A BACKGROUND OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 98, 19 January 1940, Page 8

A BACKGROUND OF THE WAR

Strength Of France

RISE IN INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT

The sharp rise in industrial output in France, revealed in a recent cabled message, emphasizes not only the economic strength of France, but the vastly more favourable position in which the Allies are situated iu this war compared with the war from 1914 to 1918.

.All along the line France is stronger today than twenty-live years ago. During the last war the enemy advanced over tile whole Lorraine field, shutting oh' virtually all of France’s iron ore. At the same time, Germany’s offensive through Liege, Charleroi, Mons and Valenciennes cut off the best part of France's coalsupply.

Between 1913 and 1918 the French output of coal declined from 41 to 26 million metric tons, iron ore. from 22 to a mere 2 million tons, pig iron from 5 to a bare million tons and raw steel from 5 to 2 millions. Today France possesses a stock of gold double that of 1914 an industry intact, not as it was then’ behind the enemy lines, and an Empire whose economic potential has vastly increased in the last quarter of a century. Foodstuffs Plentiful

In foodstuffs France is undoubtedly much nearer to self-sufficiency than any other great industrial nation on the Continent. Domestic production of grains, sugar, butter and milk is more or less adequate to cover home requirements. Of 19.1 million metric tons of solid food consumed by Frenchmen last year only 1.7 million tons were imported from both the French Empire (largely North African possessions) and foreign countries; the share of the latter amounted to a paltry 527,000 tons. . ~ The two items imported in sizable quantities in 1938 were maize (712,000 tons) and rice (549,000 tons, mostly from French Indo-China). Of 65 million hectolitres of wines Frenchmen drink, 16.5 millions come from Algeria and practically none from foreign sources. The life-line to French North Africa remains, however, as important for the transport of foodstuffs — cereals, fruits, vegetables, wines and cattle products—and phosphatic fertilizers, as for the transport of troops. Emergency Reserves

Furthermore, France has accumulated large emergency reserves of wheat, sugar, frozen and chilled meat and butter. These reserve stocks in conjunction with; domestic production ensure that French food supplies are ample to cover all contingencies. The supply of iron ore and scrap is more secure in France than in any other of the countries of Western Europe. While in terms of tonnage Germany has to import two-thirds of her iron-ore requirements and Great Britain almost one-third, France can get along with imports of rich hematite and magnetic ores totallin-.- only some two per cent, of her consumption. Her output of iron ore averaged 34.6 mil-, lion tons during the last three years, and nearly half of her production is exported, chiefly to Belgium and Luxemburg and Germany. In 1913 the Metz-Thionville area of Lorraine alone supplied 21 out of 28.5 million tons of iron ore needed by Germany. Today, the Alsace-Lorraine field lies safely behind the Maginot Line, and Luxemburg is the only region that could easily be overrun by the Reich. And, unlike Germany and Great Britain, which must importlarge quantities of scrap, France has actually an exportable surplus of this material. She ranks fifth in point of steel production.

German Airman’s Emotion

The full story is flow to hand of the incident in the R.A.F. mess, “Somewhere in France,” in which a young German learned that English airmen are not the ogres pictured by Nazi propagandists. The story is related oy a member of the R.A.F. in the following words:—

“At our invitation the chap was brought to our mess in a car under guard. He was one of the pilots of three German bomber reconnaissance ’planes our squadron had bagged on Thursday, and as he had put up a really good show we thought we ought to have him to dinner.

“The German sat on the right-hand of the commanding officer. He could not speak a word of English, but fortunately we have two. men who can speak German, and he was soon feeling at home. There was a lot of loud cross-talk and laughing, and with the aid of his interpreters he joined in. Then, about half-way through the meal he suddenly became silent. He buried his bead in his hands and began to sob. It had been too much for him. “Shot Or Tortured?”

“Officers led the young German from the room and consoled him. A little later he returned. In quiet tones he told bis hosts why his emotion had got the better of him. “A year ago,” he said, “1, like many of us, liked the English. We were sure they were quite decent people. But for the'past year we have been saturated with propaganda about how the British hate us and that we must hate them, too. i couldn’t help but believe there was some truth in it all, and now 1 find that my earlier beliefs were true after all. They told me when I set out that if 1 was captured I should be shot or tortured—and probably not shot.” A Glimpse Of Terijoki

Terijoki will be remembered in history as the place where a Sovietengineered puppet Government was set up for Finland. It is a tiny village with one main street, looking more like a country township iu New Zealand than a town in Finland, it contains none of the modern buildings and bustling industrial plants typical of the rest of Finland. Because of its mild climate, pine woods, beach and the warm waters of the Gulf of Finland, Terijoki was a favourite resort of rich St. Petersburgers before the World War. It has many large old wooden houses decorated witli scroll-work and set in extensive grounds that toda • have gone back to wild growth of trees and shrubs.

A mile from the centre of Terijoki stands a beautiful white marble Rus sian church. Farther north there is a small Orthodox convent; the few nuns, ageing women, living in poverty. Behind the buildings is a cemetery with Russian crosses on the graves bearing photographs of the men, women and children who lie there.