Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1915-05-06
IS BEST Of FRANCE
Section Held by Germans Is of
Vast Importance.
Nearly One-Ha!f of Industrial France
and the Homes of One-Tenth of
the Population Behind
German Lines.

Washington, D. C.-The Importance
Of the five per cent of French terri
tory held by the Germans is strikingly
set forth in a statement given to the
press by the National Geographic So
ciety 1t shows that while it is com
paratively small in area it is very
large indeed in industrial and agricul-
tural Importance. It says:
Holding only about 10000 square
miles of French territory, or less than
one-twentieth of continental France,
the Germans have behind their ad
vanced lines nearly one-half of indus
trial France and the homes of one-tenth
of her population. Pas-de-Calais, Nord,
Aisne, Ardennes, Mouse and Meurthe-et-
Moselle, of which the Germans hold all
or the larger and most important
parts, are the banner departments of
France. Here are the mines, the foun-
dries and factories, and the diaries
and farms, which are the pride, the
wealth and the strength of modern
France. In this narrow strip under
German occupation, there is produced
70 per cent of all coal mined in France,
80 per cent of all of the natiye-mined
iron, and nearly half of the republics
output of manufactured articles.
THE iron and steel industry of the
great republic lies almost entirely
back of the German trenches. France
stood fourth among the nations of
the world as a producer of iron and
steel, with an annual production Of
100000 tons of pig iron and of 3,100,-
900 tons of steel. This industry was
centered and contained in northern
France, for here were the raw mate
rails. The Flemish coal basin, extend
ing into the Nord and Pas-de-Calais
where 100000 miners were employed,
produced 60 per cent Of the coal mined
in France, and, practically, the coun-
try's entire supply of fossil coal. The
iron mines of the Meurthe-et-M oselle |
furnished S4 per cent of the total
French output of iron, and this re-
gion was reckoned as one of the prin-
cipal iTon-producing regions Of the
world.
With the French and Belgian iron |
and coal fields in their possession, the |
Germans would have almost a monop- |
oily of the iron and steel industries of |
Europe. Germany is now second only |
to the United States in the production |
of iron and steel. Before war con-
ditions set in, the United States pro-
E0O Ann oF
Germany 12,300,000, Great Britain g.
040,000 France 100000 and Belgium |
100000. Germany is third among |
the great industrial nations of the |
world in the production of coal, and |
with the French and Belgian mines |
behind her lines might easily equal |
the output of Great Britain, second |
upon the list Thus, unusual interest |
attaches to the small strips of foreign |
lands back of the German lines.
THE Nord department, all but a
few square miles of whose coast lands |
is in the possession of the enemy, is
in agricultural and industrial impor-
lance the first department of France. !
In this department, and the depart |
ment of the Pas-de-Calai8, Meuse and !
Meuthe-et-Moselle are the great metal |
working plants of the French, the huge !
Pittsburgh and Cleveland mills, foun-
dries and machine works of that coun-
try. In these departments, further, is
a great part of the lands textile in |
dustry, the cotton, wooden and linen |
weaving, the working of lace and en-
broidery, the weaving of carpets, and |
dyeing. Flour mills, brick kilns, dis
tilleries, glass works, pottery works,
shoe and hat factories, tobacco fac
tories, and large plants for the pro
duction of hardware, enameled iron, |
hollow ware and edge tools are strewn
through this thickly-populated section
in profusion. In the shops situated |
within these departments most Of the
French cabinet work is done, and,
here, near by the best fields, much Of
the French sugar is refined.
Moreover, here, where is the great |
est industrial development, is, also, |
the most intensive agriculture. Neigh |
boring Belgians have not brought their !
duction than has been reached by the |
fields of these northern French de- |
partments. Everywhere throughout |
this region, whero there are no mines |
and factories, smiling gardens and fer
tile, well-cultivated farms take their /
place. All Of the cereals, sugar beets, /
fruits, hops, tobacco, fax and large
droves of cattle are grown upon them.
Some of the best diaries of France are
in this territory.
THE stretch of a bare 10000 square
miles, with its population of 100000,
it's bounteous agriculture, its rich coal
and iron mines, ard its teeming man
ufacture, is one of the most important
districts in all Europe. Some idea
of it's richness can be had from the
fact that while the average per acre
value for all France is about $3.50, that
of these northern departments is
$685.
Bin Woman Filled Hack