the markets of the world by their power to export more cheaply than those nations whose currencies have not depreciated as far. It is desirable, indeed it is essential, that the Continental countries should sell abroad as many goods as possible in order to pay for the commodities they need. Unless they can expand their production and their exports,. the credit they will need to pay for their imports will be beyond the power or the willingness of the nations to supply.

The Italian Premier stated that Italy needed to obtain credits to the extent of nearly £400 millions for the purchase of the necessary food and raw material, and it is obvious

that France needs a still greater credit for this purpose. Germany also requires a very large credit in order to purchase both food and raw material to save her people from starvation, and in proportion to population Austria-Hungary needs more assistance than any other country. If the Russian problem is to be settled by economic means rather than by military, Russia too, may need a great deal of credit in order to purchase the goods she requires for the re-starting of her industries and her trade, though she offers to pay in platinum and raw material. At the present moment the situation seems to be left entirely to chance. Certainly no comprehensive plan has been formulated in order to deal with it. Hence no one can discover how great the discount upon

the sovereign, the franc, and the lira. is likely to be, or what the political consequences of a further rise in the cost of living in Europe will be.

It is, however, clear that the day is not far distant when it will be essential for the peoples and governments of the various countries to formulate a plan of co-operative action in order to overcome the danger that now threatens civilization. If the people. understand what needs to be done and that the alternative must inevitably be starvation of a large portion of the peoples of Europe, one cannot doubt. that they will endeavor to do all that is required to rectify the situation, not only by expanding production as rapidly as possible, but by providing the credit required to restore the productive power of the continental nations, and so enabling them to provide themselves in a far greater measure than at present with the things they require. Every possible step should be taken without delay to render it other possbile for American and tourists to come to Europe so that this source of income may be reIt must, however, be established. realized that at present the nations are drifting without any plan other than the expectation of the receipt of great sums of money from Germany and Austria, sums which in their present impoverished condition it is evident they will only be able to pay if spread over a long series of years.

F. C. CHAPPELL.

The return of Alsace-Lorraine to France will have a considerable influence on the development of the industry of the country as a whole. Alsace-Lorraine is rich in iron ores and potashes. Her spinning and weaving industries are in an excellent condition, as regards machinery, quality of goods, and expertness of operatives. IRON ORE AND METALLURGICAL INDUSTRIES.

France's iron ore production in 1913 reached 21,918,000 tons, practically all coming from the Department of Meurthe and Moselle, (basins of Briey, Longwy and Nancy). These three basins furnished 18,601,000 tons. During the same year, the basin of Thionville in Alsace-Lorraine produced 20,536,000 tons. The basin of Thionville is situated on the left bank of the Moselle.

Of the 282,250 acres of ore and coal lands situated in Alsace-Lorraine, Belgium, France and Luxembourg, 107,500 are in Alsace-Lorraine. The ore mined in these regions is generally known as "minette" ore, and its peroxide of iron contains from 30 to 38 per cent of iron and I per cent of phosphorus. At the time of the signing of the Treaty of Frankfort, Germany only forced France to give up one-half of the ore basin of Lorraine, because the richness of the mineral phosphates rendered its use difficult. The Thomas process, discovered in 1873, permitting the purifying without difficulty of the pig iron produced from the mines of the

basin, and their importance was considerably increased. Supposing that pre-war production be maintained, the mines of Lorraine belonging to France will produce 40,000,000 tons of iron ore per annum.

A great part of the ore mined in Lorraine before the war was consumed in Lorraine itself. In 1913, 11,177,000 tons of the total production of ore in Lorraine was consumed on the spot by various metallurgical industries. The balance was exported to Luxembourg, to Westphalia, to France and to Belgium.

Before the war, the metallurgical industries of Lorraine owned 60 blast furnaces, 8 along the frontier of Luxembourg, 25 between Thionville and Fontoy, and 27 to the south and southeast of Thionville. The blast furnaces and steel mills of Lorraine produced in 1913, 4.165,000 tons of pig iron, 2,100,000 tons of Thomas steel, 185,000 tons of Martin steel, and 682,000 tons of semi-finished steel and iron products, and 1,240,000 tons of rolled metal. France's production during the same year did not exceed 5,207,000 tons of pig iron, and 5,092,000 tons of steel. Alsace-Lorraine therefore alone furnished a pig iron tonnage equal to four-fifths of France's production, and about 50 per cent of her steel production. France's output of semi-finished steel and iron products was inferior to that of Alsace-Lorraine, and was not greatly over 400,000 tons. The metallurgical industries of Lorraine owned and

operated immense mills and plants with the most modern machinery and appliances, and certain of which it had cost over 100 million francs to build.

Since the return of the basin of Thionville with Alsace-Lorraine, France has taken first place among iron-ore, pig iron and steel producing countries of Europe, and second among such countries in the world.

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INCREASED SUPPLY OF COAL. One of the disadvantages French industry before the war was a lack of coal. The temporary acquisition of the Sarre basin will permit France to make good this lack to a certain extent. In 1913, France produced 41,000,000 tons of coal, whereas she consumed 63,000,000 tons, being dependent upon foreign importations for one-third of her total consumption. The temporary acquisition of the Sarre basin will permit France to attend to the increased coal consumption which she faces, with the return of the mines of the basin of Thionville.

The Sarre basin is situated on the right bank of the Moselle, is rectangular in shape, about 100 kilometers long and of a varying width of from 30 to 35 kilometers.

Of 100 square kilometers under actual development, 45 kilometers are in Prussia and in the Bavarian Palatinate, 45 in Alsace-Lorraine, and 10 kilometers in the province of Meurthe and Moselle. Recent surveys have shown that these 10 kilometers are rich in coal and the work of developing this wealth is actually being planned. The principal mining centers at present are: Buttweiler, Sulzbach, St. Ingbert, Neukirchen and

Welligweiler. The coal produced in the Sarre basin is a thin mineral, burning with long flames, richer in volatile materials than that of the Ruhr basin, but less rich in calories. It is unsuited to cooking, but good for the manufacture of gas.

The Geological Congress at its session in Toronto, placed at 16 1-2 billion tons the coal reserves of the Sarre basin, as against 17 1-2 billion tons of all the mines of France. The Sarre basin therefore represents a coal wealth about equal to all French basins together. In 1913, it produced 16,800,000 tons, 11,000,000 of which were used in Alsace-Lorraine.

The Treaty of Versailles, however, makes the Sarre basin French for a period of fifteen years only. At the end of this time, a plebiscite will make known whether the population desires to remain French or other

wise.

The southern portion of the Sarre basin, situated in Alsace-Lorraine, has been definitely returned to France. This section of the basin produced 3,785,932 tons in 1913. It includes three groups: the mines of Petit Rousselle, of the Sarre and Moselle, and of the Honve. Surveys made in the Department of Meurthe and Moselle show the presence of coal in Pont-a-Mousson and Abancourt. These deposits are at a depth between 600 and 1000 meters.

LARGE DEPOSITS OF POTASH.

Near Mulhousen in Alsace are the most important potash deposits in the world. These deposits have been placed at 750,000,000 cubic meters of exploitable salt, containing over 300,000,000 tons of pure potash. The

present production is 400,000 tons per annum, but it will be increased progressively to 2,500,000 tons within. four years.

Prior to the war, France consumed very little potash. In 1913, she imported only 42,000 tons. The war, however, has caused an enormous increase in demand, and within the next few years, France will consume 1,200,000 tons of pure potash per annum, leaving 1,300,000 tons for export. The pre-war world consumption of potash was 850,000 tons,

Alsatian potash can easily compete with the potashes of Stassfurt, the average percentage of pure potash varying from 15 to 20 per cent, and the processes of refining being very simple.

INCREASED SALT DEPOSITS. Important salt deposits are to be found all the way from the valley of the Sarre, along a more or less straight line to the Meurthe and Moselle near Nancy. The Treaty of Franklin placed in German hands. 6331 hectares of land containing salt deposits. In 1913 eight salt mines produced in this region 75,000 tons of refined salt and 128,000 tons of bicarbonate of soda. The principal mines are at: Dieuse, Vic, ChateauSalins, Sarralbe, Chambrey and Saltsbronn. The production of these salt mines is greater than that of the basins of Alsace, which furnish only 29,000 tons per annum, 17,000 tons of fine salt, and 6000 tons for agriculture and industry.

THE GAIN IN OIL. There is an oil well at Pechelbronn, about 50 kilometers northeast of Strassbourg. This well was ex

ploited by the Germans during the war, and in 1918 furnished 51,193 tons of oil. This modest production will but aid France in a small way, as her actual imports in 1918 reached 741,000 tons.

The textile industries of AlsaceLorraine are of great importance. They employ over 78,000 persons. The mills of Alsace include those of cotton, wool, silk and jute, but it is particularly the cotton industry that is important.

The cotton spinning mills of Alsace possessed 1,900,000 spindles before the war, producing 60,000 tons of thread per annum. Further, there were 46,000 looms, consuming 52,000 tons of thread, and producing 53,000 tons of cloth. One hundred and sixty spinning machines were owned by the same companies. The return of Alsace with its cotton industry, will permit France to increase her cotton production 30 per cent, and her export production from 46,000 to 92,