"That this aid was precious to the Central Powers and enabled them to stave off starvation and consequent submission can be corroborated in various ways. First, in spite of the enormous volume of imports from the neutrals Germany was on the verge of starvation during the last winter, the economic crisis reaching its critical stage coincidentally with the political crisis in the Reichstag at the beginning of July. The most potent cause of this political upheaval was the economic destitution which cast its melancholy shadow over the whole nation and increased the desperation of people and Reichstag till it exploded in a violent outburst of wrath against the government. Secondly, the general impression of press and people in Germany and Switzerland is that the most sensational part of the speech of Erzberger, which brought the crisis into being, consisted of an exposé proving the futility of the submarine policy and impugning the judgment of the officials responsible for its inauguration, inasmuch as the entrance of the United States into the list of Germany's enemies, which resulted therefrom, was likely to result in a curtailment of the imports obtained through the neutrals, and without a continuance of these imports Germany could not hold out long." SURPRISING INCREASE OF NEUTRAL SHIPPING The shutting off of the German commercial fleet from trade and the employment of Allied shipping under government contract offered an exceptional opportunity to small neutral countries to advance their shipping business. This opportunity was eagerly seized. Norway reported the establishment in 1915 of no fewer than 488 shipping firms. This was followed in 1916 by an increase of 459. Some of these Norwegian firms paid dividends as high as 400 per cent. Statistics from Sweden also show a significant expansion. Swedish firms of inconsiderable capitalization before the war became important companies, able to undertake transatlantic trade on a large scale. It seems likely that these Swedish transatlantic lines will constitute a formidable competitor to the old established German companies--now that the war is over. Corroborative evidence on the shipping situation in neutral powers is found in the following passage taken from the New York _Journal of Commerce_: