IV

THE TREATY

S7

drew their coal in large part from Germany 's export-able surplus, must be starved of their supplies.Before the war 13,600,000 tons of Germany 's coalexports went to Austria - Hungary . Inasmuch asnearly all the coalfields of the former Empire lieoutside what is now German-Austria , the industrialruin of this latter state, if she cannot obtain coal fromGermany, will be complete. The case of Germany 'sneutral neighbours, who were formerly supplied inpart from Great Britain but in large part fromGermany , will be hardly less serious. They will go togreat lengths in the direction of making their ownsupplies to Germany of materials which are essentialto her, conditional on these being paid for in coal.Indeed they are already doing so. 1 With the break-down of money economy the practice of internationalbarter is becoming prevalent. Nowadays moneyin Central and South-Eastern Europe is seldom atrue measure of value in exchange, and will notnecessarily buy anything, with the consequence thatone country, possessing a commodity essential to theneeds of another, sells it not for cash but only againsta reciprocal engagement on the part of the lattercountry to furnish in return some article not lessnecessary to the former. This is an extraordinary

1 Numerous commercial agreements during the war were arranged onthese lines. But in the month of June 1919 alone, minor agreementsproviding for payment in coal were made by Germany with Denmark, Norway, and Switzerland. The amounts involved were not large, but with-out them Germany could not have obtained butter from Denmark, fats andherrings from Norway, or milk and cattle from Switzerland.