GERMANY REVIVING.

Auckland Star, Volume LII, Issue 168, 16 July 1921, Page 5

GERMANY REVIVING.

GREAT POLICY OF COMMERCE. WORLD'S GREAT COMPETITOR. Sir Joseph Ward recently returned to London from a tour of France, Belgium, and Germany. While in Berlin he assumed the name of "Mr. J. IV. Begg" iv order to get an unbiassed view of things. The action of Germany in declaring inability to pay the war indemnity demanded by the Allies, Sir Joseph said, was mere camouflage. They could pay the whole amount with no great difficulty. The Germans had made up their minds to abandon the military system for good and to devote themselves to what one might call a peace policy. Sir Joseph heard that on ail sides —from leading merchants and retail people, and also from what one might call the man in the street —and without exception the general impression conveyed was that they were glad the military system had been compuleorily abandoned. They were not disposed to go in for a fresh navy, and were strongly in favour of only a suflicient number of military being kept in Germany for police purposes. The Germans were going in for a great • policy of commerce; they wore working early and late. Motoring through manufacturing centres after midnight, he found the blazing and the factories at work. In some of Germany they were working the whole of the 24 hours in "shifts. In the fields, too. they are up very early and working until late at night, and not only in Germany, hut in France and Belgium the women and children were to be found working at all hours. j H is clear, said Sir Joseph, that the people want peace, and their idea is that the present generation ehould be taught the benefits of peace rather than war. He felt positive that, when the trouble in Silesia had been got over, Germany would become a great competitor all over the world.