El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-04-24
HAS
BEST PORTION
Of ALL FRANCE
In Narrow Strip of Occupied
Territory Are Iron and
Coal Lands.
GREAT STEEL AND
IRON MILLS HELD
W WASHINGTON, D. C.. April "a,

w TASHISGTON, D. c.. April "a
\" The Importance of the five
percent Of French territory
held by the Germans is strikingly set
forth in a statement given to the press
today by the National Geographical So
ciety- II shows that while il is COM
paratively small in area is 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
ACCOMPLISHMENTS Of which the Ger
mans hold all or the larger and most
icpOrtant parts, are the banner depart
ments 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
France In this narrow strip under
German occupation. there is produced
20 percent OF all coal mined in France.
90 percent Of all Of the native mined
iron, and nearly half Of the republics
output Of manufactured articles.
Germans Hold Iron Industry.
The iron and steel industry Of the
great republic lies almost entirely
back Of the German trenches France
stood forth among the nations Of the
world as a producer Of iron and steel,
with an annual production of 1900. 900
tons OF pig iron and of 3, loo, 900 tons OF
steel This industry was centered and
contained in northern France for here
were the raw materials. The Flemish
coal basin, extending into the Nord and
Pas-de-Calais, where 100, 900 miners
were employed. produced so percent Of
the coal mined in France, and, practi-
fossil coal The iron mines OF the
Meurthe-et-M oselle furnished 81 per-
cent OF the total French output Of iron.
and this region was reckoned as one OF
the principal iron 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
Great Mills in Seized Territory.
The NOrd department. all but a few
square miles OF whose coast lands Is in
the possession Of the enemy. is in agri-
cultural and Industrial importance the
first department OF France. In this de-
partment, and the departments Of the
Pas-de-Calais. Meuse and Meurthe-et-
MOselle are the great metal working
plants Of the French. the huge Pitts
burg and Cleveland mills. foundries and
machine works Of that country. In
these departments, further is a great
part Of the lands textile industry, the
cotton. wooden and linen weaving. the
Of lace and embroidery. the
weaving Of carpets and dyeing. Flour
mills, brick kilns. distilleries. glass
works, pottery works. shoe and hat
factories. tobacco factories and large
plants for the production Of hardware, Q
snameled iron hollow ware and edge
tools are strewn through this thickly
populated section in profusion. In the
shops situated within these depart
nents most Of the French cabinet work /
IS done, and, here near by the beet
fields. much Of the French sugar is l
refined.
Section Of Intensive Agriculture.
Moreover. here. where is the great /
sst industrial development. is also. the I
most intensive agriculture NeighbOr-
ng Belgians have not brought their I
arms up to a higher standard Of pro- &
iuction than has been reached by the 4
fields OF these northern French de-
lartments. Everywhere throughout i
his region, where there are no mines 4
md factories. smiling gardens and fer I
llace. All Of the cereals. sugar beets, 4
fruits. hops. tobacco. FAX and large /
.roves Of cattle are grown upon them I
some Of the best known diaries OF |
France are in this territory.
The stretch OF a bare 10000 square j
niles with its population Of 1000, 0O0 3
IS bounteous agriculture. its rich coal /
fracture, is one Of the most important
districts in all Europe. Some idea OF
IS richness can be had from the fact
hat while the average per acre value
or all France is about $3.50. that Of
hese northern departments is $685."