Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-07-30
Special Correspondence of The Star.


PARIS, July 90. 1916.
you know why Nerdun@?
" Do you know why the crown
III ~ prince is called the hero of Spin
~ court, anyhow 1t dates from the
beginning of the war. Spincourt was
the scene of no great battle. When the
German armies burst the French from
tier of Luxembourg, the crown prince
brought his forces somewhat south
ward and settled TRANQUILITY at Spin
court. in France. fifteen miles from the
German frontier at Metz
The kaiser wished his heir to be hero
of Spincourt. and the whole attack at
Verdun was designed to make that
glory solid. At Spincourt. the German
armies held the greatest booty of the
war. to send a thrill through all the
fatheriand the inexhaustible iron
mines of France. the famous Basin of
Briey.
Only twenty miles northeast of YER
run Now you begin to understand.
If you want thing, knock the owner
in the head and take it. If the crown
prince could hold the mines of France
which he had taken, it would mean the
everlasting prosperity of the German
iron and steel industry-and Germany
could beat the iron and steel production
of the United States.
Steel is scarcer than wheat; the sup
ply is limited: by iron mines.
Take steel alone. In 1913 the world
production was 100000 tons The
United States easily came irst, with
nearly 100000 tons, but Germany
had already pushed second, with
1s,000,000 tons of her own production.
plus 100000 produced in Aus
.ria, and 100000 turned out by Ger
man capital in Luxembourg. Germany
alone produced more steel than Great
Britain G.7s7.ooo). France 4,s35. e00)
and Russia 4.224.000). Italy and Can
ada together made 100000 and Bel
GUM and Luxembourg $4,000 tons
II Germany could only lay hands on
ine1haustible mines,
She would beat the United States pro-
ductton hollow. and capture the world
trade of manufactured articles, like
steel plates. sheet iron, tubes. construc-
ton steel, wire. locomotives. tools,
nails. agricultural machinery. what do
i know.
And. worse-the thing is trasical-on
the other hand is ruin,
German metailurgists told the kaiser
plJmply: the great furnace magnates
OF Westphalia, Silesia, the Rhine basin
and the valley of the Sarre dinned it
into his ears. We must take, The colos-
sal German system of intensive produce
ti0n is exhausting German iron mines
In 1880, the Luxembourg ore will be
entirely extracted and in eight years
the production VIII attain it's maximum.
Tn 1850 the great Lorraine coal beds
themselves will be exha listed. and be-
sore twenty years their extraction will
attain it's maximum.
Already. Just before the war-sucn is
the Unsuitable appetite of their FUR
uaces, the German forcing system. cry
ing always more. more-they imported
iron ore. Consuming 0.o0o.0 toas of
ore In 1918. ii.e0o. 900 Of them came
from foreign countries. Sweden. Rus
ala. spain. France and Morocco. even
OF IN. remainder. only 1000 goo tons
we're mined In German terrttory prop
81. over the Rhine. while 2s. 00e. 900 tons
30 iron ore came from their Lorraine
and Luxembourg basins-the vast ma >
tority OF ~. exactly from that annexed
lorraine which bismarck TOOK from
France In 1871.
Aush sas the very start and basis Of
seiorssi usrMsn iron and steel pros
hsFltN ~ comes tFoH the Intensive
Ttitlns - their ANNEXED Lorraine ore
baflrFt 0H thstf esFN ffsntIsr hstu
Assethsesfs saa the River Ofne. ~