The Next Step

ron ore supply. The figures for the other important nations were: ("World Atlas of Commercial Geology," Dept. of the Interior, Washington, 1921, p. 27)

Per Cent Per Cent Produced Consumed

Germany 20 27 Britain 9 14 France 12 7 Russia 5 5 Belgium 0 4 Spain 6 1

Only in France and Spain did production exceed consumption. Four of the remaining countries used more iron ore than they produced, which meant that they were forced to depend upon some other country for their supply. Belgium, with her many industries, imported practically all of the iron ore that she used.

Coal furnishes an even more striking illustration of the economic dependence of one part of the world upon another. The production and consumption of coal, for 1913, in millions of tons, were as follows:

Tons Tons Produced Consumed United States 517 495 Britain 292 217 Germany 191 167 France 40 60 Italy 1 10 Austria-Hungary 17 30

The United States, Britain and Germany produced, in this one year, 121 millions of