264 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1918. 



to paralyze certain German factories before they could revert from 

 a war to a peace basis of production. He would, moreover, reserve 

 to France the right to place at all times in the future such em- 

 bargoes on exports to Germany as she might deem necessary in order 

 to prevent the recurrence of war. 



De Launay is not blind to the fact that the ultimate disposition 

 of Alsace-Lorraine is complicated by the German ' nationality of 

 one part of her people. Moreover, he appreciates the domination 

 of German interests in the iron and salt syndicates, etc., and he 

 realizes that even if it were possible to rid these institutions of their 

 German domination they would still be controlled not by French 

 but by various foreigners, Swiss, Swedes, and the naturalized Ameri- 

 can Jews of Frankfort. The suggested solution of this problem is 

 the expropriation of the German inhabitants of Alsace-Lorraine. 

 The industrial syndicates are to be combined into a syndicate of the 

 Gewerkschaft or localized type, as opposed to the Gesellschaft or 

 imperial type. That is to say, they are localized under one con- 

 trolling power only exercised in Alsace-Lorraine. The directors and 

 stockholders of these new companies are to be entirely French or 

 members of allied nations. In order to enforce, this the stock is to 

 be all registered. He acknowledges that in spite of these safeguards 

 it is likely the Germans will obtain a surreptitious hold upon the ad- 

 ministration through factitious shareholders. It would not be likely, 

 however, that Germans could continue to exercise such a complicated 

 and costly method of supervision in Alsatian affairs. It is more 

 probable that they would retire and construct new factories in the 

 Euhr district. 



In conclusion De Launay insists that without coal France can not 

 handle the increased iron and steel industries consequent upon the 

 annexation of Alsace-Lorraine, that the necessary coal can not be 

 obtained at sufficiently low price from Great Britain on account of 

 transportation cost, that the factories of France cpuld not work up 

 the crude products of the Lorraine ores, and that the raw materials 

 would necessarily continue to be exported to Germany. In case they 

 are sent to Germany, subject to customs duties, the iron and steel 

 of Lorraine would not compete with the products of the Luxemburg 

 furnaces, which pay no duties. He, therefore, stipulates that the 

 portion of the iron and steel output which was formerly absorbed 

 by the German market should be admitted to Germany duty free. 

 He also warns his readers that the German iron and steel industries 

 will never be extinguished so long as they have access to the foreign 

 ores of Sweden and so long as they exercise control over the Duchy 

 of Luxemburg. 



