The New York herald., 1921-09-18
ERMAN WOMEN, IMPENITENT, WORK WITHOUT HOPE
|HRS. BORDEN HARTMAN,

NHRS. BORDEN HARTMAN,
wi aUh0 is touring Europe
- studying post-Uar condi-
tions of aOomen IN UGa'ious lands,
presents this aOeek UiUid but de-
pressing picture of the occupied
Rhineland's Inhabitants. This is
the fifth of her series of articles,
the first three telling Of the British
Isles, aOhere, despite the strikes and
unemployment generally, she found
conditions for a0omen far better
than before the aOar. Last Ueek's
analysts of Vhat Belgian aOomen
a0ere doing also a0as optimistic, bat
this a0eek's pen picture has quite
the contrary effect.
By MRS. BORDEN HARTMAN
Special Correspondence to THE NEW YORK
HERALD,
CoBLENz, Germany, Sept A.
q MOKE is pouring from the factory
- chimneys along the lower Rhine.
In the. rich farmlands the early
ripened grain is being harvested On the
river are long tows of coal barges pushing
upstream against the current. Further
along, where little towns nestle at the foot
of the steep vineclad hills, with their cas-
tie crowned SUBMITS, the scene is still one
of industry The impression made by all
this is that trade has assumed it's normal
condition in Germany.
The facts are that the factories are only
thay produced in pre-war days. The barges
s~s carrying coal from the Ruhr Valley for
the Allies.
A situation which aggravates the gen.
cral economic depression is the continuance
of the sanctions" which were established
to coerce Germany when she refused to
sign the reparations agreement
Should you draw a customs line through
the middle of the State of Pennsylvania
you would have practically the equivalent
of the present state of affairs in the Rhine
land.
Zones for Military Reasons
Were Established Arbitrarily
The bridgeheads were arbitrarily estab-
lished by the Allies for military reasons
after the armistice. Take compass with
Cologne, Coblenz or Mayence as centre
and draw the arc of circle starting from
a point thirty kilometers north on the
Rhine and swing on the right bank until
1t intersects the river again thirty kilo-
meters south and you will have the areas
occupied respectively by the British, Amer
lean and French armies. This in addition
to the whole country, from the west bank
of the Rhine to the frontier.
The semi-circles do not touch each other
and in between is neutral ground. The
sanctions that were established included a
customs barrier between the occupied and
unoccupied areas, also giving the Allies
the power of granting or withholding
licenses to factories in the occupied zones,
thereby creating a difficult situation.
Many of the raw products come from
the unoccupied territory, while the main
factories are in the occupied This means
that every time raw material crosses the
line duty is imposed, one product in proc
ess of manufacture having been known to
go back and forth as many as five times.
cloth industries.
Another impediment to normal manufac-
turing conditions is the great delay oc-
casioned by congestion of freight, which re-
suits from the stopping and searching of
all freight trains at the frontier.
The license system interferes with trade
because the administration receives several
thousand applications a day, and the per-
sonnel the various offices is inadequate
to handle them. This necessitates a delay
of at least two weeks for an application
to be acted up~n.
The American Army of Occupation takes
no part in collecting these duties, nor in
the granting of licenses, because it is con-
sidered that the troops are here merely
under armistice conditions, and have no
share in the enforcing of the treaty. 1t
Is more than three months since Germany
accepted the allied ultimatum, and 1t
would seem that the customs barrier should
have BIN thdrawn 1t is no' only
reacting unfavoraby in the United States
and other countries by adding to the pres
ent chaotic state of trade, but the delays
for which it is responsible have materially
increased the financial burdens of the Ger
man people.
No Doubt About Suffering;
Middle Class Hardest Hit
That they are suffering here, especially