Page:Economic Development in Denmark Before and During the World War.djvu/96

80 Agricultural Commission of 1910 in its reports, and the government accepted the principle.

This is the point which we have now reached in Denmark, and apparently without any influence from without. The new ideas would have made their way even if the war with its enormous revolutions had not come.

Change of Conditions caused by the War

I have tried to describe the development of social ideas in Denmark up to the outbreak of the World War in August 1914. A question now remains to be discussed: How have circumstances influenced or changed these ideas during the past five years?

It is worth while to consider some salient facts which underlie all the changes that have taken place since the beginning of the war.

Denmark has not, within its small domain, the varied wealth of raw materials to be found in larger countries. It has no minerals worth mentioning, no coal fields or mines. It is an agricultural country. Industries may be and have been developed, but only by procurement of the necessary raw materials from abroad. Before the war there was a brisk foreign trade, which brought coal and other necessaries into the country and carried out large quantities of agricultural products; but during the war all this was suddenly changed. Various markets were closed; supplies from abroad were procured under ever-increasing difficulties; and certain industries were compelled to either shut down altogether or else to keep going under great disadvantages. Agriculture suffered from lack of fertilizer and cattle from lack of fodder; margarine factories lacked oil; textile factories lacked wool and cotton, etc.

When the World War broke out Denmark had a large supply of live-stock. The number of horses was 567,000, and there immediately began a large foreign sale of them at high prices. This was stopped by the government, however, 