10 
LAND & WATER 
Fcln-uaiy i, iqij 
The Value of the Mark 
By T. H. Penson 
TTTltRF, scorns to be a vcrv Ronoral desire at the 
l>r.scnl time to ascertain so far as possible what 
( ".einiaiiy's economir )X)sition really is. E\iden(e 
of a kind there is in abundance, biit a great deal 
of it can liardh' be regarded as trustworthy. There is 
no doubt that Germanj- is verv badly in need of many 
fonimodities either for the feeding of her people or for the 
carrying on of the war. 
Neutral tra\-ellers describe wliat they have seen 
or experienced in the way of food restrictions, and 
letters taken from prisoners" often speak of great priva- 
tion at home. Frequent reference, too, is made iii 
our dail\- papers to the efforts that arc being 
made in Cermany to keep down prices and to 
secure a more even distribution of food and clothing. 
J-Voin information of this kind inferences may be 
drawn ])ointing to the fact that the economic pressure 
exerted bv the Allies is achieving very definite 
results. There is, however, one form of evidence 
a^ to Cermanv's (Economic position which attracts 
(■omparati\-ely little attention, and yet which is more 
dclrnite and more suggestive than many of those 
referred to abo\e. I refer to what may for convenience 
be described as the value of the mark, and it must be 
understood that the opinions here expressed arc those 
of the writer only. 
An Economic Gauge 
The value of the mark, as expressed in the currencies 
of the various neutral countries, is an external factor of 
great importance in gauging (iermany's internal con- 
dition. But the study of the foreign exchanges, as they 
arc called, is an extremely technical subject, and man>- 
will no doubt regard it also as an extremely dull one. 
It is possible, however, without going too far into 
technicalities, to extract a good deal that is really helpful 
in one's attempt to estimate how (jermany really stands 
cronomically. 
The first fact that it is necessary to emphasise is that 
in neutral countries the mark is worth very much less 
than it was at the beginning of the war — very much 
less in fact than it was six months ago. The countries 
in which this fact is of the greatest importance are 
those immediately bordering on Germany and the United 
States of America. The extent of the depreciation of 
the German currency in these countries is seen at a 
glance in the following table : 
Xonnal value . oj Present value of 
Cniinin'- i'^f> Marks. loo Mar/,'s. 
Sweden.. .. SK.SS kr. 56.50 kr. 
Norwa\' .. 88. 8S kr. ()o kr. 
]X-nniarU .. SS.88 kr. (n kr. 
Holland .. r)<)-^*'> f- 41-25 fl. 
Switzerland .. i-',j.44lr. 85.45 fr. 
U.S. .A. .. .. .2.5-81 dollars 16.81 dollar?. 
This serves to show that the \-aluc of German money has 
as a consequence of the war fallen about ;^y per cent, 
in Sweden ; 32 per cent, in Norway ; 32 per cent, in 
Denmark; 31 per cent, in Holland; []^, per cent, in 
Switzerland ; 30 per cent, in U.S.A. 
With her currency so depreciated it is evident that 
(.ermany is paying \cry dearly for what she buys from 
neutral traders. For example, whereas in normal times 
for a Swedish article costing 80 kroner Germany would 
]>ay 100 marks, now she must jjay about 161 marks, 
and when it is remembered that the prices of the goods 
( lermany wants are in many cases some two or three 
hundred per cent., or even more, in excess of what they 
vvere before the war, it will easily be understood how- 
serious a drain on her resources is caused by the mere 
fact that in foreign centres of trade the value of the mark 
has fallen to such an extent. 
The second fact worth noticing is that not only does 
this depreciation exist, but that it is steadily increasing, 
in spite of the tremendous efforts being made by the 
German Go\ernment to check the downward movement. 
The fuUowint: tables will illustrate this decline, and will 
liclp to bring home the fact that G ermanv's financial 
jxisition is not only bad, but is steadilv getting worse. 
J.— The regular and continuous decline in the value of 
the mark during the ))ast two years is well sci n in the 
case of the American Exchange : 
January 1915 depreciation of Mark in .\ew York 8",o 
April " „ „ „ 13':,, 
Jxl.v „ ,. 15".. 
October ., „ , ,. ij",. 
J,Tnn;ir\- i()i() 
-Vpril 
J'll.V 
December ,, 
20"„ 
24% 
n. — The steady decline during the la.st few months 
which, as illustrating present tendencies is of even greater 
interest, may be conveniently traced in the exchanges 
as quoted in the countries surrounding Germany. During 
the months of August, September and October of iQib 
there was very little change to be noted, but then set 
in a steady downward movement which reached its lowest 
})oint in December just before the Kaiser produied his 
first " Peace Note." The possibility of an early peace 
led to a rather sharp rebound, but the effect soon passed 
off and by the middle of January the value of the mark 
had fallen again almost to the low level it had reached 
before. 
Value nf 100 Marks in Sici/zer. 
1016. Sweden. Xorway. Denmark. Holland. land. 
kr. 
Oct. 25 61.35 
Nov. I 61 
,, 8 61 
,, 15 60.85 
,. 22 59.50 
.. 20 57-75 
Dec. 8 56 
.. 9 .54'.')0 
kr. kr. fl. fr. 
62.75 64.20 42.80 91.80 
62.75 64.10 42.42 90.40 
62.75 64 42.32 90.25 
62.50 63.85 41.77 87.60 
61.40 62.50 40.47 85.75 
61 60.20 .40.42 84. (>o 
58.20 59-50 39-10 80 
57.40 58 39.10 79 
Representing in a little over "^ix weeks a fall per cent* 
of about : 
Sweden. Norwav. Denmark. Holland. Switzerland. 
8 67 6 10 
Without going too deeply into the question, it seems 
desirable to get some idea of the main reasons for the 
depreciation. Nations, like individuals, have to pay 
for what they buy. They may have to pay in cash, 
or they may be able to postpone the date of payment by 
getting credit, the latter naturallv depending on th(> 
amount of confidence felt in the financial stability and 
integrity of the buyer. The goods which one nation 
obtains from another are jiaid for in various ways, l-'or 
the most part they are jiaid for by other goods, but 
j)a3-ment may be made in (Jther ways also as, for example, 
in gold or in securities. This is another way of stating 
the familiar economic tag that imports are paid for by 
exports, taking " exports " to include, of course, the 
precious metals, securities, and the many forms of sei-vicc 
which one country may render to another, and for which 
a return may be expected. 
The foreign exchanges - that is the value of a country's 
currency expressed in tcnns of the currency of other 
countries —afford a very fair idea as to the nation's balance 
sheet. The depreciation in the value of the mark at the 
present time shows that the balance is decidedly against 
Germany. She cannot pay in goods ; she is unwilling 
to pay in gold ; she has parted with most of her foreign 
securities ; she finds it difficult to get credit. 
In the early days of the war it was by no means un- 
common to hear people seriously putting forward the 
argument that it was a mistake to interfere with Ger- 
many's imports ; that she should be allowed, or even 
encouraged, to import as much as she would, hwX that the 
exports wherever possible should be cut off. In this 
way it was said she would be obliged to pay in gold ; she 
would be drained of her metallic reserve ; she would 
become bankrupt, and financial ruin would be the pre- 
cursor of her complete downfall. This rather illustrates 
the danger of rel\-ing too much on theory and not paying 
