es Volk_.

The suddenness of the declaration of war had for its effect, and
perhaps also for one of its objects, the stemming of the flow of gold
from the Reichsbank before it had exceeded the total of 100,000,000
marks and also the prevention of its disappearance from the country.
Soon afterwards gold was brought in astonishing quantities to the bank
by all classes of citizens who had hoarded it jealously in peace-time,
but now recognized the criminality of applying the principles of
individual ownership to what of right belongs to the jeopardized
community. For the nation realized the fact that the condition of
public danger entitled the Government to wield an unlimited degree of
power over the lives and property of the people for the welfare of the
community.

If we compare this intelligent appreciation of the position by rulers
and ruled, and their readiness to accommodate their respective actions
to it and play their parts as organs for the discharge of special
functions, with the haziness of conception, the misinterpretation of
events, and the utter lack of co-operation displayed by the
corresponding sections of the allied communities, we shall grasp the
secret of the superiority of the seemingly weaker group of
belligerents and the paltry results hitherto achieved by the stronger.

German industry, too, the source of the nation's prosperity, was
shaken to its foundations. It had worked largely for the foreign
market. And all at once its exports were cut down by 60 per cent.,
because of the stoppage of the supplies of raw materials. Imports also
fell by 75 per cent. One immediate consequence of this partial
stagnation was the enormous increase of the army of the unemployed.
Although 4,000,000 men were taken from the various industries and
despatched against the Belgians, French and Russians, there were at
the end of August no less than 3,400,000 men thrown out of
employment.[111] Thus the total number of unemployed was 7,400,000,
and as there were 17,000,000 hands employed before the war, it may be
inferred that German industry was reduced by 43-1/2 per cent. It was
in these conditions that the Teuton capacity for organization was
manifested.

[111] Cf. _Messenger of Europe_, April 1915, M. Lurie.

Two great industrial organizations flourished in Germany before the
war,[112] and although occasionally disagreeing on various points,
sensibly furthered the interests of their countrymen at home and
abroad.