Abstract
THE Fortnightly Review for June contains an interesting article by “Politicus “on “The Natural Wealth of Germany,“in which particular stress is laid upon the immense value of the asset represented by that country's mineral possessions. These are tolerably accurately known, because in Germany the State owns the minerals and has therefore taken good care to have a complete and scientific inventory made of its mineral resources. The facts as to Germany's mineral riches are thus readily accessible, and ample statistical information is available on the subject. Taking the three undoubtedly most important of Germany's mineral products, namely, coal, iron-ore, and potash salts, the author of the article in question arrives at the startling conclusion that the value of these is close upon 240,000 millions sterling, out of which coal alone represents 89 per cent. A German poet has long ago warned the world that no prudent fighter underrates his foe, but it is perhaps almost as grave a blunder to overestimate his powers, and there is no difficulty in showing that this is what “Politicus “has done to an enormous extent.
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Louis, H. The Mineral Wealth of Germany. Nature 101, 346–347 (1918). https://doi.org/10.1038/101346a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/101346a0