Daily Kennebec journal., 1912-02-26
GERMANY's PEACE HOSTAGES.
Domestic Improvements, World
Commerce and World Markets For
bid tiostiities.

when he iured the French emperor
into war. 1t is n new Germany. Won
IderfullY more developed in business
land financial organization as wen as
| in population and social life. The re-
lstraints upon her rulers are thus much
Increased, and their conservatism and
caution, it ould seem. may be cor
lrespondingly depended upon in times
luf diplomatic tension.
by reviewing The development of the
empire since its creation after Sedan.
one realizes how far this mighty in
tdHstrial advance has linked its finan-
cial interests with those of the great
capitalists nations, especially the
money lending proverbs. the chief
OF which on The continent is
i rance Eegin with population. In
lJSt1 the empire had / .000,0 600 inhabi-
tants: now il has O., 900 600 Sixty
years ago there were as many French
men as Germans. but now the Ger
mans are over n third more numerous.
The growth of German cities in the
past generation has been even swifter
than that of the great towns Of the
United States. Between 1890 and 1905
Hamburg grew faster than Boston,
Munich than Baltimore. I.eipsic than
Buffalo Dresden than New Orleans,
Hanover than Milwaukee, Cologne than
Cincinnati Breslau than Cleveland
Frankfort than Pittsbrg.
Consider the empires increase in
wealth In the fifteen years. 1S94-i909.
Germany's s total wealth enlarged from
80 billions to >7ts billions of dollars. in
1899 the savings bank deposits Of Prus
sia were 81. .4@6. .25d, ,0o0; and in 1a17 they
had risen to 81. $50, ,250000. In 1873. Ger
man foreign commerce. embracing inn
ports ard exports. amounted TO bill
lions Of marks; in 1892, 10 : billions:
in 1900. 10 10l. billions; in 1906. to 10
billions. Ia his report for the year
ended April 30. 1909, the British con-
sui general at Frankfort wrote that
the German securities market had
been flooded in the l. months under
review with German issues aggregat-
ing more ;han S750,o00.000; and by far
the greater share of this tremendous
sum was taken up in Germany. For
aign purchases or partieipations were
admittedly disappointing and insignif
can't" And the consul general added.
j ."fhe wealth which pre-eminently the
last worlds boom has brought into
1
loans Is nothing short of stupendoHs. -
| III transportation. both on land and
sea. The progress of Germany has been
extraordinary Between 1870 and 1907
the aggregate length of German rail-
roads increased from 10000 to $4,000 Kill
cmeues. \ French writer. observing
the economic growth OF the dreaded
neighkor, notes that: Thanks 10 the
carrying odt Of the magnificent river
Improvement scheme, the country's in
terror navigation has gone beyond the
Watersheds. ard drained the products
OF central Europe toward her ports.
These latter, 10 which Belgian Ant
Werp and Dutch Rotterdam serve as
auxiliaries, are the best fitted up in
the world. German shipbuilding yards
have universal reputation. German
cocks monoponZe the major portion OF
European expectation. The trading
feet of Hamburg alone surpasses in
tonnage the whole of that of France. %
In 1873. the merchant marine of Ger
many aggregated ! OBS SIG tons. in 1909
the tonnage has substantially quad
rupled The German ..iiner' has be-
come. in cur day, one OF the most pop
ular and luxurious agencies of trans
atlantic voyaging, and the steamships
OF the Hamburg American and North
German Lloyd companies may be seen
On every ocean.
Pig iron production tells tho same
story. In 1865 Germany produced pig
iron 10 the amount of 10,S75.061 metric
tons. but in 1871 only ] 1,f21 900 metric
tons were produced. A direct compar-
ison with Great Britain at this point
lis Illuminating. Ir. 1916 the United
Kingdoms pig-iron output was G600,001
tons ard in 1905 Il was IA, $3.50, ,703. Ger
many. however, in the same period in
creased her pig iron output from l.
6l50C to 10,S75, ,061 metric tons. the Ger
man increase being 57S per cent, as
compared with British increase of
ll9 per cent. This enormous increase
in pig iron production i'll thirty years
is fair index to the growth of Ger
man industries and manufactures,
some of which now lead the world.
Ne such industrial development could
/ take place within so brief period un-
less it were financed largely by money
borrowed abroad as well as at home;
land in recent years the leading French
bankers have placed more and more of
4
lin and Frankfort for the financing OF
an endless variety of German indus
trial and commercial enterprises. Ire
calling of French loans last week. pop
lularly and no doubt accurately ascf1p-
ed to the Moroccan crisis, instantly re-
vealed the present day financial inter-
dependence of the two capitals, as
stocks were thrown upon the Berlin
boUrse and panic conditions for the
moment drew the attention of the
world. tt is upon this vast modern
structure of international credit which
would tremble violently if not utterly
tcollapse. that the writer of recent
book has based his argument that war
between the great Powers of Europe
has become practically an impossible
| ;ty, considered as a profitable enter
prise even for the victor. A nation
like Germany may CROWN population
and wealth, yet the higher her fran
eiaI and Industrial development may
5e the more intimate do her financial
reiations with other Powers become
4 nd INN u