Thursday, 19 December 1929

Berlin:  

Another economic crisis confronts the cabinet of Chancellor Hermann Mueller and threatens the post of Finance Minister Rudolf Hilferding.  Germany still needs an emergency infusion of cash to pay its bills through the year.  Hilferding has failed over the past several days to get this loan from the U.S. banks that had expressed interest in it, except on terms that would have required his resignation.  But the cabinet agrees today to introduce and support a bill in the Reichstag for a 450 million mark amortization fund, which was a condition that several large German banks had placed on lending to the government.  As a result of the bill, Germany will be able to gets its emergency loan from domestic banks, Hilferding doesn't resign, and Germany breaks off the negotiations with the U.S. banks.

But on the same day, more news illustrating Germany’s worsening economic situation surfaces.  A government estimate says that due to rising unemployment, a housing shortage and other economic duress, some 35-75,000 children will face some form of economic hardship this Christmas season, many going hungry at least part of the day. 

Elsewhere: 

London:  8,000 people, representing different religions and denominations, gather at Albert Hall to protest the persecution of religion in communist Russia. 

Manchuria:  The Chinese Eastern Railway, over which the recent Russian invasion of Manchuria was waged, is reopened.