Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 04.djvu/354

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GERMANY 298 GERMANY yards of lumber produced, and about 23,000,000 cubic yards of firewood. Mineral Production. — The chief min- eral producing portion of Germany is Prussia, where the chief mining districts are Westphalia, Rhenish Prussia, and Silesia for coal and iron; the Hartz for silver and copper; and Silesia for zinc. There are coal, iron, and silver mines in Saxony. Through the Treaty of Peace, Germany lost the great Sarre coal basin, the product of which is to go to France for 15 years. The industries of Germany depend largely upon the coal production, and the shortage of fuel in 1919-1920 proved a very serious factor in the re-establish- ment of industrial operations. In spite of careful rationing, factories were obliged to cut down. Railroad and gas works reserves were reduced, and dwell- ings were unheated. In addition to the coal required for domestic use, Germany was obliged to furnish to France a large amount monthly in return for the de- struction of the coal mines in northern France. The coal production in Ger- many for August, 1920, the best month following this agreement, was 11,637,000 tons, or 730,000 tons less than before the war. There were deducted about 2,700,000 tons, leaving a total <?f about 9,000,000 tons to be applied to domestic uses. The use of lignite, of which there are large deposits in Germany, was greatly de- veloped, and there are indications that the production of this coal would more than equal the reduced supply available. Experiments were carried on in 1920- 1921 for the production of liquid coal, and these were so successful that there was every indication that a method would be discovered to reduce coal to a liquid form. The effect of the lack of fuel to industry is shown by the falling off in the pig-iron production which in July, 1920, was 526,000 tons, and in October, 1920, 490,000 tons. In general, the coal supplied to zinc, copper, and lead mines was scarcely more than enough to keep the mines in operation. Iron_ is produced chiefly in Prussia, Bavaria, and Saxony. Steel is made in Rhenish Prussia. The total production of pig iron in 1918 was 11,754,542 tons, compared with 19,291,920 tons in 1914. Detailed figures of production in other metals were not available in 1921. Production and Industry. — The indus- trial condition of Germany is indicated to a large extent in the previous para- graphs on agriculture and mineral pro- duction. While manufacturing had re- vived to a large extent from the war conditions, the financial and economic position of the country made it almost impossible to arrive at even an approxi- mate indication of the real industrial conditions. Many of the large manufac- turing corporations showed satisfactory dividends on paper, but the depreciation of the mark made impossible an accurate determination of just what profits were resulting from manufacture. All items of cost had greatly increased in 1920 over pre-war cost; labor about three times, coal much higher, and many other supplies and requirements ran as much as ten times the pre-war cost. Coynmerce. — Germany has since 1879 pursued a protectionist policy in her commercial relations. Nearly half of the imports are subject to duty and the duties levied in 1919 amounted to over 20 per cent, of the value of imports sub- ject to duty. There was considerable demand for agricultural implements, especially to Poland, but the factories, on account of their diminished power of production, were unable to fill more than 50 per cent, of the orders. Foreign trade, except with the countries border- ing on Germany, was practically at a standstill. During the first lOVz months since the signing of the armistice, the United Kingdom exported to Germany goods to the value of over $80,000,000, and received from Germany goods valued at $1,087,000. There were very large exports to Germany of American pork, beef, and other food products, in October and November, 1919. These products, with cotton and leaf tobacco, constituted the bulk of the United States exports to Germany. The im- ports from the United States during the fiscal year 1920 amounted to $202,176,- 079, while the exports to the United States were valued at $45,085,975. Communications. — The total length of railway lines in Germany is about 39,000 miles. On April 1, 1920, all the various German state lines were transferred to the central government. About 36,000 miles are state lines. The canal system is of great importance. The Kaiser Wilhelm or Kiel Canal connects the North Sea with the Baltic, and is over 60 miles long. The Hohenzollern Canal between Berlin and Hohensaaten, was opened in 1914. Another impoi'tant canal is the Elbe-Trave Canal. _ The post and telegraph service are in the hands of the central government. There are over 150,000 miles of telegraph line and over 80,000 miles of telephone line. Finances. — In 1919 the revenue and ex- penditure were estimated to balance at £2,832,700,000. The revenue in 1918 was £3,824,062,100, and the expenditure was £3,950,502,500. The budget estimates for 1920-1921 are, for revenues 25,300,000,- 000 marks, and for expenditure 24,200,- 000,000 marks. The total funded debt in