A BACKGROUND TO THE NEWS

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 300, 15 September 1936, Page 7

A BACKGROUND TO THE NEWS

In view of the “Drang Nadi Osten doctrine in Germany, significance. is being attached' to Herr Hitler’s referbmies to Russia and the (possession of the mineral wealth of the . Urals and Siberia and the .wheat fields of The Ukraine. “Drang Nach Osten” (the road to the. East) was a phrase em.-. ployed In Germany to describe the German pre-war policy of forcing a way to a foothold in the East through the Balkans. In the Great War the Germans . had by 1916 so fax ' translated the dream into a reality as to have uninterrupted and unthreatened communication and commerce with Constantinople, and. also with the cities-of Damascus, Mecca, Jerusalem and , Bagdad. , Siberia. Western 'Siberia is one of the greatest areas of level fertile farm land awaiting development in all the temperate cereal-producing regions; eastern and southern Siberia is a great forest region, immensely rich in minerals, and famed for its fisheries and furs. It contains about 5,000,000 square miles, and a population approaching 20,000,000., Before 1892, when the trans-Siberian railway was begun, the colonists In Siberia did not exceed 600,000. The mineral resources of. Siberia are known only in a superficial way.- It is estimated to possess one-quarter of the coal resources of Asia, and about half as much as Europe. The coal is fairly well distributed for future industrial purposes., As far as is yet known, Siberia contains only small quantities of . iron ore, but minerals exist in great variety. The forest resources are among the most important assets in the country. Urals and the Ukraine. The Urals, a mountain range of Russia, extends from the Arctic Ocean to the Caspian Sea, d distance of about ItfflQ-miles. The highest point is 5500 feet The system is rather a broad, relatively Iqw plateau 200 miles wide in the south. The Urals contain large quantities of ’ gold, , silver, platinum,. copper, iron, coal and salt, and precious stones, such as emeralds, topazes, diamonds and- jaspers. The Ukraine, in'.south-west Russia, has an area of 175,000 square miles, and of about 30,000,000. It is traversed by ‘thte fineister River, one o*f the oldest trade routes in the world. At one time The Ukraine was part of Poland; It is essentially tire cereal-growing region of Russia, and is very -fertile. There are also considerable deposits of iron ore add coal and quicksilver. Sugai beet growing is an important industry. Nuremberg. Nuremberg, where the Nazis have been holding their annual rally, stands on a plain on the river Pegnitz, 95 miles north of Munich, and is; one of tiie greatest industrial and commercial centres of South Germany. It is an Important railway junction, and is served by the Ludwigs Canal, connecting the Main and the Danube.' Before the Great War, Nuremberg was one of the commercial centres of. Europe, its specialties being., toys - and hops, for both of which it was the largest market on the Continent. The old city, surrounded by extensive modern suburbs, has most of its lofty walls and towers, built from the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries, still standing in an excellent state of preservation. • The city is noted also for its many centuries-old buildings and for its innumerable marble statues. There are many fine churches, rich in sculpture, metal-work, wood-carving, painting, and stained glass windows. Some of the churches were built in the thirteenth century. The population is nearly 400,000. Annecy. Three convicts strangled a warder and escaped from jail in the town of Annecy. This town in France is an important railway junction at the north-west end of Lake Annecy, 24 miles by railway north-east of Aix-ies-Bains, 20 miles from Geneva in Switzerland. Annecy has a castle, cathedral, and episcopal palace, and mantifactures’ linen', paper, and hats. It became French' in 1860, before which ,tlme it was part of Savoy. The population is about 16,000. Lake Annecy is nine miles long and two miles broad, and is situated nearly 1460 feet above sea-levet Italy and Self-sufficiency.

Italy’s policy of self-sufficiency in raw materials Us being vigorously continued. Having no important coal deposits and no petroleum, Italy is handicapped in the development of industries that might absorb her surplus population. Her great problem is to feed per people and at the same time to maintain exports on a scale and of a type that wilt enable her to diminish her constantly unfavourable trade balance. The greatest effort has been made to develop ■„ hydro-electric resources in northern Italy? Land,reclamation has gone so far that almost every available area has been put to pse. Only 13 per cent, -of the land of whatever type is unproductive. Water and soil have been developed to their utmost capacity in some of the southern districts of. Italy. Forests have been reduced to provide agricultural land. Streams have been put under severe control, their overflow prevented, and the remaining forests protected so as to prevent the otherwise rapid erosion of the slopes they cover. The growth of the merchant marine has been encouraged to enable Italy to reduce her payments to others for transportation services. Charing Cross Bridge.

A new bridge across the River Thames in the heart of London is recommended by the London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee after 18 months’ examination of various alternative schemes. In 1927 a Royal Commission, presided over by Lord Lee of Fareham, was appointed to consider the whole question of the Thames bridges. The commission produced a report dealing, inter alia, with the Charing Cross Bridge scheme, and on March 16, 1927, the Government announced that it would find 50 to 75 pe r cent, of the money needed for new bridges and riverside improvements in connection with them, being prepared to spend £1,000,000 a year for several years. On July 30, 1929, the London County Council and the shareholders of the Southern Railway approved the agreement reached between the leaders of these two bodies to build a new bridge from Charing Cross to the Surrey side. This approval having been given a Bill was promoted in Parlia meat in 1930 to obtain the necessary sanction to proceed with this work, It was, however, rejected by the House of Commons. The estimated cost of the Charing Cross Bridge scheme was about £12,000,000. The new bridge would greatly relieve the congested traffic in the Strand. •