The Hokitika Guardian TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5th, 1922.

Hokitika Guardian, 5 September 1922, Page 2

The Hokitika Guardian TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER sth, 1922.

THE WEALTH OF GERMANY. A “Student of German Conditions”, writing in London “Daily Mail,”

maintains that Germany, far from being poor, is one of the richest countries in the world. National wealth does not consist of liuniey, which by itself is worthy nothing, he writes, hut of tangible property and goods, and it is increased by production. Germany is far wealthier than France. All North Germany is a level plain, very fruitful mid easily cultivable, and it is opened up by a unique system of gently flowing, deep rivers, which can easily bo connected, while France has little level ground and only turbulent or small rivers. The principal wealth of nations is created nowadays in factories. Modern industry depends upon coal. Germany has lost a goed deni of coal by the peace, Hut ill the Ruhr Valley alone she has about 200,000,000.000 tons of coal—l2 times as much as all France and considerably more than the United Kingdom. For international commerce Germany has the best position in the centre of Europe. Last, hut not least, she has more than 60.000. 000 inhabitants, while France lias less than 40,000,000. Owing to her superiority in natural resources of every kind in man power and therefore in production, Germany is undoubtedly twice as rich as France. Germany’s industries Hii'e extraordinarily prosperous, hut their prosperity is disguised Sis far as possible, as the following example Shows. The gross profits of a leading I German chemical company, the Badisclio Anilin-tind- >Sodn-Fabrik, increas. ' cd tenfold. Although gigantic sums were written off and hidden in other ways, dividends equivalent to 220 per cent on the capital of 1910 were paid. Todisgui.se that fact, tile capital of the company was increased nearly eightfold, and the shareholders, besides re- I eeiving 220 per cent in cash, got huge dividends in shares allotted to them far below the market price. Similar condi. tions prevail almost everywhere. Germany has become the company promoter’s paradise. During the first quarter of 1913 new issues came to 123.900,000 marks. During the first quarter of 1922 new issues came to 100 times as much. We are told that Germany is crushed by taxation, that German in. come tax is the highest in the world. Unfortunately the high nominal rates do not yield corresponding revenue, because people refuse to pay. Those who defraud the revenue are lightly punished, or not punished at all, and their names are not published, as in Great Britain.