In the middle of the igth centuiy the market price per Tonde Hartkorn (Danish unit of land valuation, equal to 18 ac. good soil) was about 2,000 Danish kroner; in the first half of the 'eighties 6,500 kr. ; prices declined till towards the close of the century, the price then being 5,200 kr., rising later to about 8,500 kr. in 1913. A constant rise took place during the war, prices in 1918 reaching 12,800 kr. per Tonde Hartkorn. This decline of prices from the middle of the 'eighties to the close of the century, due to the general fall in corn prices, was met by a change of the whole system of agriculture in consequence of which milk, butter, bacon and seed took the place of corn and live stock as chief product. This develop- ment continued till the outbreak of the World War. The new in- dustries were based on the use of home supplies together with im- ported grain and artificial manure, the result being a very con- siderable output, especially of dairy produce, pork, eggs, cattle and horses. Only a part was marketable in Denmark itself, and a con- siderable export trade was developed, dairy products, pork and eggs mostly going to England.
During the war, and after the beginning of the ruthless sub- marine campaign, conditions were altered, the importation of raw materials being very much impeded. The import of corn and forage, including oilcake, amounted before the war to 1,700,000 tons annually, while Denmark's home production was 2,400,000 tons of grain: allowing 500,000 tons for food supplies and for industrial purposes, about 3,300,000 tons remained for forage. During the war the import of rye, maize, and oilcake partly, and in 1918 almost totally, failed; moreover, the harvest in the country was reduced by one-sixth owing to the want of artificial manure. Denmark was compelled to reduce its live stock. The number of cattle was in 1914 2,500,000 and after 1917 two million. Notwithstanding that the best milch cows were least affected by this reduction of stock, the out-
Eut of milk and subsequently of butter was reduced by about 50 %, utter from' 1 1 7,000,000 kgm. in 1914 to 67,000,000 kgm. in 1918. But while in 1914 about 95,000,000 kgm. were exported, in 1918 only 15,000,000 kgm. were sent out of the country. Home consump- tion of butter was much more than doubled due to the stoppage of the import of copra, the raw material for margarine. The number of swine, in 1914 about 2j million, almost equalling the number of the population, was in 1917 reduced to I j million and in 1918 to half a million. This reduction manifested itself in the rapidly decreasing export of pork, from 150,000,000 to 3,000,000 kilograms. The number of hens fell between igi4and igiSfrom 15 million tog million, export of eggs being in the same years 450 million and 320 million respectively. The number of horses and sheep was almost undimin- ished, about 500,000 of each.
After 1918, with the coming of peace, Danish agriculture re- covered rapidly, but the production, especially of pork, was still in 1921 less than before the war. The butter and pork production is mainly in the hands of the farmers' own cooperative factories; thus, of the 1,380 Danish butter factories 1,168 are on a cooperative basis and about 90% of the swine killed in Denmark are taken to the cooperative slaughter-houses.
Two important laws relating to agricultural exports were that of May 27 1908, dealing with the control of meat exported from Den- mark, and a similar law of April 12 1911, dealing with the control of butter. They were based on section 62 of the British Trade-Marks Act 1905, which enabled Danish farmers to register a common trade-mark as against all other trade-marks in these articles. Thus all exported meat or bacon receives a public trade-mark and a Government stamp showing it to have been passed for export at the control station either as first- or second-class produce. Agricultural goods for export can therefore receive an official trade-mark certify- ing the quality of the articles. No butter is allowed to be exported that contains over 16% of water, or other preservatives than salt.
Industry. Manufactures dependent on the import of coal and raw materials did not develop in Denmark until about the last decade of the igth century, as the country produces no coal and very little raw material apart from farm products and material for brick- and cement-making. It thus happens that Denmark as a whole is the loser in the years of high prices and so-called prosperity the raw materials having to be bought abroad at the highest price level and regains the losses in the years of depression. The rather small-sized factory is typical, but some big factories have been established in connexion with the manufacturing of leather and footwear, cement, margarine, textiles, tobacco, spirits, sugar, beer, oil, matches, paper, agricultural machines and iron ships. Of the 140,000 persons engaged in factories employing more than 20 working-hands in 1914 more than half belonged to Copenhagen. Most of the larger establishments belong to joint-stock companies. In 1919 there were 994 industrial joint-stock companies with a total capital of 621,000,000 kr., of which three-fourths belonged to companies with a capital exceeding 100,000 kr. each. During the last decades Danish industry has shown an increasing tendency towards centralization. Customs duties were considerably reduced in 1908, but as th> are almost always calculated upon weight, the general advance in prices made the protection left to industry com- pletely ineffective. During the blockade industry had to face difficulties regarding the importation of raw material and coal; but the blockade mainly affected industries producing oils and margarine, which were practically at a standstill in 1918. The
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Total Number
Skilled
Power.
employed.
Workers.
H.P.
Food ....
63,000
38,000
81,000
Textiles
17,000
14,400
16,300
Clothing
65,000
35,000
3,500
Building and Furniture
79,000
52,000
21,000
Woodwork .
13,300
6,000
18,000
Tanneries .
1,200
900
11,400
Earthenware and
Glass
20,000
16,000
28,000
Metals
63,000
46,000
34,000
Chemical and
Technical
13,000
9,000
15,000
Paper ....
3,500
3,000
7,600
Printing
12,000
9,700
4,200
Totals
35O,OOO
230,000
230,000
failure of the coal supplies was met with the strictest economy in consumption and partially made up for by an energetic utilization of the native fuels woods, peat and brown coal. In spite of heavy difficulties, Danish industry was to a large extent able to supply the demands of the home market.
On the whole the war period must be said to have been econom- ically favourable to the neutrals, as appears from the formation of a number of new industrial concerns and the extension of many of those already in existence, and the fact that between 1914 and 1920 the number of companies increased by 50% and their capital by 150%. Industrial profits were largely invested in extensions and improvements which could not be turned to full account during the post-war depression. The following table shows the total number of persons, the number of skilled workers, and the horse-power of prime movers concerned in the principal industries in the year 1914:
Shipping. At the close of 1913 Denmark's mercantile marine counted apart from vessels of four-ton register or less 1,970 sailing vessels with a joint tonnage of about 90,000 tons register, 941 motor vessels of 30,000 tons register and 642 steamers of 420,000 tons register. At the close of 1919 the respective figures were 1,584 sailing vessels of 103,000 tons register, 1,465 motor vessels of 89,000 tons register, 514 steamers of 332,000 tons register. The number of Danish steamers sunk by submarines, torpedoes and mines was 147, representing a tonnage of 229,000 tons register in gross. The gross freight carried in Danish ships excluding home coast traffic amounted in iqi j to no million kr. and in 1919 10445 million kroner. The average dividend on steamship shareswas in 1919 70%. From 1916-20 foreign-going shipping of the country was controlled by a Freight Board, elected by the shipowners themselves. Rather generous maximum rates were fixed for the supplies of the country. Owners were bound to employ their ships according to the instructions of the board. In July 1917 an arrangement was made according to which all Danish owners put tonnage at the dis- posal of the Freight Board for the coal supply from the United Kingdom at a fixed rate and quantity.
Commerce. The total imports and exports from 1912-20 were as follows :
Year
Imports: Mill. kr.
Exports: Mill. kr.
Excess of Imports : Mill. kr.
1912
818
682
136
1913
855
721
134
1914
795
867
72
1915
1,157
1,120
28
1916
i,357
1*309
48
1917
1,082
1,065
17
1918
945
743
202
.1919
2,519
909
1,610
1920
3.142
1,814
1,328
Thus it appears that the excess of imports over exports was in the years preceding the war about 130,000,000 kr., while in the first four war-years export and import were almost equal. Yet in 1914, on account of " hidden exports," the trade balance was actually favourable. In 1918 the balance was 200,000,000 kr., and in 1919 and 1920 it averaged 1,500 million kr. against Denmark. In the years 1914-8 the position was favourable, partly owing to the con- sumption of stocks and the selling-out of assets, such as the stock of domestic animals, and partly owing to the profits of shipping. It is only natural that the commercial and therefore the financial balance after the war should present a somewhat different aspect. Also it must be borne in mind that some of the war-time profits were invested in extensive purchases in order to replenish the empty warehouses; also considerable contracts were made with a view to subsequent exportation to the Baltic states, a possibility which, however, had not been realized in 1921, and involved many individ- ual concerns in heavy losses. A comparison of the value of Danish imports for home consumption in 1913 and 1918, the last of the war- years, is as follows:
