Norwich bulletin., 1915-04-22
IMPORTANT FRENCH LAND
HELD BY GERMANS
That One twentieth of France Con-
tains One-haIf of Its Industries and
Tenth of Its Population.
Especial to The Bulletin)

Washington, D. c., April 21.-The
Importance of the five per cent of
mans is strikingly set forth in a
statement given to the press today by
the National Geographic Society. 1t
shows that while it is comparatively
small in area it is very large indeed in
industrial and agricultural importance.
1t says:
Holding only about 10000 square
miles of French territory, or less than
.one-tenth of continental France, the
Germans have behind their advanced
lines nearly one-half of industrial
France and the homes of one-tenth
Nord, Aisne, Ardennes, Mouse and
Meurthe- et-Meuselle, of which the
Germans hold all or the larger and
most important parts, are the banner
departments of France. Here are the
mines, the foundries and factories,
and the diaries and farms, which are
the pride, the wealth, and the strength
of modern Farnce. In this narrow
strip under German occupation, there
is produced 20 per cent. Of all coal
mined in France, 90 per cent. of all
the native-mined iron, and nearly half
of the republics output of manufac-
tured articles.
1.-The iron and steel industry Of the
great republic lies almost entirely
back of the German trenches France
the world as a producer of iron and
steel, with an annual production of
100000 tons of pig iron and of B.
100000 tons of steel. This industry
was conferred and contained in North
ern France, Pas-de-Calais where 100-
900 miners were employed. produced
go per cent of the coal mined in
France, and, practically, the countrys
entire supply of fossil coal. The iron
mines of the Meurthe-e Moselle
,Al -
French output of iron, and this region
was reckoned as one of the principal
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 pro-
duction of iron and steel. Before war
conditions set in, the United States
produced annually 24,500,000 tons of
steel; Germany 12,300,000, Great Brit
ain $4,000 France 100000 and Bel
GUM 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, sec
ond upon the list. Thus, unusual in
terest attaches to the small strips of
foreign lands back to the German lines.
1.-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 Importance
the first department of France. In
this department, and the departments
OF the Pas-de-Calais, Mouse and
Meurthe- ct Moselle are the great met
al working plants of the French, the
huge Pittsburgh and Cleveland mills
foundries and machine works of that
country. In these departments, furth-
er. is a great part of the lands tex
tile industry, the cotton, wooden and
linen weaving, the working of lace
and embroidery, the weaving of car
pets and dyeing. Flour mills, brick
lzilns, distilleries, glass works, pottery
works. shoe and hat factories, tobacco
factories and large plants for the pro-
duction of hardware, enameled iron
hollow ware and edge tools are strewn
through this thickly populated Sec
ton in profusion. In the shops sit
uated within these departments most
of the French cabinet work is done,
and, here, near by the beet fields,
much of the Fernch sugar is refined.
.Moreover, here. where is the great