Manufactures and Commerce.— Manufac tures are in the most flourishing condition in Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia and Lower Austria; less so in the eastern provinces, and insignificant in Dalmatia, Bukowina and the military fron tiers. The total money value of manufactured products amounts to at least $500,000,000, the value of agricultural products to more than $1,000,000,000. As regards the individual branches of manufacture, there are machines produced yearly to the value of $20,000,000 to $25,000,000, and the supply about equals the de mand. In the manufacture of musical and scientific instruments Austria holds a high po sition; those of Vienna are especially celebrated. The manufacture of stoneware and chinaware is very extensive, being valued at about $12, 500,000 yearly, and giving rise to a brisk export trade. The glass manufacture is one of the oldest and most highly developed branches of industry in Austria. The manufactories, about 200 in number, are spread over the entire i monarchy, but are most numerous in Bohemia, where glass and glasswares of every kind are produced. The yearly value of this class of manufactures is estimated at about $12,500,000, of which a very considerable quantity is ex ported. The manufacture of metal goods is carried on to a great extent, being valued at about $50,000,000; and some of the iron and steel goods, such as scythes and reaping hooks, have a world-wide reputation. The manufac ture of gold and silver plate and jewelry is also important, and the articles of Vienna workman ship compete successfully with the French. The production of chemicals reaches the amount of $25,000,000, and about covers the home demand. As regards articles of food, the from beets has an annual value of about $60,000,000; of beer the production is $20,000,000 in value, the number of breweries is over 2,000; spirits are distilled to the value of $20,000,000. The manufacture of tobacco is a state monopoly, and is carried on in 38, mostly large, establishments. Of textile industries, the silk manufacture, since the loss of the Lombardo-Venetian prov inces, has become greatly limited. The manu factures of woolen, hemp and flax are among the oldest and most important of the state. The first gives employment to about 400,000 persons, and turns out about $70,000,000 worth of goods yearly, of which a considerable proportion is annually exported. In the whole monarchy there are about 650,000 spindles and 65,000 looms employed in woolen weaving. The linen manufacture (including also hemp and jute) gives employment to a greater number of per sons than any other branch of industry (many of them in their homes), and produces goods to a greater value. The chief seats of the manufacture are Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. The annual produce of the cotton manufacture is next in value to that of woolens. Although about 2,400,000 spindles are in activity, cotton yarn has to be imported. On the other hand, however, excellent cotton cloths are exported. Tanning is carried on to the greatest extent in Moravia, Lower Austria and Bohemia. The manufacture of leather goods, however, is very large, and in the production of gloves (in Vienna and Prague) Austria stands next to France. Altogether the manufacture of leather and leather goods employs about 200,000 per sons and produces goods to about $50,000,000 yearly.
In addition to the general import and export trade, Austria carries on,— partly from its cen tral position in the continent of Europe, and partly from its numerous navigable streams, ex cellent roads and railway system,— a very con siderable amount of business in the transit of goods through her territory to other countries.
In recent years the total annual value of the imports into Austria-Hungary was, in round numbers, $730,500,000, while the value of the exports reached $591,000,000. The principal imports are raw cotton, wool, cotton and woolen yarn, silk and silk goods, coffee, tobacco leaf, furs and hides, leather, machinery, locomotives, etc., hardware and clocks, books, newspapers,
maps, grain and cattle. Wood formed the chief article of export, next came sugar, cattle, grain, leather and leather wares (including gloves), hardware, eggs, coal and coke, woolen manu factures, glass and glassware, paper and paper wares, wool, malt, wooden goods, hides, etc. Nearly one-half of the commerce of Austria is carried on with Germany, the next places being occupied by Great Britain, Italy, Russia and the United States. Including fishing vessels and small craft, Austria-Hungary, in 1913, had 17,297 vessels of all sizes, with a tonnage of 610,541, and employing 48,698 men. The prin cipal ports of the empire are Trieste, Pola and Fiume. In 1913 there were 27,845 miles of railway open for traffic in the empire, of which 14,512 were in Austria, and 13,333 in Hungary.
Money, Weights and On 1 Jan. 1900 a new monetary system went into effect, the coinage being changed from a silver to a gold basis, and the standard coin and money of account being the crown (equal to 20.3 cents in United States gold). Practically the chief medium of exchange is banknotes, of various denominations. The Austrian centner, the weight by which all large quantities are rated, is 123% pounds avoirdupois. The metze (pl., metzen), the largest dry measure of a bushel, or somewhat less than the fourth part of an English imperial quarter, nine metzen making two quarters nearly. The eimer, the most generally used liquid measure, is equal to 14.94 English wine gallons. The Vienna foot is equal to 12.45 inches English. The joch of land is 1.43 English acre.
None of the European' states, with the exception of Russia, exhibits such a diversity of race and language among their population as does the Austrian empire. The Slays, who amount to about 19,000,000, or 45 per cent of the total population, are the chief of the component nationalities of the monarchy in point of numbers, forming the great mass of the population of Bohemia, Moravia, Carniola, Galicia, Dalmatia, the kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia, and southern Hungary, and half the population of Silesia and This pre ponderance, however, is only apparent, as none of the other races are split up into so many branches differing so greatly from each other in language, religion, civilization, manners and customs. These are the North Slavic Czechs, Moravians and Slovaks, the Ruthenians and Poles and the South Slavic Slovenians, Croats, Serbs and Bulgarians. The Germans, about 10,570,000 in number, are scattered over the whole monarchy and form almost the sole population of the archduchy of Austria, Salz burg, the greatest portion of Styria and Carin thia, almost the whole of Tyrol and Vorarlberg, considerable portions of Bohemia and Moravia, the whole of the west of Silesia, etc.; and they are also numerous in Hungary and Transylva nia. The Magyars or Hungarians (7,440,000 in number, or about 16 per cent of the total popu lation) form the great bulk of the inhabitants of the kingdom of Hungary and of the eastern portion of Transylvania. To the Italic or west ern Romanic stock belong the inhabitants of south Tyrol and parts of the coast lands and Dalmatia, numbering about 700,000 in all. A considerable portion of the southeast of the empire is occupied by members of the Rumanian (or eastern Romanic) stock, who number alto gether about 2,800,000, and from more than half the population of Transylvania, besides be ing spread over the southeastern parts of Hungary, Bukowina andpart of Croatia and Slavonia. The number of Jews is also very con siderable (above 2,258,000), especially in Galicia, Hungary, Bohemia and Moravia. There are also several other races whose numbers are small, such as the Gypsies (95,000), who are most numerous in Hungary and Transylvania, and the Albanians in Dalmatia and neighboring regions. The population is thickest in lower Austria, Bohemia, Silesia and Moravia ; thin nest in Salzburg. Generally speaking, it de creases in density from west to east.