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Show BUD1SPEST JUS STARVING PUT! Excessive Prices and Lack j of Employment Making Conditions Hopeless. j j By JOHN CLAYTON. j (Chicago Tribune Cable, Copyright.) BUDAPEST, Sept. 5. Via Paris, Sept. I 7. Several of the largest plants in Buda- pest closed on Monday, throwing 100, WO men out of their jobs, and swelled the idle to 250.U0U. Food is more plentiful now, and there is a greater variety, but prices still are unlowered. Many families fami-lies are close to starvation. The average wage of the skilled workman work-man is 30 crowns, while a large loaf of bread costs 100. butter 100 a pound, chocolate choc-olate powder 12U a pound. At the restaurant res-taurant a meal of meat, vegetables, fruit, beer and brend costs 100 crowns. One workman said: "Under Bolshevism Bolshe-vism there was no food. Now there is a little food, but it is too costly to buy." Delegations of citizens visited Premier Friedrich yesterday and today to inquire what he is doing to relieve the situation. situa-tion. The chief cause of distress is plundering plunder-ing by the Rumanians. LOven the factories fac-tories where they have not taken the machinery are forced to close before being be-ing "requisitioned." The machinery and goods taken were valued at a billion crowns. but the paralysis of industrial life will bring the total much higher. Plundering, if anything, had been increased in-creased after the receipt by the Rumanians Ru-manians here ten days ago of the allies' note, threatening serious consequences if unauthorised requisitions continued. |