Yankee Jeremiah Smith, Boston's lawyer prodigy and Hungary's financial dictator,* sailed last week from his native land for the scene of his labors. He responded readily to the interrogations of the Amerikai Magyar Nepsava, a leading American Hungarian journal.
He had been allowed 30 months and lie did it in 6; balanced Hungary's budget and stabilized her currency. This achievement, Mr. Smith thought, would last.
He spoke of high taxation and insisted that, for some time to come, it would be necessary. He spoke of prices, which once 21,900 points above the 1914 mark, had subsided to 18,900. He spoke of steady price decreases, accelerated later by commercial treaties with neighboring countries. (Hungary recently concluded a commercial treaty with Poland.) He mentioned that, when he left Budapest, prices there were higher by 10% than in Vienna.
Regarding employment, he pointed out that Hungary, one-third its pre-War size, had the same number of Government employes as before the War. ''However," he continued, "steps have been taken gradually to diminish the number of Government employes without wholesale discharges, because that would have caused great confus:on and destitution."
Railways, iron works, the post and telegraph services and agriculture were in a much better position this year than last, he insisted, but emphasized that some time must pass before the first four were on a firm financial footing. As regards agriculture, Mr. Smith said : "The Hungarian land is a great possession and Hungary is very fortunate to be able to support herself by it." The prospect for the 1925 crop was the very brightest.
Then, doubtless unconsciously, he scored an ill-designed accusation made inter alia by Count Karolyi when he reached Canada, that no loans should be made to the present Hungarian Government because such funds would be used to stir up another war: "As for rumors against loans which claim that the Hungarian Government uses the money for warlike purposes, I will only say that not one cent may be spent for other than economic and financial reconstruction without my consent. And I will not give my consent to anything which does not serve the interest of reconstruction. The Government has no capital at its disposal which it could use without my knowledge for secret armaments and the rumors about preparation for war are nothing but naive horror stories."
The Commissioner General concluded with a tribute: "The Hungarian Government has risked even political unpopularity to cooperate with me, a fact of which I can speak only with the greatest appreciation."