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An

Analysis of the New International Frontiers in Central and Eastern Europe

By E. W. SHANAHAN, Ex-research Student.

THE break-up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the carving of the Baltic States out of Western Russia have caused a number of new countries to appear on the map of Europe in the broad isthmus between the Eastern Baltic and the Eastern Mediterranean. It would seem as if the irregular patch-work quilt arrangement, formerly peculiar to the Balkan Peninsula, had been extended by the Peace settlements over the whole of this intermediate belt of Europe, and as if a perverse spirit had inspired the Treaty-makers to multiply to the utmost the length of international frontiers. It is worth inquiring into the actual increase in these frontiers, as much to show that the percentage increase is smaller in reality than in appearance, as to afford some justification for the arrangements made.

Let us examine the area lying to the south of the New Poland first. The length of the pre-war land frontiers of Austria-Hungary including Bosnia-Herzegovina was about 3,300 miles, while that of the frontiers of Serbia with countries other than Austria-Hungary was about 700 miles, and that of Rumania with Russia about 400 miles, thus making a total of about 4,400 miles. Under the new conditions the following States in this area have frontiers to be considered: German Austria, Czecho-Slovakia, Rumania, Hungary, Poland (southern frontier), and Jugo-Slavia. For the purpose of estimating the difference in length of frontiers here, the new frontiers of the first two may be taken as representing the gross increase; because the southern boundary of Poland is then accounted for, and because the new western frontier of Rumania is about equal in length to the old western one, and its new eastern frontier shows no increase in length. It is noteworthy that the throwing together of States in Jugo-Slavia has caused a shortening of frontiers in that region of about 425 miles, as explained below. When the lengthening of frontiers through the emergence of German Austria and of CzechoSlovakia is balanced against the shortening produced by that of Jugo-Slavia, the result is approximately the difference required, and the frontiers of Rumania and Hungary and the southern frontier of Poland can be neglected.

In accordance with this plan the following estimates are given, in approximate figures. The increase in frontiers in the new

German Austria is 440 miles, i.e., an increase of 540 miles of new frontiers with Czecho-Slovakia, Hungary and Jugo-Slavia, diminished by the 100 miles of shortening of frontier with Italy. The increase in frontiers in the new Czecho-Slovakia is 150 miles, i.e., the difference between the length of the new frontiers with Poland, Hungary and Rumania, and that of the old frontier of Austrian Galicia with Russia and Rumania. Thus far there is a net increase of 590 miles. The decrease in frontiers in the area of Jugo-Slavia is 425 miles, obtained by taking the sum of the new frontier with Hungary not already reckoned and the increase in the new North and South Italian frontier (280 miles) from the sum of the vanished Serbian frontiers with Hungary, Bosnia and Montenegro (705 miles). This gives a net total increase of 165 miles in the region formerly occupied by Austria-Hungary, Serbia, Rumania and Montenegro, or an advance of only 3 per cent. on the pre-war frontiers.

When, however, the new frontiers of Poland other than the southern, are considered, the increase of the new upon the old becomes appreciable, and this increase is naturally still more marked with the inclusion of the new frontiers of the Baltic States. Thus, again in approximate figures, the new western frontier of Poland with Germany is 500 miles and the new eastern one with Russia 700 miles. When this total of 1,200 miles is reduced by the length of the old frontier between Russian Poland and Germany, 600 miles in length, the net increase is 600 miles. This added to the increase already obtained for the southern region gives a total increase of 765 miles of frontier on a pre-war total of 5,000 miles, or 15 per cent. The Baltic States yield a net increase in frontiers of 735 miles, obtained by subtracting the length of the old eastern frontier between East Prussia and Russia (130 miles) from the sum of the eastern frontiers with Russia and of the new inter-State frontiers, namely 865 miles in all.

The total increases in land frontiers, for which the Peace Treaty arrangements are responsible in this belt of Europe, amount therefore to about 1,500 miles, while the pre-war land frontiers were about 5,130 miles. The increase of 29 per cent. would be a trifle less, if the sea frontiers which have not changed in length, however assigned, were included. In the above only a limited number of European countries have been considered, namely those most affected by the Peace Treaties, but they among European countries have predominant land frontiers. The percentage increase in land frontiers for the whole continent as a result of the Peace changes lies somewhere between 12 per cent. and 15 per cent., but the whole increase is the merest fraction of the total land and sea frontiers combined.

The Relative Importance of Cooperative, Multiple and other Retail Traders

Illustrated by the Sale of Government Butter

By SYDNEY M. BUSHELL, Research Student.

For the purposes of this enquiry it has been necessary to adopt an exact definition of a multiple shop. A number of similar shops under one ownership constitutes a multiple shop organization; the large store with a number of departments under one roof is really a multiplicity of shops and is therefore not included in the definition. The typical multiple shop company may own as many as 900 branches; it sells a limited number of stereotyped articles and is managed in a stereotyped fashion from a central office with a system of travelling managers. The local managers working under the travelling managers are merely foremen and are allowed very little initiative, as all wholesale buying is done by the central office and the selling price is likewise settled there. But a classification according to system of management has proved impossible as this varied very much; accordingly a multiple shop has been defined as one owned by an organization having a number of branches each doing a similar kind of trade, thus including all grades from the small shop-keeper who, having been successful with his first venture, opens branches in neighbouring districts, to the large joint stock company with branches in every town, which owns the factories where its goods are made and reaps the full advantage of buying on a large scale. The Ministry of Food defines a multiple shop as an organization having six or more branches; this definition is arbitrary, but a line must be drawn somewhere, and as sellers of Government butter are classified under this heading, it is necessary to adopt it. The branches may all be in the same town or scattered over several divisional areas; provided that there are six of them, their position does not matter.

The Ministry of Labour estimates that the result of its enquiry into the distribution trades will show that there are about 500,000 shops of all kinds, employing in all about 1,250,000 people. The object of this enquiry has been to find a basis upon which some reliable estimate can be formed as to the proportion of this distributive trade at present in the hands of multiple shops, co-operative stores and the ordinary private trader respectively. In order to make a complete analysis and comparison of the effectiveness of each form

of distribution particulars were sought of the capital, turnover, number of organizations, of shops, and of trades covered, the population served, and the area where each form of distribution was found most successful. Two sets of figures, if collected at an interval of, say, a year, would give an interesting comparison of the rate of progress of all three methods. If it were possible to obtain particulars of the number of staff needed, with the aggregate amount of their wages and the average number of customers served by them in each of the three methods of distribution, it would be possible to draw some interesting and useful conclusions as to which method is most economical in saving labour and whether the benefit of the economy goes to the employees, the customers, or the owners of the business.

With regard to the co-operative societies all the information wanted is obtainable, and the investigation has been easy as they are affiliated to the Co-operative Union, which has a statistical department and publishes an exhaustive collection of figures of all kinds, giving their capital, turnover, number and distribution of members, etc. The materials for these are taken from the returns furnished by each society to the Registrar of Friendly Societies, and include all societies whether affiliated to the Cooperative Union or not. The societies have perhaps less temptation than other concerns to make their balance-sheets appear more favourable than they really are, and in addition their books are open to inspection and therefore the figures may be relied upon.

There are 1,364 distributive co-operative societies in the United Kingdom; these own between them 6,200 branches or shops, and their capital in 1919 amounted to £65,737,980; their turnover in that year was £155,157,963, and their number of members was 3,846,531. In some cases people belong to more than one society and consequently are duplicated in the total, but it is estimated by the Co-operative Union that if 100,000 is deducted this will allow for the persons who have been counted twice. The number of members is not indicative of the number of families served by cooperative stores, as frequently more than one member of a family belongs to a society, but as 10,682,685 persons, or more than a quarter of the sugar-buying population of Great Britain, were registered for sugar with co-operative stores in 1919, we may conclude that this number are largely supplied with foodstuffs from the same source. An idea of the growth of the movement may be obtained from the fact that the membership has increased by 1,095,896 persons since 1912, and the turnover has almost doubled in the same period.

All kinds of goods are sold by co-operative societies, though articles of food have first place. The members do not confine their custom to their society's shops, they may prefer to obtain certain articles elsewhere, and in many cases their society does not stock all the goods they need.

As regards the area served, co-operative shops are found in varying numbers all over Great Britain. They flourish in districts such as Durham, Lancashire and the neighbourhood of Glasgow, where there is some big industry like textile weaving or coal mining which gives steady employment to a large urban population of the thrifty artisan class; but in rural districts such as Cambridge and Northern Scotland, the population is too scattered and too badly paid to be able to join a society. London is the apparent exception to this rule, but this is because it has no large staple industries except in Woolwich, where there is a flourishing society. Its population is badly paid and moves about so frequently that to join a society is impossible. In 1911 Clackmannan headed the list with 26 per cent. of its population members of co-operative societies, Durham came second with 13.3 per cent., while Rutland came last with only 6 per cent. and several of the Highland Counties of Scotland had no members at all. Where a large proportion of the population are members, the stores are large and cater for most of their customers' wants, consequently in these districts they are found to spend a larger amount per head and in Durham each member averages £36 9s. per year, but in Rutland, where the stores are scattered, the members are obliged to buy from other sources and consequently only spend half that amount.

The ordinary retail dealers are so unorganized as to make it impossible to attempt to get any complete and reliable information from their trade associations, but having got figures of co-operative trade, if similar figures of multiple shop trade were obtainable, the amount of trade done by the private dealer would be merely a question of subtraction from the total trade of the country.

The real difficulty has been to get any information about multiple shops. Their Federations collect no general statistics and each firm is naturally most unwilling to give such information as it possesses, mainly because each is afraid of giving away trade secrets and also because they are afraid of legislation.

Having come to a cul-de-sac with regard to information about multiple shops, it was found necessary to narrow the enquiry and confine it to the trade done in one or more articles of universal necessity preferably rationed, and to obtain the information if possible from the Ministry of Food. Sugar seemed the most suitable commodity, but unfortunately it is impossible to obtain figures of sugar consumption arranged under the three headings. The figures for butter are the only ones available.

Butter has disadvantages as a guide because the figures here given relate solely to Government butter which is entirely imported. The people who buy home produced butter are not enumerated, which may account for the small number in North Wales and South Western England who buy Government butter, the remainder are probably supplied from farms in the locality. The consumption of butter also varies in different classes of life and margarine is used as

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