H THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF THE PEACE ch.

prepared the way for the organisation of that vastmechanism of transport, coal distribution, and foreigntrade which made possible an industrial order of lifein the dense urban centres of new population. Thisis too well known to require detailed substantiationwith figures. But it may be illustrated by the figuresfor coal, which has been the key to the industrialgrowth of Central Europe hardly less than of England ;the output of German coal grew from 30,000,000tons in 1871 to 70,000,000 tons in 1890, 110,000,000tons in 1900, and 190,000,000 tons in 1913.

Round Germany as a central support the rest ofthe European economic system grouped itself, and onthe prosperity and enterprise of Germany the pros-perity of the rest of the Continent mainly depended.The increasing pace of Germany gave her neighboursan outlet for their products, in exchange for which theenterprise of the German merchant supplied themwith their chief requirements at a low price.

The statistics of the economic interdependence ofGermany and her neighbours are overwhelming.Germany was the best customer of Russia, Norway ,Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, and Austria-Hungary ; she was the second best customer ofGreat Britain, Sweden, and Denmark ; and the thirdbest customer of France . She was the largestsource of supply to Russia, Norway, Sweden, Den-mark, Holland, Switzerland, Italy, Austria-Hungary ,Roumania, and Bulgaria ; and the second largest