Growing Prosperity

When Jeremiah Smith, Jr., League of Nations Commissioner General in Hungary and possibly one of Boston's most distinguished citizens, appeared last week before the Council of the League (see Page 8), he had a fine tale to tell of Hungary).

It is necessary to say, before giving the substance of Air. Smith's story, that League control of Hungarian finances began for all effective purposes on May 1, 1924. At that time, a deficit of 99,930,500 gold crowns ($19,986,100) was anticipated in the 1924-25 budget (July to June inclusive) and a sum of 100,000,000 gold crowns, from an international loan amounting to 253,000,000 gold crowns, was earmarked for the purpose of balancing the budget.

To the Council, last week, Mr. Smith said that there would be a budgetary surplus for the year ending June 30 and that consequently not one heller (1/100 of a crown) of" the 100,000,000 reserve had been utilized. Moreover, he averred that he could draft a budget for the coming year that would show a surplus. Excellent prospects for agriculture, the mainstay of the Hungarian Kingdom, were also reported.

The Council, unanimously accepting Mr. Smith's report, sanctioned an agricultural loan of 30,000,000 gold crowns out of the 100,000,000 gold crown fund which had been saved.

A demand made by the Little Entente for an inquiry into Hungarian armament was shelved.*

*The Little Entente (CzechoSlovakia, Rumania, Yugo-Slavia) contends that Hungary, like Germany, has not lived up to her treaty obligations concerning disarmament. Hungary, unlike Germany, is a small country, with about one-eighth of the latter's population. Hungarians, claiming that they arc disarmed within the provisions of the Treaty of Trianon, declared that the Allied Military Control Commission in Hungary, coupled with strict financial control, is sufficient guarantee to the Little Entente Powers that Hungary cannot arm and is not armed.