Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1919-02-03
RAW GOODS N HUN GRIP
WHEN WAR BROKE OUT
Great Britain's Industries Were
Paralyzed for a Time, but
Met Emergencies.

London, Jan. 2O-A remarkable story
of how British industries formerly de-
pendent for their life blood on Germany
have under the stress Of wars demands
risen to state Of complete independence,
was told by Mr. kelioway, Parliamentary
Secretary to the British Minister Of
Munitions, at a recent meeting oil the
Industrial Reconstruction Council. Brt-
ain is now rst in the world in almost
every sphere of industrial effort he said.
Beginning with raw materials, Mr..
Holloway showed that mica. absolutely
essential to the electrical industry, was so
controlled by Germany, although half the
world supply came from India, that when
the war began, the worlds market WAS on
the point of being transferred from Lon
don TO Hamburg. But Indian mica now
can be exported only to London, and the
British electrical industry has taken the
place Germany once held aud Is now the
rst in the world.
Before the war the British Empire pro-
duced 40 per cent of the wolfram ore
from which tungsten Essential for high
speed steel and In metallic ilanents) Is
made. but so successfully had Germany
captured the trade that no British manu-
| facturcr was able TO establish the IN
| dustry In this country. To this position
Germany owed her great superiority IN
munitions production in the earlier stages
| of the war All that has been changed.
| Britain is now able to produce all the high
speed steel she needs and TO export At q
| reasonable price to her allies.
CONTROLLED AUSTRALIAN ZINC.
Australia has practically unlimited
supplies of zinc ore, but Germany OBJ
| tanned control OF them, and "a per cent
of British pre-war supplies came from
Germany, Belgium and Holland. Ger
many being Britain's largest suppher.
| But now Australias output mas been di-
verted, permanently, he hoped, to Great
| Britain.
Great Britain used to depend entirely
| on Germany for potash, essential for
| fertilizers, dyes, drugs and glass pro-
| ductlon The war revealed that $1,000
tons of potash WAS going to waste here
| every year in the dust or fume from blast
| furnace gases. That is now being col
| lected. Germany had relied on her prae-
| tical monopoly in Europe of natural de
/ posits of potash to enable her to bargain
| for the recovery of her world markets.
She will be disappointed. British enter
| prise and iudiclous government assist
| ance have taken that power from her.
| Machine tool production looked like An
| almost insoluble problem at the beginning
| of the war but SO greatly has production
| increased that before long the power Of the
| engine will be the same rs its weight Ia
| pounds, i. e., one pound per horsepower.
| The British position In 1914 IN regard
to the production OF magnetos was very
grave, but, thanks to disT lay Of grit IN
the .a1e OF almost insuperable difh' ultles.
| of resour and OF patriotism Is fine IN its
way as that shown. 10y her fighting forces,
the British magnetic position has been
established and made unassailable. In
stead o. one firm, producing only l, lac
magnetos IN a year, as was the case In
1911 there now are Id f;rms. prodtc ing
l2o, ,637 year and the quality is the
highest in the world. 1t is lighter III weight
and more reliable ID servi than the
Bosch OF the latest examples found 10
captured German airplancs.
| FOREIGN MADE GUN SioHTs.
The war was nearly lost because the
British were almost entirely dependent on
Germany and Aus'ria for scientific and
opti al glass, essential TO su cess.
1t il hunnliating, Mr.. keiloway con
tinued, but il is the fact that at the out
break Of war, considerable part OF ou,
artillery WAS equipped with gln sights ex-
cllsively manufactured in Germany. Two
British firms started making sights. but
the position was exceedingly serious when
the Ministry of Munitions was formed
Recently these two firms were produc inl
$50 week. The sight is beautiful anc
delicate piece of work aud its production
| in sti h numbers and In perfection which
Germany never exceeded, is 8 triumph fol
British skill
| Reiore the war the British optical anc
scientific instrument industry had de
generated into a collection of m.ddiemer
who mainly sold instruments completely
manufactured in foreign countries AL
that has been swept away by the bitter
necessities of war, and Britain Is now self
supporting.
Her dependence on Germany ano
Austria for the glass for her miners safety
lamps very nearly landed her in disaster
The position was 50 serious that the homt
Office had To relax the conditions as to the
quality and dimensions OF lamps. Now
Great Britain is producing sufficient sup
plies Of the right quality
Before the war three out of every foul
electric light bulbs in use in Great Brit
ain came from Germany or Austria. She
is now manufacturing sufficient to meet bel
essential needs.