The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-03-02
German Steel Barons Demand
Annexation of Iron Lands.
dangerously Confidentiap ResO-
luton Reaches French Govt.
FEW METAL MINES OF OWN
Lorraine Iron Basin Has Main
tanned Germany Military.
without This Huns Would
Have Met Quick Defeat.
BY HENRY WOOD.

Field, March German big BUSH
ness is still backing the German gov
eminent and the German military
] command in it's policy of annexation
/ and domination.
German big business" is already
building for future wars.
| No later than December, 1917, the
Association of German Manufa cturers
| of IrCn and Steel and the Association
OF German Metallurgists, with head
quarters at Berlin and Dusseldorf,
addressed a vigorously confidential
memorial both to the German govern
ment and the imperial German mill
| tary command, demanding the forcible
annexation of the French iron basin
of Briey and Longwy, because of Its
extreme Importance fo' German ma
tional economy and for the conduct
of future wars"
Spirit of Conquest Remains.
a copy OF this vigorously conf
dential' memorial has just come into
the hands of the French military
authorities.
1. constitutes the most damning evil
dence that after three and a half
years of warfare, German big bust
ness" the German government, the
German military party and apparently
the German people themselves, le-
main absolutely unchanged in their
desire ana IOT
tiCn and conquest.
French Mines Maintain Germany.
Tho Importance of the Lorraine iron
basin Gin the conduct of future wars)
is the concluding argument of the en-
tire memorial for forcible annexation
of this strip of French territory:
The memorial frankly states that:
IF, with the outbreak of hostilities
in 1917, the French had destroyed
their own iron mines of the Briey and
Longwy basins. which later fell into
the hands of the Germans, and at the
same time with their long range guns
destroyed the iron mines on the Ger
man side of the Lorraine frontier. the
war could not have lasted more than
a few months
Equally frank admission is made
that it is only with the iron secured
from the occupied mines of French
Lorraine that the Germans in 1917
were able to meet the needs OF their
artillery.
Under the second heading, that re-
gard for the future imposes on the
Germans the absolute necessity of
extending their Lorraine frontier until
it includes all of the French iron
basin, the declaration is made that
France, having overlooked the posi-
hility in 1914 of quickly terminating
the war by destroying Germany's iron
sources, she would never make the
quence, it declares that the Lorraine
frontier must be extended to point
where t not only gives Germany all
the Lorraine iron basin, but places this
eve. outside the range of French
heavy artillery Only in this way can
France be prevented from checklns
Germany's future wars.
German Mines Face Exhaustion.
Leading German mineral authori-
ties are then quoted to show that
within forty or fifty years Germany's
iron mines will be completely exhaust
ed. AS a consequence the memorial
urges:
in peace time will be able to assure
herself IRON reserves for a future war
And let no one dare to pretend on his
own responsibility that such iron re-
serves would be sufficient
During the first forty months of
this war Germany, in order to meet
the needs of her national defense.
spent more than fifty million tons of
iroI. and steel.
Actually, we use in a single day of
the wa at the present time more iron
and steel than we used turnout the en-
tire war of 1870-71.H
Admission is made that Germany
has only been able to continue the
the iron mines, stocks and resources
of the territories she has occupied.
The document continues:
I'VE do not have the right to count
that in a future war we will have the
good fortune a second time to be able
to exploit the territories occupied and
to increase our resources of first ma
terials.'
Outlines Future Wars
A whole chapter is devoted to a
graphic description of the basis on
which Germany's future wars must be
n io1
For the future wars it is necessary
that we dispose of considerable re-
sources il. German ore, for the richer
an industrial nation is in iron ore,
the greater it is feared by its enemies.
I'm the future it will not be masses
of men grouped in gigantic armies
that will decide the war, but above all
defensive and offensive instruments of
perfected technic placed at the dispo-
sition of the combatants in sufficient
quantities and constantly renewed.
ut is thus that the mineral districts
of Lorraine to which we are already
indebted for not having been annihil-
ated in the present war, protect US in
sure the welfare of the empire and
at the same time spare the blood of
tho people"
Hold Mines to Safeguard Germany.
The last chapter, entitled "Conclu-
sions," concludes as follows:
TT is necessary to see in the seizure
by Germany of all of Lorraine not
merely q war indemnity and a source
of vigor for the Fatherland, but also
a guarantee of a durable peace and
of security for the Fatherland'
The memorial is signed on behalf of
the association of German Manufac-
turers of Iron and Steel, by w Meyer,
president and DR.. J. r. Eichert, ad-
ministrator and on behalf of the As
ISOLATION of German Metallurgists by
Voegler, president, and o. Peterson,
administrator.