The Washington herald., 1915-08-01
Trench Warfare Most important Development Years Fighting
COTTON and
COPPER Are
Direst NEEDS
of GERMANY

NNE great IeSsou VI LILO HoiOpoAn
conflict, one year old today. has
~ been that shells are every bit as
important to success as men Shells and
men, or men and shells. will decide tie
issue without the developments OF any
Napoleons or Frederioks the Great as
leaders.
The two mos. important materials for
the manufacture of shells are cotton ana
copper. Authorities differ as to Wnlcn
is really the more essential. SmckeiesS
powder is 1914 per cent cotton and me
casing OF the shells is made OF copper:
Without cotton, smokeless powder ana
many other forms of high explosive can
not be manufactured. Without copper
shells are of poor quality osnc'enl III
strength and unreliable.
Great Britain's blockade OF the entire
German empire is not to starve IL 10
death. That fallacy has been exploded:
The blockade is to prevent copper ana
cotton reaching Germany, so tnat Ter
many cannot continue to turn out hlgn
explosive, large caliber shells at tne rate
of 100000 day. And Tor tnat sams
reason Germany attempted to nave eA-
cepted from the blockade COTTON snip
ments from the United States. and tore
the conner doorknobs from the doris OF
Brussels, took up collections of copper
kitchen utensils in the public schools
and ordered thousands OF solid copper
statues of the redoubtable Won Hinoen-
berg from the Scandinavian states.
II is not the food shortage that Is
bothering Germany. 1t is the shortage
of copper and cotton, that go TO make up
the high explosive shells that only can
tear up the trenches in which are dug IN
her enemies on every frontier
Copper, of course, is durable IL can
he melted and remelted over and over
again. But even then, there is ire
mendous leakage and loss with the ex-
penditure of some 100000 TO 3OO'ooo
rounds of shells a day.
Cotton disappears shortly after being
manufactured. Not only does germany
need cotton for ammunition. but sne
needs it for clothing and blankets TOT
her soldiers, for hospital usage ana lot
the thousand and one ordinary. every
dav uses to which we all put the great
American product.
While the majority Of German guns
are of about 3-inch caliber, she has i'm
mense numbers of heavy guns ana
howitzers ranging from 4-inch caliber to
Pinch, and she has been using large
quantities Of heavy-artillery ammunition.
The amount of cotton used for every
round nreQ Will average ~tii o'Vi iNuN
pounds. The expenditure of cotton II
Germany is. therefore, about four times
100000 pounds, or 100000 pounds per
day. That figure does not include the
amount used for small-arms ammunition,
that needed for the navy. or that used to
make clothing for the army.
One million pounds OF cotton per day
is 1000 bales Of 500 pounds each or
100000 bales per annum, about one half
the usual expectation of cotton to Ger
many. Germany's reserve supply or
powder has undoubtedly been used up
by this time and her future ability 10
wage war for a long period depends on
a regular supply Of cotton from the
United States; for all other sources OF
supply are closed to her.
Cotton can only reach Germany
through roundabout ways, but it is
reaching her. Lord Grey pointed out in
one of his notes to the United States that
the increase of exports of cotton TO the
Scandinavian states had increased eleven
fold since the war began. The Scandi-
navian states are not going TO join the
list of warning nations-there Is too much
profit in being strict neutral" while
cotton can be handled and solid copper
statues of German heroes turned out.