The Economic Consequences of the PeaceKeynes, John Maynard
History
The Economic Consequences of the Peace
Keynes, John Maynard
Economic history -- 1918-1945; Treaty of Versailles (1919 June 28); World War, 1914-1918 -- Economic aspects
There would remain, therefore, on the basis of the 1913 output,
130,700,000 tons, or, deducting consumption at the mines themselves,
(say) 118,000,000 tons. For some years there must be sent out of this
supply upwards of 20,000,000 tons to France as compensation for damage
done to French mines, and 25,000,000 tons to France, Belgium, Italy, and
Luxemburg;[43] as the former figure is a maximum, and the latter figure
is to be slightly less in the earliest years, we may take the total
export to Allied countries which Germany has undertaken to provide as
40,000,000 tons, leaving, on the above basis, 78,000,000 tons for her
own use as against a pre-war consumption of 139,000,000 tons.
This comparison, however, requires substantial modification to make it
accurate. On the one hand, it is certain that the figures of pre-war
output cannot be relied on as a basis of present output. During 1918 the
production was 161,500,000 tons as compared with 191,500,000 tons in
1913; and during the first half of 1919 it was less than 50,000,000
tons, exclusive of Alsace-Lorraine and the Saar but including Upper
Silesia, corresponding to an annual production of about 100,000,000
tons.[44] The causes of so low an output were in part temporary and
exceptional but the German authorities agree, and have not been
confuted, that some of them are bound to persist for some time to come.
In part they are the same as elsewhere; the daily shift has been
shortened from 8-1/2 to 7 hours, and it is improbable that the powers of
the Central Government will be adequate to restore them to their former
figure. But in addition, the mining plant is in bad condition (due to
the lack of certain essential materials during the blockade), the
physical efficiency of the men is greatly impaired by malnutrition
(which cannot be cured if a tithe of the reparation demands are to be
satisfied,--the standard of life will have rather to be lowered), and
the casualties of the war have diminished the numbers of efficient
miners. The analogy of English conditions is sufficient by itself to
tell us that a pre-war level of output cannot be expected in Germany.
German authorities put the loss of output at somewhat above 30 per
cent, divided about equally between the shortening of the shift and the
other economic influences. This figure appears on general grounds to be
plausible, but I have not the knowledge to endorse or to criticize it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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