Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1917-11-14
Some Reasons Why Germany
Strong in This War.

Germany, though small when COM
pared with our broad prairie expans-
| es, is not small compared with other
countries of Europe that because of
their material accomplishments in
the world we have long regarded as
| great She is larger in area than
France, and several times as large as
| Great Britain. Her population is
larger than that of either of these
and about two-t thirds as great as
their combined populations. In man
ufacturing and commerce Germany
had prior to the war made strides
that passed all European rivals save
Great Britain, and threatened her. In
agriculture she is nearer self-sup-
porting than any other country of
western Europe.
If one investigates he soon finds
that the soil and strata of Germany
contain probably more different and
diversified natural components and
deposits than any equal area on
earth. Germany is able to, and under
the skillful and intensive system ap-
piled, does in fact produce nearly all
the essentials of comfortable modern
life. A brief list of the principal
products includes all those of COM
mon field agriculture, save that in the
natural flow of commerce the bulk of
certain staple grains and foodstuffs
used in the empire is imported. 1t is
mistake, however, to regard Ger
many as a manufacturing and COM
mercial country, dependent wholly on
eat The lands of Germany are high
ly cultivated, naturally rich and pro-
duce enough in normal times to pro-
vide very great part of what her
population consumes. Under the
stress of necessity, the past two
years has seen some remarka-
BILE accomplishments in this direction.
Large areas Of Germany are given
over to grazing and stock raising and
still others to rich forests that have
wisely been protected from the raw
ages of the portable sawmill as ours
have not been.
But it is in mineral wealth that
Germany abounds. Save petroleum
products-and these she has reclaim
ed from the Russians in Galicia and
conquered in Humanitarian save
copper which she secured in her oc-
cupation of Serbia, Germany's mines
produce almost every known metal in
abundance. To her own stores of the
chief essentials at this crisis, coal and
iron, she has added those of Belgium,
northern France and Poland, and she
can still buy the fine grade ores of
Norway and Sweden. A prominent
German was quite correct when, in
comparing Great Britain with his
own country as to their self-sustain-
ing ability he said recently: eve pro
duce fOur-fifths of what we consume;
Great Britain imports fOur-fifths Of
her articles of consumption. Which
san endure a blockade the longer?"
Then Germany is rich IN man pow
er, either for peace or war. She has
nearly 100000 Of people, practical
Iy all Of one language and stocl-and
this latter feature is Of great value.
Her birthrate, unlike Frances, great
Iy exceeds her death rate annually.
To replace in part the wastage Of this
great war, over half a million young
men reach the arms bearing age each
year. Since the war began two mil
lion have thus been added. 1t will be
quite an effort for the United States
to put into Europe and maintain as
many soldiers as Germany thus gains
every year. The German system
promotes industry. The women fire.
Quently do rough, heavy work in fac
tories and fields, and are now able to
replace men in producing power.
Boys and old men are utilized to the
full limit. Figures show that except
in the industries depending upon for
eign commerce Germany has not suf-
fered materially in productiveness
since the war began. That she has
been able to strengthen her armies
constantly and that now she has un-
der arms more soldiers than at any
other period of the war, her foes real
iZe and concede.
Germany's ability to finance the
war rests largely on the strength of
her monetary position when she en-
tered it and the fact that she spends
most Of her money Gin a circle" Ex-
cept the sums advanced to her allies
and these in part-the war cost re-
mains within her own borders. In
dustries that supply munitions have
supplanted those formerly engaged
in manufacturing for export-now
cut off-frequently in the same
plants. War profits are taxed or in
duced to contribute heavily to gov
eminent war loans and the money
goes back into trade again. Of
course there is a measure of loss and
it cannot continue indefinitely, but
there are no signs of immediate col
tapse.
A year or more ago we heard a
great deal about Germany's perishing
of hunger, but less latterly. 1t takes
great deprivation to force a nation
into submission that way. The worlds
history shows no example of it. Even
to starve to the point of capitulation
a beseiged city, cut off from all sup
plies, is no easy task. The German
people have gone short of many
things that we regard as necessary to
comfort and we'll being in diet and
living, but thanks to their system of
food conservation and distribution,
there has been no starvation, indeed,
so far as we can see, no actual loss of
vital force, either in troops at the
front or workers at home. With the
opening of Galicia. Rumania, Poland