Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1921.djvu/1302

 1250 LITHUANIA

exercises, and it exploited the resources of the country during the period of occupation. Besides, the Treaty of Versailles leaves open certain of the questions pertaining to the settlement of this debt.

After the war, Lithuania bought part of the American supplies in France. In this way, it took upon itself the obligation of paying to the United States of America in 1922 a sum of about 4,000,000 dollars, carrying an interest of 5 per cent.

The Parliament recently sanctioned an internal loan of 100,000,000 marks, at par, at 4 '8 per cent, interest, redeemable after 4 years.

The Government has floated a loan of 5 million dollars, at par. redeem- able in 10 years, among its citizens who have emigrated to America.

Defence. — The Lithuanian Army is approximately 50,000 men.

Production. — Lithuania is an agricultural country, and preponderantly rural in character ; the resources of the country consist of timber and agri- cultural produce. Of the total area, 45 '8 percent, is arable land, 24 3 per cent, meadow and pasture laud, 20'3 per cent, forests, 3'1 percent, unpro- ductive lands, and 6 '5 per cent, waste land. In 1920 iu the territory adminis- tered by the Lithuanian Government 5,200,000 hectares (about 13,000,000 acres), there was produced (in cwts.) rye, 10,000,000 ; wheat, 1,500,000 ; barley, 3,000,000 ; oats, 5,000,000 ; potatoes, 20,000,000; peas, 1,200,000; and flax-seed, 700,000.

In 1920 the country possessed 380,000 horses, 865,000 cattle, 730,000 sheep and goats, and about 1,400,000 pigs. Foul try-farming is considerably developed, particularly geese-rearing. Dee-keeping is also an important occupation, the figures for 1910 being as follows: Hives, 57,426; honey sold, 5,929 cwt., and wax, 1,304-6 cwt.

Forests cover 1,946,000 acres, of which 889,600 acres (or 44 percent,) belong to the State ; 80 per cent, of the forests consist of needle-bearing trees, mostly pines, and the remainder of leaf-bearing trees.

In the industries of the country there were in 1913 4,759. workshops and factories, the yearly output of which was estimated at 5,373.946/., and their employees numbered 29,425. These figures include 142 distilleries, which consumed 272,000 cwt. of corn and 17,400,000 cwt. of potatoes, with a total output of 365,280 hectolitres of spirit ; •!»'> breweries, with au output of 635,000 hectolitres ; and 1,216 flour mills.

Commerce- — The chief articles of export are corn, cattle, hams, poultry, eggs, butter, Umber, llax, linseed, hides, and wool. The imports are. chiefly manufactured articles, fertilizers and agricultural machinery. For the year 1920 the value of the imports was 428,728,541 marks, ami of the exports 321,797,163 marks.

Internal Communications. — In 1920 the total length of railways was 1,550 miles, of which 1,178 miles were broad gauge lines. The total cost of construction of these railways was 20,600,000/.

There are about 930 miles of roads in the country, while of the waterw those navigable for steamboats extend to 117 miles ; those for smaller craft to 453 miles ; those for rafts to 1,450 miles ; total, ?,020 miles. The river Nienien is navigable for about 270 days in the year.

Banking 1 and Credit.— The three principal banks are the Lithuanian Commercial and Industrial Kink (with a capital of 2,000,000 marks); the Lithuanian Bank of Commerce (4,000,000 marks) ; and the Agricultural Credit Bank (2,000,000 marks).