GERMAN TRADE BEFORE THE WAR.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 1564, 15 June 1916, Page 4

GERMAN TRADE BEFORE THE WAR.

When war broke out, Germany had built up a commerce second only to our own. a commerce which promised to surpass our own, says Sir L. Chiozza Money, M.P. Thai is to speak of commerce with the world at large, including the British Empire. In 1903 German imports and exports were worth £542,090,000 ; in 1913, the year before war broke out, German imports and exports had risen to £1,021,000,000. That is, German external trade had nearly doubled in ton years. In Europe itself, German Hade was supreme, a fact which few British people were aware of, so rapid’ had been Germany’s climb to power. When war broke out, Germany was selling to us twice as much as we sold to Germany. She was selling to Russia more than twice as much as we were. She was selling lo Austria live times as much as we wore, to Switzerland six limes as much as we were. To all Europe her exports were half as much again as. ours. Take the interchange between Britain and Germany. The facts are of so much importance that it is well to let them speak for themselves. Here is an account of our sales to Germany of our own goods in 1913 : £ Cotton yarn and goods 8,100,000 Machinery 1,900,000 Iron and steel 1,700,000 Woollens and worsteds 8,100,000 Other -manufactures 7,200,000 Food and tobacco 4,000,000 Coal 5,300,000 Other goods—not manufactures 4,400,000 Total £40,700,000 Now let us compare these figures German exports to the United Kingdom in the same year : £ Tobacco and food —chiefly sugar 10,500,000 Apparel 1,300,000 Motor-cars and motor cycles' ‘ 1,500,000 Chemicals 4,000,000 ’Cotton goods 7,400,000 Leather and leather goods 3,200,000 Machinery 2,300,000 Iron and steel 7,500,000 Zinc and zinc manufactures 1,700,000 silk goods 2,400,000 Furs and skins 1,300,000 Toys and games 1,200,000 Woollen goods 2,000,000 Other manufactures 20,700,000 Other goods—not manufactures 0,800,000 Total £80,400,000

The comparison is surely a. very striking one. How did Germanydo if,? How did she eome to beat. us in European trade? It was done by trade enterprise, by scientific production in industry, by a liberal banking' system, and by the fostering care of the German Government exercised in every possible direction, especially on the State railways, which enabled German traders to pour goods at. low freight rates into neighbouring territories.