The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1922-08-26
The Rhi1aeIand: Frances ColIatef.
al for German Debts.

The Rhineland: Frances -GolIatef-
al for German Debts.
Frances proposal to take over
private plants and properties in
Rhineland and in the Ruhr district
upless prompt settlement is made
by Germany of overdue debts to-
French firms again calls attention
to that province which has aptly
been called the richest jewel in
the crown of Prussia"
A bulletin from the Washing
ton, D. c., headquarters of the. Ma
tional Geographic Society describes
this region which is variously
known as the Rhineland, the Rhine
Province, and Rhenish Prussia.
Comprises Zone of Occupation
'ssThe Allied Zone of Occupation
virtually embraces this erestwhile
power plant and factory of the old
German empire" says the bulletin.
.3The rich deposit of coal, iron and
other minerals along Europe's
busiest waterway, and the conse-
quent construction of railways in
Rhineland combine to make this
province the foremost industrial
area, for its size, anywhere in the
world.
The entire Rhineland, before
the Peace Conference, was only a
little larger than the state of New
Hampshire. Peace settlements
which cut Off from the Rhine.
Province the plebiscite area Of the
Saar. Basin, and ceded Eupen and
Malmedy to Belgium reduced
Rhenish Prussia by nearly a thou
sand square miles. OF the portion
remaining to Germany by far the
most important is that known as
the Ruhr Basin, a part of which
basin extends beyond the Rhine
land into Westphala.
One Blow Already Fallen
"a blow to the Rhineland al
ready effected, though it has at
tracted little attention, was the
decision In the spring that work on
strategic railways must cease. As
early as 1870 Germany had nine
railways running to the. French
frontier, and by 1914 three more
had been added while others were
double tracked. At the risk Of im-
posing a hardship upon German in
dustries it was deemed necessary,
for the military protection OF
France. that further railway actiy-
ity Of that sort must be suspended.
Even the American, with his
knowledge of the mines of Pennsyl-
vania and the factories of Massa-
chusetts finds it hard to conceive
the concentrated industrialism of
the Rhineland. It is the most
thickly populated section of crowd
ed Prussia. 1t has more large
towns than any comparable region
CT Germany. It averages rs more
people to. the square mile than
our own thickly settled Rhode Is
land.
Wonder Story OF Krupps
.tcoblenz, the headquarters OF our
own. Army Of Occupation: Cologne,
OF the British; Mainz and Wiesbad-
en-, of the French. are four of the
notable cities, while its great mar
ket town, Aix-la-C Chapelle, its iron
city of Dusseldorf, and its nlinia-
ture Pittsburgh, Duishurg, are
scarcely less famed. The industrial
shrine of the Ruhr Basin Is Essen,
where the wonder story Of the
Krupp boom unfoIded, and where
the output of big guns and nau-
nitions in general has been con-
yerted into a stream of locomotives,
farm implements and almost every
other conceivable article of iron
and steel, even to roller skates.
Only 26 miles southeast OF Mainz
is venerable Worms, the Rome OF
Protestantism, for there it was
that Luther deied the famous Diet
of. Worms, the four hundredth an
niversary of which was celebrated
T by Protestant churches the world
over last year.
.To imagine this map speek
which is. known as the Ruhr dis
tricty one writer to the Nationai
Geographic Society. suggests that
the reader think of the Pennsyl-
yania coal fields packed in this
tiny. area. pour in the combined
population of Philadelphia. Balti-
more. Cleveland and st. Louis; then
I take a flock of. the biggest An1eriEE
can steel mills and railroad shops
yon can recall and set them down
along the Ruhr. TO complete the
picture. fill in the gaps with paper.
silk and cotton mills, glass fac
tories, tanneries. dye. chemical and
salt works Such is the much
discussed Ruhr Basin, which France
turns to for a part of the collater-
al for Germany's debt to French
private firms.
l.The Ruhr joins the Rhine at
Rhhrort, and all the Rhineland
Province lies in the Rhine Basin
except that very small part OF the
northwest whose waters reaeh the
Meuse.'
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