Stakes of the war; summary of the various problems, claims, and interests of the nations at the peace table

Front matter

c

0^ ^v^tef

'V

Foreword

I have read with much interest and instruction this book. It sets forth in a concise and readable form the relevant facts in respect to every country whose condition is likely to be the subject of consideration by the powers who shall make the treaty of peace for the great war and construct the machinery for the maintenance of future peace. Alsace-Lorraine, the Trentino, the country about Trieste, the Balkans, the Baltic provinces, the Ukraine, Constantinople, Armenia, Egypt, Arabia, Palestine, Persia, Africa, and the German colonies are all discussed in sententious paragraphs, with the statistics which one wishes to have, and which it is difficult to find elsewhere massed all together in one volume. The various plans for the disposition of these lands, with the probable attitude of the interested countries toward such plans, is also summarily set forth. The book is not an argumentative or contentious work. It takes no side. It is a book of ready reference. It is practical in its information because all the various countries likely to cause dispute between the Powers are laid down upon a small chart, so to speak, where they may be compared. It is a book most valuable to every one who expects to follow the course of international politics and settlements in this war. Its publication could not be more opportune. The names of the authors are an earnest of its fairness and accuracy.

New Haven, Connecticut

Preface

Yesterday the detailed facts of European and Asiatic politics, race, trade, industry, and religion were of primary interest to the scholar and foreign trader. To-day they inject themselves into the discussions of every counting-room, throw their shadow across the deliberations of every labor council, and stand as stubborn factors in the personal fortune and future of every American. Foreign affairs have become the personal concern of the man in the street, no less than the professional concern of the scholar and the trader. Not that these facts have not always had profound influence upon American interests ; but it remained for the war to force upon us, as a people, a belated recognition of the fact that we are part and parcel of a world of interlaced interests in which no nation can play a lone hand.

This book is an attempt to chart the facts involved in those problems of race and territory which the war has shoved into the foreground of our political and business thinking, which will demand solution at the peace-table, and with the implications of which we shall hereafter be obliged to deal — facts which no business man can in safety overlook if he is to plan wisely for the future; facts which no labor leader can prudently ignore if he is to guard the gains of the past and guarantee the development of the future ; facts which no legislator can leave out of his thinking if he is to bring constructive statesmanship to bear upon American policy ; facts which the average American must know in order to read his daily paper with full appreciation of the related meanings of the news, filled as it to-day is with new names, new factors, new problems forced upon his attention by necessity and self-interest.

In writing this book we have tried to keep strictly to the viii PREFACE

role of reporters of facts. We have studiously avoided the expression of personal opinions. It may be thought that we have indulged in opinion at the points where we have dealt with the various solutions proposed for the several problems ; but here again we have only set down some of the solutions that statesmen, publicists, and political schools have advanced. We have tried to report, with no admixture of our personal opinions, what ends those who have proposed a given solution think it will serve, and to record as well the objections that have been raised to such solution. We have included these statements of proposed solutions in this book of facts because the points of view and convictions which they represent are as truly facts for political engineering to reckon with at the peace-table as any matter of race or trade. But we have not in any instance placed our personal valuation upon a solution.

The reader may get the impression that we have not taken into full account the practical force of the political idealism that has taken such concrete form in the recent state papers of the United States and of our associates in the war ; it may be thought that in listing the interests of Russia, let us say, we have overlooked the renunciation of many old interests that has been made by the present revolutionary leaders ; or, again, where we state that the possession of a certain territory by a given nation would cut off from the sea certain other nations, it may seem that we have left out of our reckoning the growing determination of statesmanship that the problem of access to the sea for all nations shall be constructively met at the peace conference by adequate international arrangements.

In all such cases, however, it must be remembered that this book is not a propagandist document, but an attempt to list all of the concrete factors that must be dealt with by the new statesmanship or by the revolutionist philosophy in the attempt to work out a new order of economic and political relationships.

Nor in discussing the interests that several nations have in

PREFACE ix

a given territory have we mixed our opinion with the analysis. We have tried accurately to tabulate the interests claimed by the several nations, as those claims have been expressed in the writings and pronouncements of their respective statesmen, publicists, business men, and other leaders of opinion. If such an arrangement of facts enables the reader to see in turn through English, French, Russian, German, or Italian eyes, the method will be justified; for what a nation thinks its interests are may be as real a factor in political calculation a& what its interests really are.

We have not been lured into any ambitious attempt to guide American opinion. We have tried simply to bring together the raw materials of fact from which an intelligent public opinion can draw its own conclusions.

There are books beyond number that draw sweeping generalizations regarding international politics and organization. The danger is that generalizations will determine the opinion of America before American opinion has acquired that saving balance of judgment which comes only with a knowledge of facts. A literature of generalization is indeed awakening the American mind to interest in world affairs, but we need a literature of fact before the public mind has been captured by the special pleader.

We have been obliged to set definite limitations to the scope of these studies. We have not dealt with those problems which are essentially matters of international law with its cechnical considerations ; that field is well treated in many existing volumes. We have not considered the problem of China; that problem, as such, may not come up for specific action by the conference that settles this war, although it doubtless holds important possibilities for the future. We have not treated the problem of straits and canals ; that problem promises to fall largely in the field of international regulation and control, which has not lacked constructive treatment at many hands.

X PREFACE

We have taken as a basis for this volume those racial and territorial problems directly involved in the war at the time the book goes to press, and which are virtually certain to be treated at the peace-table. This delimitation of field has excluded certain problems of race and territory which may be raised if still other nations are drawn into the war. Likewise it has ruled out certain other problems of race and territory, the treatment of which at the hands of the peace conference is highly problematic.

With the international situation daily changing with unprecedented swiftness, it has been clearly out of the question to write a book that would record with scientific accuracy and completeness the statistics of race and industry of the immediate war-governed situation. We have, therefore, used no statistics later than those of December 31, 1913. Later statistics are difficult to obtain, and, when obtainable, are frequently juggled. But even though accurate statistics of the immediate situation were in all instances obtainable, they would be less pertinent to the purpose of these studies than the pre-war statistics. The statistics of the present situation, especially the economic statistics, deal with an abnormal situation, whereas these problems must be settled upon the basis of the normal situation which peace involves. Therefore, choice would prompt, even though necessity did not dictate, the use of the statistics of 1913 in the analysis of the essential factors in each problem.

May we repeat that we have sought to serve American opinion by the simple reporting of facts. In no small measure we have written this book from a sense of duty which recognizes that passionate devotion to ideals on the battle-field must be supplemented by realistic dealing with the facts of race and economics at the peace-table if sacrifice is to be rewarded with security.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

The bibliographies in this book do not pretend to completeness. Our aim has been to cite the noteworthy books on the various subjects dealt with which have been written in English, French, German, and Italian, and which have been published within the last generation. In this way the reader who desires more detailed information on any particular subject is referred to recent and fairly general works. From the bibliographical references in these works he can discover those older or more technical books which will enable him to go still deeper than the limitations of space and the synthetic purpose of this volume have permitted.

In order to aid the reader in his prospective researches, we have endeavored wherever possible to subdivide our bibliographies into three sections: (1) historical, (2) economic, (3) general.

The historical section contains not only technical historical works, but also books of a more popular character, describing contemporary conditions, etc. The economic section contains the leading official or non-official reference-publications in the particular field in question, together with books of a predominantly economic content. The general section contains all books not falling clearly within the two preceding categories, thus including both the lighter books of travel and works on special topics other than economic.

Naturally, it has not been possible always to subdivide with absolute accuracy. Many books fall so on the line that their exact classification is a moot point. Again, in certain chapters, the total bibliography is so scanty that we have thought xii BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

it better to place the entire list under the general category at the end of the chapter.

Despite these imperfections, we believe that our classification will serve a useful purpose by enabling the reader to pick out books on particular matters with a minimum of time wasted in consulting volumes not germane to his special enquiry.

Contents

CHAPTER WESTERN EUROPE p^oe

I Belgium 3

II Alsace-Lorraine 23

Chapter I Belgium

Belgium is a sort of geographical half-way house between the marshlands of the North Sea coast and the uplands of west-central Europe. The north and west parts are low plains. The southeastern half is hill-country. Here again geography has played a determining role in history. The geographical difference between the two sections of Belgian territory accounts for the racial difference between the two sections of Belgian population ; and this racial division is the outstanding problem of the internal history of Belgium.

The low plains of the north and west fell easy prey to the Germanic barbarians when they swept southward at the fall of the Roman Empire. To-day the modern Flemings, the descendants of these invaders, form a solid block of population which is thoroughly Teutonic in blood, language, and basic culture. They are, in fact, blood-brothers of their northern neighbors, the Dutch.

But the more defensible hills of the southeastern half of Belgium enabled the Latinized Celtic population to hold its ground against the Germanic invaders. There was not, therefore, the racial displacement in the southeast that there was in the north and west of Belgium. The modem Walloons occupying this section of Belgium are descendants of the old

Latinized Celtic folk, and therefore are a French-speaking people closely related to their kinsmen in France.

Belgium's history has been singularly troubled. The natural point of focus for several lines of political pressure, Belgium has for centuries been the cockpit wherein the great powers of Europe have fought for special advantage and supremacy.

For more than two centuries previous to 1870, France aspired to control Belgium. During the Napoleonic era Belgium was actually in French hands. As a barrier to French aggression, the Vienna Congress of 1814 united Belgium and Holland into the Kingdom of the Netherlands. But this union was of short duration, because the French-speaking Walloons, whose racial self-consciousness had been intensified by the preceding generation of French rule, chafed under the rule of Dutchmen and Flemings which the Kingdom of the Netherlands involved. The Walloons, taking advantage of the religious cleavage between the Catholic Flemings and the Protestant Dutch, won sufficient Flemish support to launch the successful revolution of 1830, which resulted in the establishment of Belgium as an independent state.

From 1830 until 1914 Belgium enjoyed unwonted immunity from foreign pressure. The old French menace had almost, if not entirely, ceased to be a factor in Belgium's political calculations, and fear of Germany did not become acute until the very eve of the present war. This long period of peace brought prosperity to Belgium and made her one of the commanding industrial centers of the world.

Her most vexing problem was the growing breach between the Walloons and the Flemings. During the generation after 1830 there was a marked racial and cultural revival among the Flemings, giving momentum to a growing protest against the privileged position that the Walloon leaders of the revolution of 1830 had accorded the French language and culture. The Walloons, jealous of their advantages, feared that the slightly more numerous Flemish element might ultimately secure political supremacy. In the years immediately preceding the present war Flemish-Walloon antagonism was acute. Flemish extremists threatened secession to Holland, while "Walloon extremists hinted at union with France.

Then came the German invasion of 1914, and differences of race and culture were temporarily adjourned in the face of a common disaster. Historically speaking, this German invasion is the last of a long series of attempts from various quarters to acquire, as a strategic right of way or actual dependency, this eminently desirable region, the control of which would go far toward making the possessor master of western Europe.

Balau, S. Soixante-dix Ans d'Histoire contemporaine de la Belgique 1815-84. Brussels, 1890.

Bavay, C. V. de. Histoire de la Revolution beige de 1830. Brussels, 1873.

Boulger, D. C. Belgium of the Belgians. London, 1911.

Boulger, D. C. The History of Belgium. London, 1913.

Charriaut, H. La Belgique moderne. Paris, 1910.

Ensor, R. C. K. Belgium. London, 1915.

Hanslik, E. Das Konigreich Belgien. Berlin, 1910.

Hymans, L. Cinquante Ans de la Liberte. 4 vols. Brussels, 1880.

Hymans, L. Histoire parlementaire de la Belgique. 6 vols. Brussels, 1878-80.

Hymans, L. La Belgique contemporaine. Mons, 1880.

MacDonnell, J. de C. Belgium, Her Kings, Kingdom and People. London, 1914.

Pirenne, H. Histoire de Belgique. Vols. 1-4. Brussels, 1900-1911.

Quelle, O. Belgien. Braunschweig, 1916.

Scudamore, C. Belgium and the Belgians. London, 1901.

Siosteen, G. Das moderne Belgien. Berlin, 1909.

Smythe, C. The Story of Belgium. London, 1900.

Stokes, H. and Brangwyn, F. Belgium. London, 1915.

Van der Essen, L. A Short History of Belgium. London, 1916.

At the time of the German invasion of 1914, Belgium was one of the most flourishing economic areas in the world. Fertility of soil, extent of mineral resources, variety of manufactures, and ample trade communications combine to produce a well-balanced prosperity and economic completeness.

Nearly all the soil of Belgium is productive. Of its total area of 7,264,159 acres, 4,287,920 acres are under cultivation, and 1,286,870 acres are in forest, with only 469,300 acres fallow or uncultivated. In 1912 the yield from the cultivated area was as follows, estimated in long tons: Cereal crops (wheat, barley, oats, and rye), 1,535,859 tons; potatoes, 162,- 653 tons ; sugar-beets, 85,126 tons ; tobacco, 9,867 tons.

The average yearly value of Belgian forest products is about 21,500,000 francs.

At the end of 1912 the live-stock possessions of Belgium stood as follows: Horses, 262,709; horned cattle, 1,830,747; pigs, 1,348,514.

The most valuable mineral product of Belgium is coal. The extensive coal-deposits near Liege and Mons, in the southeastern part, have long been the basis of Belgium's industrial life, and the opening of a rich new coal-field in the province of Limburg in 1906 promised a fresh accession of industrial power.

Southeastern Belgium also contains valuable iron deposits, although these are showing signs of exhaustion, and therefore Belgium's iron and steel industries depend somewhat upon the importation of iron ore from Luxemburg and French Lorraine.

In 1912 the mineral output of Belgium stood as follows: Pig-iron, 2,301,290 tons; manufactured iron, 334,750 tons; steel ingots, 2,515,040 tons; steel rails, 1,903,270 tons; zinc, 205,940 tons ; lead, 102,020 tons ; silver 279,965 kilograms.

The total value of the pig-iron, manufactured iron, steel ingots, and steel rails produced in 1912 was 700,000,000 francs. Belgium possesses, in addition to these mineral resources, many valuable quarries of granite, marble, and slate.

The possession of coal and iron, basic factors of modern industrial life, together with an industrious and intelligent working population, has enabled Belgium to erect an imposing industrial structure. The country is dotted with workshops and factories which produce a wide variety of articles. Eastern Belgium is the center of the iron and steel trades, producing particularly railway materials, fire-arms, and machinery. Western Belgium, especially Flanders, is the center of the textile industry, producing both cotton and woolen fabrics. Linens, laces, gloves, and other allied products figure in its output. Other important industries are window glass, paper, oil-cloth, dyes and colors, as well as miscellaneous chemical products.

With these adequate bases of resource and production Belgium has succeeded in building up an extensive commerce. Belgium holds sixth place in the commercial ranking of the nations. In 1912, Belgium's exports amounted to 3,951,- 000,000 francs ; her imports, 4,958,000,000 francs. By virtue of location, Belgium is a natural trade-link between central Europe and the outer world. This means for Belgium an important transit-trade which in 1912 amounted to 2,437,000,- 000 francs. This is due to the fact that her great port of Ant* werp, near the mouth of the Scheldt River, is accessible to the largest ocean-going steamers and connected with the rest of Europe by a network of railways and canals. Through her expanding merchant marine, which in 1912 totaled 181,- 637 tons, Belgium reaped a further profit from her overseas trade.

The official publications of the Central Statistical Commission and of the various administrative departments of the Belgian Government, Agriculture, Industry and Labor, Interior, Railways, et cetera — are adequate sources.

The following are handy compendiums of general statistical information :

Annuaire statistique de la Belgique et du Congo beige. Annual. Brussels.

Statesman's Year Book. Annual. London.

Billiard, R. La Belgique industrielle et commerciale de demain. Paris,

1915.

Bouche, B. Les Ouvriers agricoles en Belgique. Brussels, 1914. Cosoiu, M. N. Die belgische Handelspolitik der letzten 40 Jahre.

Stuttgart, 1914.

Deiss, E. Anvers et la Belgique maritime. Paris, 1899. Deschesne, L. L'expansion economique de la Belgique. Brussels, 1900. DujardinBaumetz, M. Histoire graphique de I'lndustrie houillere en

Belgique. Paris, 1888.

Ghislain, O. Geographic industrielle et commerciale de la Belgique.

Brussels, 1903.

Guillery, J. Les Soeiet^s commerciales en Belgique. 3 vols. Brussels,

1883.

Leener, G. de. La Politique des Transports en Belgique. Brussels,.

1913.

Lewinski, J. S. L'Evolution industrielle de la Belgique. Brussels,

1911.

Martel, H. Le Dgveloppement commercial de la Belgique. Annual.

Brussels.

Prost, E. La Belgique agricole, industrielle, et commerciale. Paris,

1904.

Rowntree, B. S. Land and Labor; Lessons from Belgium. London,

THE FACTS ABOUT BELGIUM

Where Belgium is Located

Belgium is located at the point where the marshlands of the North Sea coast merge into the uplands of west-central

Europe. It is bounded by Holland on the north, the English Channel on the west, France on the south, and Germany on the east.

Territorul Units Involved

Belgium has an area of 11,373 square miles, about equaling the combined areas of Maryland and Delaware.

(Luxemburg, dealt with in an annex to the Belgian problems, has an area of 999 square miles.)

Different Races in Belgium

The Walloons (French-speaking element) number about 2,- 833,000 and occupy the hilly southern half of Belgium. They are of all social classes. Before the war they enjoyed a slightly higher political and cultural status than the Flemings. They appear to have slightly less economic efficiency than the Flemings.

The Flemings (Flemish-speaking element) number about 3,220,000 and are found in the flat northern half of Belgium. They are of all social classes. As part of a Teutonist policy, the German government, since its occupation of Belgium, has seemed to favor the Flemings at the expense of the Walloons.

Besides the figures above quoted, which represent those persons who speak only French or Flemish, there were in 1910 (the census from which all these figures are drawn) 871,000 persons speaking both French and Flemish. The majority of these should be classed as Flemish in blood.

Who Controlled Belgium Before the War Belgium.

Who Has Controlled or Occupied Belgium Since THE War Began

Germany has occupied and controlled all of Belgium except a small tract in the extreme west on the sea-coast adjacent to the French frontier. This tract has been held by the remnant of the Belgian army, aided by Allied troops.

Belgium's Interests

The interest of Belgians in the restoration of Belgium as an independent state is so patent and vital that it needs no topical consideration.

Germany's Interests in Belgium

Political. German retention of Belgium would shift the political balance of power in western Europe to the decided favor of Germany. It would reduce France to a position of precarious dependence, turn Holland into a mere enclave of the German Empire, and menace England with subjection to German dominance. On the other hand, Germany would regard a restored Belgium, frankly hostile to Germany and allied with France and England, as shifting the balance of power in western Europe considerably against Germany,

Economic. The great accession of economic strength that would accrue to Germany from the retention of Belgium is clear from a consideration of the economic resources of Belgium. The Belgian port of Antwerp would be invaluable to Germany as a part of her machinery of trade distribution.

Strategic. German retention of Belgium would envelop France both to the north and east, making a German drive on Paris possible at any time. It would render Holland defenseless against Germany. It would menace England's sea-power through German control of Antwerp and render reasonably practicable a German invasion of England by virtue of a solid German foothold on the English Channel. On the other hand, a hostile Belgium, supported by France and England, would be in an advantageous position for an offensive against Germany's industrial heart, Westphalia and Rhineland. Germany's principal arsenal, the Krupp works at Essen, lies within striking distance of the Belgian frontier.

Racial. In the extreme east of Belgium, near the German border, is the small district of Verviers, inhabited by about 30,000 German-speaking peasants. There are, of course, consideraWe colonies of Germans (business men and others) in the Belgian cities, notably Antwerp. Many Germans, however, particularly those of the Pan-Germanist school of thought, assert that since the Flemish population of Belgium belongs to the Teutonic race, it might ultimately be assimilated by the German nationality. This is one of the arguments adduced in Germany for the annexation of Belgium to the German Empire.

Cultural. The Teutonic cast of the language and culture of the Flemings and their close historic affiliations with Germany are emphasized by the Pan-Germans.

Religious. The great majority of the population of Belgium is Roman Catholic. There are only 28,000 Protestants and 13,000 Jews in Belgium. Although the tendency of the Flemings to be devout Roman Catholics and of the Walloons to be free-thinking laicists undoubtedly is a factor in complicating the relations of these two nationalities within Belgium, religion has virtually no bearing upon the international aspect of the Belgian problem.

France's Interests in Belgium

Political. France regards a strong Belgium as essential to the preservation of the balance of power in western Europe against the possibility of German aggression. Some Frenchmen think the solution lies in the neutralization of Belgium under adequate international guaranties. Others, skeptical of this arrangement, desire an independent Belgium in friendly alliance with France.

Economic. France is partly dependent upon Belgian coal. There exists a close economic connection between the adjoining industrial areas of southern Belgium and northern France.

Belgium is an important market for French products. In 1912, France exported to Belgium to the extent of 908,000,000 francs, while Belgium exported to France to the extent of 752,000,000 francs. Thus France was importing from Belgium more than from any other country except Germany.

Strategic. A restored Belgium, adequately guaranteed against German aggression, would safeguard the rather indefensible northern frontier of France, and a friendly or allied Belgium would even enable France, by a quick thrust, to reach the vital industrial centers of Westphalia and Rhineland, as before suggested.

Racial. The Walloon part of the Belgian population is French in blood and language. France has every concern, therefore, to see that the interests of this largest block of French-speaking people outside of France are safeguarded and furthered.

Cultural. The culture of the Walloons is French, a fact which reinforces the racial interest and deepens French concern in Belgium. Should the Walloons ultimately succeed in assimilating the Flemings, thereby making Belgium a solidly French-speaking nation, it would obviously mean a marked gain for French cultural power.

Religious. Virtually no religious interest figures in French calculations regarding Belgium.

England's Interests in Belgium

Political. English political thought regards a strong and independent Belgium as essential to England's position as a great power. England realizes that the possession of Belgium by any Continental great power would mean the holding of the key to the European situation.

Economic. In 1912, England stood third in Belgian trade countries both as regards imports and exports, imports standing 505,000,000 francs and exports 594,000,000 francs. The economic tie is close.

Strategic. A German-controlled Belgium would menace England's sea-power by giving Germany naval bases on the English Channel. This is especially significant as a potential menace since the development of the submarine as a factor in naval warfare. It would also threaten England with direct military invasion.

Racial. None.

Cultural. None.

Religious. None.

Holland's Interests in Belgium

Political. Mutual trade between Holland and Belgium is large. In 1912, Holland exported to Belgium to the extent of 356,000,000 francs and imported from Belgium to the extent of 367,000,000 francs.

Strategic. A German-controlled Belgium would leave Holland with an indefensible frontier against Germany.

Racial. The Flemings are blood-brothers of the Dutch. There is virtually no racial difference between the two stocks.

Cultural. Flemish and Dutch culture are essentially the same. The Flemish tongue is a dialect of the Dutch. The literary language of the two bodies is the same. This unity of blood and culture has led many, on both sides of the frontier, to regret the violent separation of 1830 and to dream of a political reunion of the Flemish part, at least, of Belgium with Holland. This aspiration is embodied in the "Great Netherland" school of political thought.

Religious. The fact that the Flemings are predominantly Roman Catholic, while the Dutch royal house and most of the Dutch people are strong Protestants, is a formidable handicap to the spread of the Great Netherland idea. Religion is the principal factor which has kept apart these two stocks racially indistinguishable.

Mea.n

1. Status Quo ante helium under Stronger International

Guaranties.

A guaranteed independence for Belgium naturally appeals to the greatest number as the essentially just and desirable solution. The continued security of Belgium as a small state would be the living symbol of a just and stable world order. But the independence of Belgium is important not only as a symbol of the recognized rights of small nations as a general principle, but for the maintenance of the liberties of Europe. The way in which, at each instance of aggression against Belgium, leagues of European states have spontaneously formed to resist the aggressors, as in the case of Spain, Prance, and Germany, proves that there is clear recognition, instinctive as well as reasoned, that Belgium in the hands of any one strong power would threaten Europe with subjection to the military despotism that nation could thereby create.

The fact that Belgium has a maximum of desirability and a minimum of defensibility maJjes it a vulnerable point in the European fabric and a constant invitation to aggression.

Two things are essential to the successful maintenance of an independent Belgium : the establishment of a new international order that will conduce to greater international cooperation and world security instead of the traditional clutching at distributive shares of desirable territory, and a constructive solution of Belgium's internal racial strife between the Flemings and the Walloons.

2. A Greater Belgium.

The suggestion of such a solution would most probably come from the French-speaking Walloon school of thought, supported by their sympathizers in Prance, representing as they do the imperialistic sentiment in Belgium. This would probably imply the annexation to Belgium of the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, Dutch Flanders, with a Belgian-Dutch co-ownership of the mouth of the Scheldt, and Dutch Limburg. These annexations have been urged in some quarters for years.