Omaha daily bee., 1918-09-23
Teuton Grip On Steel
New York Times.

eral manager of sales of the Carnegie Steel COM
pany and at present vice president of the Fed
eral Export corporation of this city. Mr. Ben
ner spent number of years investigating pro-
duction and market conditions of steel in all
parts of the world, and two years ago made a
thorough investigation of Russia's steel produc-
ton, now in the hands of Germany. He re-
turned last month from an eight months tour OF
Latin America which he visited with view to
anticipating the severe competition which he
expects from Germany after the war in the
southern republics.
After referring in his article to the new and
terrible facilities of warfare let loose by the
central powers in the earlier stages of the pres
ent war, Mr.. Bremen discusses the tremendous
importance of the control of the coal and iron
deposits of Europe. Passing from considera-
ton of the Prussian evolution of big caliber
guns, barb wire entanglements, gas bombs and
liquid fire. Mr. Benner says:
"All the developments have proven conclu-
sively that the waging of war by industrial ma
mense quantities of firearms of all sizes and
classes, as well as unthought-of supplies of pro-
jectiles. This is equally true of all means of
transportation on land either by railroad or mo-
tor car, and is also true regards airshps, sur
face boats and submarines.
Metals are necessary for all these things,
and of all these metals iron, in some form
ject of this article is to exhibit concisely the
situation today, at the beginning of the fifth
year of the war, as regards the manufacture of
steel--the modern form OF iron. All the arts
of metallurgy require heat and for its produc-
ton coal is generally used. This is especially
true in the modern manufacture of iron, so this
article will briefly comprise coal.
"Within few months after the outbreak of
tNe%, fba ;Nr
of Luxembourg, Belgium, northern France and
Russian Poland, thus obtaining control Of the
large iron industries located in those countries.
Since then the collapse of the Russian empire
has occurred, and the central empires are now
in possession of southern European Russia. CIV
ing them the control of practically all the iron
industry of Russia.
There has been no necessity during the war
for the central empires to build additional IRON
making capacities for the reason that the facili-
ties at their disposal ever since August !, 1914,
have been sufficient for their needs, even at the
high rate of demand for military purposes
caused by the war; Taking into account the
known figures of steel-making in all the terri
tories now controlled by the central empires, the
amounts to about 35,000000 tons of steel ingots
per annum or about 100000 tons per month"
Mr.. Benner points out that prior to the war
a large percentage of the capacity referred to
above was used for exporting out of Europe.
All this export trade was discontinued at the
start of the war. The capacity in control of the
central powers that was normally devoted to
export has been available for military purposes
and was sufficient to take care of the enormous
demands for war purposes For this reason, the
writer says, the Teutonic powers as whole do
not appear to have built much if any, capacity
for making steel in addition to that in existence
August l, 1914.
The estimated steel-making capacity for all
the rest of the world is figured at about 67,0O0,-
600 tons Of ingots per annum. A table accom-
panying Mr.. Benner's article gives the estimated
capacities by countries at the outbreak of the
and the additions built since then. As of
July |, 1914, it is shown that the central powers
controlled 493 per cent of the steel-making ca.
pacity, against 48.4 per cent by the European
allies. Neutrals in 1914 were credited with but
2,3 per cent. On July |, 1918, however, through
conquest, the central powers controlled 68.1 per
cent of steel-making capacity, whereas the Eu-
ropean allies steel capacity had been cut down
to 28.9 per cent, neurals standing at per cent.
AS to coal, the geological formation of Eu-
rope containing this necessary substance in me-
tallurgy extends from Great Britain on the west
to southern European Russia on the east. These
coal fields lie only along the center of Europe
from east to west, and in consequence there is
itself outside of the areas now controlled by the
central empires. The coal lands in southern
European Russia now in possession of the enc
my are vast in extent and the quality of the coal
is high. Iron ore limestone and manganese are
found in large quantities in close proximity to
this COAL
Mr.. Benner emphasizes that the making of
steel in south Russia, although now amounting
from 100000 to 100000 tons month, is still only
in its infancy and is capable of enormous ex-
panson. The modern manufacture OF steel re-
quires the use of iron ore, limestone and coke
in the blast furnace for the production of pig
iron and the manganese in the steel furnace for
the ultimate refining of the metal All these
necessary raw materials are found in profusion
in northern European Russia
The Importance of the coal deposits now
held by the central powers is indicated by Mr..
Benner From the mining of the raw materials
onward the making of steel and the finishing of
the same into disable forms require more tons
of coal than tons of ore, so except under extra
ordinary conditions the ore is always shipped
to the coal. In all the operations thus involved
probably five tons of coal are used to one ton of
steel ingots, so that the United States, for ex-
ample, is now using we'll over 2OO,OOO,OOO tons
of coal per annum in its steel trade.
In conclusion Mr.. Benner says:
Among the expressions in the public press
of the central empires that have been escaping
from time to time to the outside world, we often
see reference made to the supreme importance
of raw materials and that no basis of peace can
be acceptable to the central empires unless full
provision is made for their control absolutely
of such raw materials. We can be sure that the
paramount importance of coal, iron ore, lime
Stone and manganese is thoroughly appreciated
by the enemy peoples, especially those of the
two central empires.
after four years of costly war they have
succeeded in obtaining possession of the coal
and manganese of continental Europe, and of
the nearest deposits thereto of iron ore and lime
stone 1t is the height of folly to think that our
enemies will now surrender these hard-won
spoils without further and long-sustained efforts