The Dominion. SATURDAY, JULY 20, 1918. COAL AND IRON AND WAR

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 259, 20 July 1918, Page 6

The Dominion. SATURDAY, JULY 20, 1918. COAL AND IRON AND WAR

Gemuky has become the great outlaw among the nations of the civilised world. Apart from • her Austrian, Bulgarian, Turkish, and Bolshevik fags, she has the. whole world against her. But she still defies the world, and is able to .reap Komo of the fruits of her conquest in the East. It was hoped that starvation, or internal revolution, oi' economic ruin would have brought the Prussian War Lords to their .knees ere this, but this end. is not yet. Why is this'! What is the secret of Germa"ny's staying power and attacking strength'/ A full and :'adequate answer to this question would need a many-sided statement, but one explanation may be given to show.how Germany has been able up till-now-to defy the world. The. :\nffji, American Review for April remarks that this is a war of metals, t and it was because of her wealth in 'metals that Germany was able to begin and to sustain the war. The fact is that up till now Germany has b?en stronger than the combined Allies in the mineral forces without which, humanly speaking, victory cannot come. Germany up till now has had the domination in coil and iron. Close on seventy years apo Bismarck declared that'it was not by Parliamentary majorities, but * by blood and iron that Prussia would make progress, ill forged the diabolic weapon through whose use the German Empire came into existence. The Kaiser and his gang stand for the Bismarck formula, and they, defy the world because a kind of Satanic providence has up till now in this v :tr made them supreme iii coal and iron. This domination in coal and iron which up till now has been in the hands of Germany is passing from her hands into the hands of the Allies, and she is downed to be mislwd by llw weapon she forged to crush others. Fifty years ago Britain produced as much coal and iron as did the other nations of the world'. But before the war all this had changed. In 1914 Germany alone produced nearly as much coal and 40 per cent, more iron than Britain. Tn this war coal and iron are the sinews of the warring nations. These pia-terial factors arc of enonnon:; importance, but the unconquerable valour of the French armies remiiids_ UK that the spiritual factors arc still more important. Spirit is greater 'than matter.

During the lust two years th- coal ■•tiicl iron aspe:t of flic war has tiwii discussed in thy Quarterly / unci tidiitbiinjh Reviews, and in Uw -April mini her of the Sinciccnih Century find .-\ficr lln. Ellis Baj.:kbr has an informing article entitled "Coal an.'.l Iron—and the Domination of tlio World." These dkeusskms show that ike battle is largely fought in the coal'and iron mines of the contending nation:!, find how well prepared" Germany v/as for this conflict is shown by her co.il and iron"output before the war. Forty-eight yearn ago the place, of the Central Powers'in'the production of coal is xeeri in (he following table of statistics: — ISti/i. Toils. Unilcd Kingibni !lii.7Ufl.fllii) Germany L'Si"3o,i!ll(i United States IM.TOO.OU'J Aiisirin-llui'Kiii'v •J.O.Ki.uOI) Krniieu 11 ,B 10.1100 liiissiii VMllll-J Helgiiun i I,S 1(1.(1(1(1 Other countries .i.ifiQ.fino Total !82,0. i :il,0l.l0 The folluv/ing statistics show Ik , tremendous incrcue in the output of coal the Central Powers have ■made since ISGa: — 1913. Toms. United Kingdom L'ST.IV) IHHI Ciwn-nny 27: i.(i. r »:i.olKi Tiiilnl 'Stuhs D01..V2(i.f10!l Aiislrin-Humjary ril.iifll.Olln FniUro ■:<l,1!!0.f!WI Ituwiii 2!l.870,ll':i!l Molgiuni '"..Wt.WH! Oilier countries 11l,2Sfl,U0'l Tnlfil 1,321.00(1.0011 These figures apply to Qv. iirrincl before the war, but I he war was only six weeks old when Germany stole from France 00 per cent, of her coal mines; and nearly all the coalmines of Belgium became her spoil also. It will 'in seen above that.before the war Britain and France together had an output oE 1127 million tons, and the Central Powers 325 millions.

But Germany's spoils in France, Belgium, and Poland have, given her an extraordinary superiority in coal over .Britain and Franco. But, America with her colossal coal resources is now on our side. Distance, no doubt, is a handicap l.u the .Allies - . Bui. tfermany h.i.s losl, her domination in coal, ami the effed, of this v.-ill be seen in the dav of her defeat.

Thy following statistics tell a similar story with regard to Germany's icsoura.'.s in iron. Forty-five years ago she was almost nowhere in the. production of iron. Hero arc tho h>ll res showing her place among the nations' in 1865: — 180.-.. Tons. I'nifed l.H'li.lMl (jerinany !'7.'i,'l(lfl I'liiiei! S'.n.le- Sl."),!l(l(l .\iistria-HiiaKary "MM!) l-'rant-e \,'M,m l'nsf\n :'"S,(infl Belgium ...'. 171.,'H11l Oilier count vies H.'!.1)31) When we glance now at the follov;ing figures we secCicnnany's extraordinary progress in the production of iro:;:— I'.iin. Tons. I'liited Kingdom l r ),.'ißfl,floo (lerinniiy I+,7!ti.Coo United Sinter 57.74(1,f1f11l A iisiria-Hungnry 2.010,00*) France t.OOii.Mlll I'ufsia .1.01(1,1)11(1 Uelijium 1,.5m,00fl Oilier countries 2JiIM,W It will be eco'.i from the above that between 1365 and 1910 production in* iron was increased fiftecnfold. in Germany, thirty-threefold in the United States, and only twofold in tho United Kingdom. But Germany's resources in iron are very much greater to-day than in 1910. Before the. war was six weeks old sbo had not only captured GO per cent, of the co.il mines of France, hut, also 90 per cent, of her iron mines. And Germany has iron spoil in Belgium, Poland, and in other places. Tho output of iron in the Central Powers is possibly double that, of Britain and France, and in this we have an explanation of her smashing blows. But tho balance is no longer unfavourable to tho Allies. The United States is with w>; and we have now an overwhelming domination in iron. Distance here again is ;», handicap to the Allies, but notwithstanding this, Germany';, , domination in iron is gone, and the , weapon she. gloried in—"blood and iron '-—shall crush her.

Germany's mineral wealth that before the. war gave her commercial and industrial greatness was all stolen from Franco within the last hundred years. In 1815, as the result of tho Battle of Waterloo, she trot the valuable coal mines in the Valley of tho Sari'c. These mines have made the region an important industrial centre. Tho next colossal steal was in 1870, whi-311 the- iron mines of Lorraine came under the German flag. Waterloo,brought, coal and Sedan iron to Germany. Wo have above indicated hor next great steal. In the north-east of Franc. , , near Luxemburg, is the Valley of the Bricy— tho region in which Franca had 60 per cent, of her wealth in coal and 00 per cent, of her wealth in iron. In the early days of the war all this was lost to Erunce. Tho victory of the Marnc.won much for tho Allies, but it did not bring back the Valley of the Ericy, with its priceless treasures of coal and iron. There is no more distressing fact in this war than this: that tens of thousands oFrenchmen have been slain by iron from their own stolen mines* Our warriors in-tlw air are no doubt, making tlrsc coal and iron mines, their target, and as they increase in, number the day of victory will be brought nearer by their making thiv stolen mines an impossible proposi-. : tion k< work. The entrance of the. United States has given the domination in coal and iron to the Allies. When the clay of reckoning epines restitution unfit be made. Franco j must get back her coal and iron, for ] Germany, rich in coal and iron, will be an eternal menace to the peace I and freedom of the world.