Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-10-01
May Be WRANGLE
OVER IRON LANDS
Likely to Cause Trouble in Peace
Negotiations After the
War.
ARE LOCATED IN LORRAINE
Form Part of Territory That Was
Taken From France
in 1871.

which was one OF tho stumbling blocks
encountered in the negotiation Of peace
between France and Germany in 1871,
10 likely to cause stout contention In
the eventual settlement of accounts be-
tween the belligerents In this war.
If Germany Is not beaten into com
plcte submission. 1t Is expected in
France that her delegates will stand
out stubbornly for the ambitions OF
those industrial representatives who
recently demanded tho establishment
pr military frontiers that Will give
Germany tho mining regions that are
Indispensable for the development OF
the empire"
Tho mining regions" referred to in
this quotation from tho resolutions of
a German Industrial committee are the
10000 acres of French iron land OF
the Briey basin, adjoining the iron
lands OF annexed Lorraine Just across
the frontier. They produce 1900. coo
tons of ore per year-S0 per cent of
Frances total production; they furnish
livelihood to $4,000 miners and the
steel and iron Industries depending;
upon them give employment to H.
900 Iron workers. Withou, them.
Frances Industries would be paralyzed
Tor years To come. IL not permanently
disabled.
IL the allies arc able to dictate terms,
the French delegates wifi insist upon
the return TO France of the part OF I.or
rainc that was taken from her in 1871
with the iron lands from which IN 1919
Germany took 100000 tons OF orc
more than IS per cent OF her total pro
auction and co per cent of her total
consumption.
Nh
MERE SENTIMENT
Lorraine. In the French point OF view
no longer represents mere sentiment
me sentiment exists. but along with
IL is the great object lesson Of m.
war-Germany's sorty-nve v.ors ~
military preparation in which tho
mines OF Lorraine played n leadin,, role
IL france to-day IS obliged TO CRY
.or more cannon. moro ammunition"
is IN the estimation OF French sDc
cIait'e5' because Germany took from
rance Win Lorraine mineral resources
TO which she owes co per cent or ,por.
OF the development OF her iron and s,.o,
industries since 1871.
BESIDES the ore-hearing lands that
'hai!y were coded TO Germany, Bis
'aFck demanded In exchange FOR an
extension OF the territory left nrou,,,
NJ
A"inc'z' NilcruDt and Otanpc. ho,wee,
brieE and l-onGwy. But Bismarck b,d
10 90 In these negotiations with a c,.,o-
norman. Monsieur August pouvor
@uer'icr' Theirs Minister'S OF Franc.
VINO iought desperately and c1cve-L
save something Of Frances future
IN inc iron Industry. The disc,ss,or
hne!iy came down TO Villcrunt
frlnce' give you my word OF homo,
'"a' never would think of obl,g,n.
you 10 hecome Frcnchman. Yet vo,
INSIST upon my becoming German.
Pouycr- Querticr remarked.
How Is that?" replied Bismarck "
40 not understand you. Who ITALICS q
anneSing Normandyr'
Il am ono OF tho principal owner
mo Nh'erupt rolling millH' en-
joined the minister. You see cIoor,,,
'hat you arc making a German Of me
by Insisting upon villerupt."
oh! very we'll" said BIsmarcl. :.
leave You villerupt. but do no. as,
Anything more Of me. or viii al,
it back
PROCESS DISCOVERED
ny ENGLISH CLERK
That was practically all that Franc
saved OF It's iron industry, as /, cxis,n,
at the beginning OF the Francoprus
sian war. Frances production of stco
ana IRON sun would be insIEnTiican
hhd not an OBSCURE English clerk nance
Ihomhs discovered process Of dcphos
phorizinS Iron orc. which no sold IN
ECO to man who realized f3.ooo noo ~,
of IT,
lhat discovery made available for tn
Iron industry deposits Of ore In ,ho
Briey basin that previously were con
sidered useless Prospecting in tina
region began in 1852. and in 1919 thcr
were forty-ctght different mining con
ceSsionS In operation, producing a tota
of 15,op1.o0O tons Of iron ore per year
BY doubling the Intensity of produc
ton. these mines could produce 10000.
600 tons per year for n period Of
least eighty years and probably 100
AT the present rate of production
6, 600 900 n year, added to the produc
ton of the part of lorraine ahandonc,
to Germany after the war of 1870
would produce 100000 tons, which
100000 tons more than the total out
put of German owned mines at the out
break of the present war.
In addition to this district, IT,,
region of Longwy produces 2,0Oo750
tons. Nancy 100000 tons. making p
total of all OF French Lorraine o
30. 100000 tons. thus surprising, al
told, by 100000 tons the actual con
sumption of Germany. including 1900
goo tons n year imported from tho
Luxembourg.
The greater intensity of exploitation
of the mines on the German side Of e..
frontier leads to the supposition .ha
their ultimate exhaustion is far nearer
than that of the French owned mines
The two mineral basins of ancient
lorraine separated by the frontier cs-
|tablshed by the treaty of Frankfort
are sufficient to assure a country pre-
emincnce in the iron industry OF Eu-
rope, supDosing that full advantage he
taken OF their resources to develop
iron and steel manufactures. France
had not competed with Germany pro-