The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1919-01-02
WELL KNOWN GERMAN
F0RESAW DISASTER
HEAD OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
STEAMSHIP LINE SAW GER
MANY'S DOOM EARLY

SYDNEY, acknowledgements
ence of The Associated Press.)-Al
bert Balm, general director of the
Hamburg-American Steamship Co.
who is reported to have committed
suicide just before the signing of the
aimistice, had predicted disaster fol
the German overseas trade as an out
come of the war. This is disclosed
by the publication here of a letter
which Herr Balm had written in De
cember, 1917, apparently to DR.. Roth
enau, a privy councillor at Berlin. A
copy of this letter was made public
here by J.. M. Paxton, a resident of
in London. In it Balm declared that
whether Germany or England was
victorious in the war the consequences
to German foreign trade would be
disastrous. The letter reads in part:
"Most of what we read in the news
papers as to our preparedness for
e~mbarking on brisk trade and manu-
features as soon as peace has been
concluded is, ! fear, written with the
manifest intention of h%eartening our
people who are VIGOROUSLY ignorant
of u accual economic conditions and
all l5at threatens them"
He said that the German mercantile
marine was in "a perilous condition."
and tiat the kill to re-establish and
strengthen it, which at the time of
wing WIS before the renchstag,
would show no results for at least
five years. In that time Germany's
great maritime competitors, Britain,
and United States and Japan and the
neutrals, Norway, Denmark and Hol-
land, would profit enormously.
Balm reminded his friend that he
(Ballin) vainly begged Berlin authori-
ties not to engage in unrestricted sub
warfare; and he continued:
"You and l know that the Ameri-
cans are probably the most idealistic
nation on the earth's surface. In an
tagonizing America we have done a
disastrous thing, a thing which will
throw a cold shadow on u economic
ife for a generation" The latter part
If Ballin's letter an:
"But if | am concerned about our
relations with the United States, I
m still more anxious about u re-
ations with Britain. I realize as never
that all the increase in our
wealth, all the success which attended
,ur enterprises in the year before
he war, were owing to our intercourse
With the British Empire. Her home
,orts, her m%oninions and colonies,
freely opened to our shippers
nd traders. Sometimes | wondered
t this generosity, and even called it
oily. Is it to be imagined for a
that those old relations will
Il am not to be supposed, dear
Ierr Geheimrat, (Privy Councilor) as
aging one word in favor of Britain's
Obey in this war. / believe that she
.tered it from some base motives.
Consider what we r risking. We
,ok forward to resuming u e
'ade. We build our proudest ex-
ectations on this. How are we to
esume it in face of an Anglo-Saxon-
om which loathes and must loath
lr presence among the
"But We must beat England, you
~, no matter what the -onsequence.
agree. All l say is Il at whether
e best her or she beats rs the con-
.quences will be the sam disaster
our oversees. trade il Britain so .
Ills n 6a4he event'of vic
~, impose all s1g4 Of conditions I
curing us most-faSured-laatfo treat
ent, securing u free entry into
ritish ports everywhere. No sane
behaves that these conditions
shslD sus. :
with q hostile Brfti 81 Empire,
lied and fretted with our military
ccess, raging at its losses, hopeless :
alienated, how are we to procure :
e raw material which MS Empire
one can supply. That great En-
re is seh-contained and We are not,
d all the military victories and all
e wild wi1l-o'-the-wisps cbout Ham
to Bagdad, will not clip u.s."
Herr BALM died suddenly in Berlin
Nov. 8. The cause Of his death {.