Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1915-05-20
GERMANY IS FAR
FROM THE END Of
HER RESOURCES
Allies Will Have Long Wait If
They Hope to Starye
Her Out.
STAFF OFFICER GIVES FACTS
Chemists Promise Surprise as Great
as the 42s and Submarines-Wom-
en- Are Taking an Important
Part in the War.
81 coUNT MoURIK oE gEAUFoRT

Part in the War.
BY COUNT MOURlK DE BEAUFORT
International News Service Correspondent.
Beriin.-"The man who keeps Ger
many eating and shooting" thus
was DR.. Walther Rathenau, the son
Of the founder Of the A. D. G. (Allege-
meme EIectricitaets Gesellschaft), de-
scribed to me. Doctor Rathenau is
chief of the raw material department
Of the German war office.
Doctor Rathenau speaks perfect
English, and most of the conversation
was carried on in that language.
Of course, the subjects nearest to
my heart were copper, rubber and
petrol l had found in previous con-
Yersations-or l should better say
attempted conversations" because I
never got very far on these subjects
that they were extremely delicate
topics, and it was pointed out to me
on different occasions that it would be
more 'tactfuI not to touch on them.
The moment you bring up the matter
of Germans supply of raw material
Yes, it's very nice day, isn't it?" or,
as the case might be, Isn't this
wretched weather."
Doctor RathenaU looked at me for a
moment out of the corner of his eyes,
then got up, and from a drawer of his
desk-the interview took place at the
war ofice-took out a fair-sized book
and, holding 1t up before my eyes,
gave me the opportunity to see some
thing about 'Rohstoffe in Deutsch-
land" (raw material in Germany. My
heart began to beat faster. "At last"
thought, we'll get some real au-
thentic figures; fine story" But the
truth of the saying that there is many
slip 'twixt story in the war office
and the same in the paper came true
once more.
Deep Secrets of War.
This" said Doctor Rathenau, while
patting the wretched little volume tan
talizingly, contains everything about
every grain of raw material in this
country, the means and methods of
producing and obtaining more; in
short, all you would like to know
about it; but those are deep Sc
crets of war and therefore I cannot
show it to you any further than on
the outside"
That was almost worse than the
usual replies I had received. No
amount of diplomacy, arguments,
wheedling or promises could persuade
the polite doctor to part with the lit
tie volume, not even for a minute.
''All l can tell you," he said. lis that
if our enemies are waiting till we are
starved out, till we are short of cop
per, we'll, they'll have a jolly long
wait"
Then the subject was changed
why don't you go and take some of
the menus in our large restaurants,
have Photographic copies taken of
them and verified by your consuls?
Send those abroad, and let people
judge for themselves how badly we
are starving"
But, as you were saying, copper"
You are very insistent," he fired
back, but I'll try to help you a little,
and l assure you you are the first with
whom have discussed this subject
at all. If you take the yearly stats
tics you will find that Germany during
the last five years has imported an
average of over 700 tons of copper
a year. With our own productions at
Mansfield, our total supply amounted
close to 100000 tons. Our exports of
electrical goods. machinery, etc, in
which copper has been used, did not ex-
coed 100000 tons a year, so nearly
10000 tons of copper has remained
in the country.
Can Recover Much Copper.
Much of this has been combined
with other metals, but we have ex-
perimented and our chemical develop
ments have reached such a stage of
perfection that over 70 per cent can
be reduced again to pure copper For
one, We have thousands of tons of teIe-
graph wires which can be substituted
with lines of other metal Then go
into some of the German kitchens.
There is hardly a house where you
will not find a certain number of cop
per pots and pans in shining glory.
Look at the amount of copper that
is used in every house, every hotel.
every building Our mines at Mans
field haye turned out close to $4,000
tons a year. but we have been able to
increase the output by at least so per
cent. Besides, there are one or two
sources which our enemies have not
figured on. One of them is the won
derful state of development our chem
istry has reached. The best brains In
the land are working on new prod
uct that may give the world in gem
eral, and our enemies in particular
another surprise, as did our AIS and
our submarines. No. we are not at
the end of our resources yet. not nv
long way. Germany cannot be de-
stroyed."
Doctor Rathenau expressed as his
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