[37] The extent of German economic control of central and eastern Europe before the War is indicated by Mr. J. M. Keynes, in his book _The Economic Consequences of the Peace_ (New York, 1920), pp. 17–18: “Germany not only furnished these countries with trade, but in the case of some of them supplied a great part of the capital needed for their own development. Of Germany’s pre-war foreign investments, amounting in all to about six and a half billion dollars, not far short of two and a half billions was invested in Russia, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Rumania, and Turkey. And by the system of ‘peaceful penetration’ she gave these countries not only capital, but what they needed hardly less, organization. The whole of Europe east of the Rhine thus fell into the German industrial orbit, and its economic life was adjusted accordingly.” A frank German admission of a policy of a self-sufficient Central Europe is the work of Friedrich Naumann, _Mittel-Europa_, translated into English by C. M. Meredith and published under the title _Central Europe_ (New York, 1917). See, especially, Chapters IV-VII. _Cf._, also, Ernst zu Reventlow, _Deutschlands auswärtige Politik_ (3rd revised edition, Berlin, 1916), pp. 336 _et seq._; K. H. Müller, _Die Bedeutung der Bagdadbahn_ (Hamburg, 1916), p. 29. [38] Paul Rohrbach, _Die Bagdadbahn_ (Berlin, 1903), p. 16. [39] H. A. Gibbons, _The Reconstruction of Poland and the Near East_ (New York, 1917), pp. 57–58. The author is not in agreement with either Dr. Rohrbach or Dr. Gibbons. He certainly would hesitate to call any imperialist policy “inevitable.” [40] _Die deutsche Türkenpolitik_, p. 8. CHAPTER IV THE SULTAN MORTGAGES HIS EMPIRE THE GERMANS OVERCOME COMPETITION During 1898 and 1899 the Ottoman Ministry of Public Works received many applications for permission to construct a railway to Bagdad. Whatever may have been thought later of the financial prospects of the Bagdad Railway there was no scarcity then of promoters who were willing and anxious to undertake its construction. It was not because of lack of competition that the _Deutsche Bank_ finally was awarded the all-important concession.