The New York herald., 1921-03-07

two years ago. Not a man knows
how many workmen receive enough
calories of nourishment TO keep up
permanently a normal standard OF
health (and production). Not a Ger
man knows what Swedish iron ore or
American cotton will cost him three
months hence.
1t may be that Germany is on the
way to recovering remarkably quickly
Many irrefutable and profound ind.
cations surely point to it. But 1t
recovery is not shown by its paying
arithmetically high dividends, nor l.
II to be explained by sublime ma
tional egotism deliberately concoctinr
world hoax. / do not mean thai
the Germans are not at all deceitful
or have no secrets md no ambitions
But do mean that one of the most
astonishing things about Germany II
how little the Germans themselves
really know about their own situa-
ton. And am aware that the Ger
mans are broken up into pickering.
hostile cliques and hateful parties as
much as a nation conceivably could
be. SO that when in Berlin / am oc-
casionally accused of being anti-Ger-
man | can retort that l live among
a race of anti-Germans.
Is Economically Secure.
To be sure. fundamentally, Ger
many is economically secure, and the
lot OF any group OF ten million indus
trial workers and Of nine million ag-
ricultural workers, technically
skilled and highly organized industry
and Of an up 10 date agriculture,
must eventually he a good one. Ger
many's national wealth may have
been $50, 900, 100000 gold marks be-
fore the war. or 500, 900, 900 900
(both estimates include all state prop
erty, such as public buildings and
even city streets), and the great
part of this wealth Is still there, al
Of what Is left after the loss Of AA-
SAGE Lorraine, West Prussia, Pose
the colonies and merchant marine arE
navy. a large sum IS realizable wealta
What the realizable wealth hap
pens 70 be worth can only be est
mated. II may or may not be over
hundred billion gold marks. Th
point II that this realizable wealth
to capitalize Germanys IL
ture existence. and unless the reali5
able wealth is destroyed or elimi
mated this future existence, whateveF
the political boundaries prove 70 be
is, according to all human calculation,
assured.
These underlying truths, however,
arc obscured by pressing and immc-
diate consideration resulting from the
war. For the truths 70 assert them
selves may require decades. The
costs of the war have first 70 be met,
and Germany, having lost the war, is
r. pay a portion Of the victors' losses
as well as It's own. Possibly this Is
the glib calculation which one is ac-
customcd to consider It, the Germans
cross their own war expenses from
their books rs dead loss and work for
n term Of years TO replace what they
destroyed in France and Belgium
But 1t Is In this very calculation
that the question OF Germany's re-
covery becomes uppermost Are tho
Germans able 70 food the world with
goods? Then they can my rcpara
tions Is German industry stagnant?
Then reparations cannot vet be ex-
pected IL they are not now flooding
the world, how soon can they7 Ger
many will never nay much IN repara-
tion from the profits of It's own con.
sumption. 40 industrial nation ad
justed In 1913 to an export of TO-
100. 900, 900 gold marks can in 1921
1l