged. The syndicate advances the money at once, and in return gets the handling of the entire sugar crop, charging the usual commission on the sale of sugar abroad. Of the sum advanced 80 million francs will be used to buy cotton, 37 mill. to buy wool, 80 million for needs of the metal industries, 20 million for chemical industries, 50 for leather industries.

The first shipment of the cotton which reached Bohemia in July has long since been worked up. into dress goods. It is interesting to note that the Czech manufacturers were pleasantly surprised by the quality of this American cotton; fears were expressed in advance of its arrival that inferior quality would be sent, since the Bohemian mills had to take whatever they could get. But the yarn made of this cotton was so good that is was mixed with inferior yarn purchased in Italy. On the other hand the problem of payment is still bothering the Bohemian cotton syndicate. The shipment which cost $6,300,000 was bought on ninety days credit in New York and with much difficulty was renewed for ninety days more. When it was purchased in July, a dollar was worth 15 crowns, now it is worth more than 30; in other words