The prices to be paid for coal under these options shall be as follows:
“(a) For overland delivery, including delivery by barge, the German pithead price to German nationals, plus the freight to French, Belgian, Italian or Luxemburg frontiers, provided that the pithead price does not exceed the pithead price of British coal for export. In the case of Belgian bunker coal, the price shall not exceed the Dutch bunker price. Railroad and barge tariffs shall not be higher than the lowest similar rates paid in Germany.
“(b) For sea delivery, the German export price f.o.b. German ports, or the British export price f.o.b. British ports, whichever may be lower.
“The allied and associated governments interested may demand the delivery, in place of coal, of metallurgical coke in the proportion of 3 tons of coke to 4 tons of coal.”
Germany undertakes to deliver to France during each of the three years following the coming into force of this treaty,
| Benzol | 35,000 | tons |
| Coal tar | 50,000 | tons |
| Sulphate of ammonia | 30,000 | tons |
The price paid for coke and for the articles referred to shall be the same as the price paid by German nationals under the same conditions of shipment.
The ownership of the Saar mines is a most welcome addition to the coal resources of France; and the Saar basin, as it is capable of further development, may in the future make France more nearly self-sustaining as regards coal production.
The requirement of furnishing coal to France during the rehabilitation of the French mines wrecked by the Germans is a most equitable arrangement. Germany at first, owing to the drop in the output of the Westphalian fields, claimed not to be able to furnish coal, but this situation will no doubt right itself in time, especially as France holds the whip hand through control of the iron ores necessary for the great iron and steel plants of the Rhine district. In the meantime it is hoped Great Britain, with the assistance of the United States, will be able to supply the deficiency in the coal requirements.
The problems connected with the Russian coal fields are complicated, but at least the Dombrova coal field would seem to be in the hands of the new Poland, and this carries coal resources estimated at 2,525 million tons, with an output before the war probably exceeding 7 million metric tons per annum.