Page:The Czechoslovak Review, vol3, 1919.djvu/19

 foreign wares in order to ruin Slovak works. Thus in 1905 pottery ware was imported into Hungary to the value of 575,000 crowns.

Closely connected with this industry is the manufacture of excellent bricks. The number of brickyards grows from year to year. These are also three factories for the making of cement. Slovak glassware which was once famous and prosperous is decaying for the same reasons which apply to the manufacture of pottery, namely that the Magyar Government does not want Slovaks to get rich. In spite of that there are still glass-blowing establishments in 17 districts.

Another industry has spread into all the counties; that is the manufacture of paper. But modern paper mills are found only in 7 districts.

It is plain that a country like Slovakia with its splendid forests is sure to have an important lumber industry. In 1900 there were 12 factories for the manufacture of furniture, and numberless sawmills.

The manufacture of leather goods is also relatively prominent. In 1900 there were shops in 25 districts. A shoe factory in St'avnica employs 75 workmen.

Water mills that formerly were used everywhere foregrinding grain for the most part are replaced by steam mills. These modern flour mills are found in 16 districts and give work to 1021 workingmen.

There are 9 sugar mills with 7648 workmen which produce 1,372,322 quintals of sugars; in all Hungary the manufacture of sugar amounts to 2,604.576 quintals. Sugar is exported principally into the East Indies to the value of about 10 million crowns and to England, 4 million crowns.

Distilling of alcohol is an important industry; besides 1469 persons who make alcohol on a small scale there are 7 large distilleries. There are small breweries in all of the large towns and there are 7 large breweries.

Slovakia has even a chemical industry, although rather primitive. Enterprises of kind number 24 and of them the most important are two factories for the manufacture of dynamite and cartridges in Pressburg, where in 1900 there were employed 778 men. The figures that it was possible to gather as to the different branches of industry located in Slovakia have been grouped in a little table below. These enterprises number 83 and have a capital of 129,929 ,000 crowns.

The economic effort of the Slovaks has encountered many obstacles; and the financial emancipation of the Slovaks is without doubt the most difficult problems of all. Although the first financial institution founded by the Slovaks goes back as far as 1845, it could not develop, for most of the banks founded by Slovaks have through government terroism fallen into the hands of the Magyars. That made the people averse to dabbling any more in finances, and between 1886 and 1895 not a single bank or financial establishment was founded. A new period opens in 1896 and extends to 1904; during that time the Slovaks have shown a rather live spirit of enterprise. A number of banks were founded and began to prosper in a satisfactory manner. Since that time the Slovaks have struggled man fully to free themselves of Magyar-German finances. They have succeeded, largely owing to the help of the Czech finance which looked upon it as its national duty to support the younger Slovak finances.

In 1900 there were 54 Slovak credit institutions; among them were 40 banks with