Evening star., 1946-04-14
French Control of Ruhr
Would Bur Recovery
Writer Urges Part Ownership
Of German Industry Instead
By Raymond Moley.

Will De Wnetner or not the huHr
Basin should be part of the Germany
which ultimately will emerge from the
wreck Of Europe. The French want
the Ruhr Basin, of course, either for
keeps or as property in trust.
This demand once more illustrates
ship. France long has been ruled by
legalists. Economic problems have little
meaning to them. That is largely what
is the matter with France.
The Ruhr is an economic, not a
military problem. To make the Ruhr
merely military barrier is to prevent
European economic recovery. The dam
age would be serious even to France.
Neither security nor peace can rest on
such an arrangement as the French
suggest.
The Ruhr Basin, including the adj
joining parts of the Rhineland and the
Saar, which also would belong to the
proposed buffer states, always has de.
livered between two-thirds and three
quarters of all the coal used by or
exported from Germany. Since Ger
many has very little oil and no large
volume of water electricity, coal is in
dispensable for her existence.
In prewar times the coal production
was about l150O0,o00 tons of bitumin-
Gus and anthracite coal, plus a coal
equivalent of perhaps l5.000000 tons
In the form of Ignite. The great value
OF the German coal, which made it
,0rt ~ oJn
| its natural qualities. It's value was in
| the methods used in the Ruhr to process
| coal by chemical means, so that the
Rhur syndicate delivered clear analysis
OF how much heating power, gas con-
tent, ashes, ETC., were in every ship
| ment. This processing was of enormous
value to industrial consumers and ac-
counted for the great preference for
German coal, which adapted itself to
every kind of buyer.
On the shafts of the mines In the
Ruhr Basin Europe's largest ron-pro-
duclng industry is built. Huge amounts
OF electricity are produced from So
called dust coal at the very mouths of
the shafts, and interconnected cleo
tricity nets not only radiate from there
over the whole of Germany, but are
| in direct contact with Switzerland
and some other neighboring countries.
Every ounce of ammonia is used as
valuable fertilizer for the agriculture
OF Germany. The gas originating in
the ovens is transported by pipelines
hundreds of miles into Germany and
used as fuel and light.
German dyestuf industry is built
mainly on the residues of coke-making
in the aniline factories, and much of
the great drug industry of Germany
is built on the same basis Hundreds
of other kinds of industries are grouped
around these centers.
The Ruhr Basin has a great ad-
vantage in that the Rhine is usable
throughout almost the entire year,
from the greatest inland port of Eu-
rope, Duisburg -Ruhrort. Great chan
nels have been dug from the Rhine
throughout Germany. connecting the
Ruhr, for instance, with the Polish
channel system and the Danube Rail-
roads are SO close together in the Ruhr
area that you can see miles of them
side by side.
Production from this center vitally
is needed for the European economy.
II we were to draw frontiers around
1t we would only cause embarrassment
by customs barriers, duties, disruption
OF traffic and meaningless tearing
apart of the production facilities built
up on this industrial basis over 100
years. The attempt to separate parts
of the nation by artificial frontiers
would increase the feeling of German
nationalism against the dominating
powers and lessen Germanys capacity
to serve Europe under suitable super
vision and compulsion.
The fact that French politicians do
not appreciate the underlying economy
OF the Ruhr is partly result of the
French manner of thinking.
For almost 200 years, no great econo-
mist has been produced by France. The
idea of the Frenchman is that all ques-
tions can be solved by politics, admin
lstrative measures and "beaux arts"
When the reparations payments did not
yield what they wanted, the French,
together with Belgian troops, occupied
the Ruhr and the Rhineland A revolt,
almost open war, resulted Immediately
England did not participate, nor did
Italy. The occupation was a military
failure, with great loss OF political pres
tige for France
+ 4 * X
| Not only is the desire of the French
to control the Ruhr understandable, but
1t is in the interest of all the Allies
that no new armament industry should
develop in this dangerous section. The
center of this area was the city of
Essen, and the center of Essen was a
cannon factory of Krupp.
Therefore, what we have to do Is to
control in an economic way not only
those industries in the Ruhr Basin, but
all large German industries. 1t should
be made part of the peace agreements
that the shares of all German corpora
tions, exceeding a small size, should
partly be in the hands of the Allied
nations. and that all decisions of a fl
nancial or technical nature should be
controlled by Allied experts 1t is not
the physical plant of the Ruhr which
is dangerous. Rather, it is the use made
of its power which must be considered.
This is the real way to control an in
dustry. And it would be to the ultimate
advantage of France itself.
| seemingly ,Inoffen6fno ,erSor, u,bo hod