wide on the outer side of each roadway: The average total width of a Reich motor road is 7812 ft. Entering and leaving the roads can be done only at certain points which are provided at average intervals of from 12 to 152 miles. At these points of entry it is also possible to turn by using special bridges. By the end of 1938 approximately 2,000 miles of these roads were completed and more were under construction. It is planned to add 750 miles of new roads each year. The roads are used in the movement of troops throughout the Reich. National motor roads construction and maintenance (1939) involved an expenditure of 1,120,800,000 marks, an increase of 152,000,000 marks over the preceding year. Construction costs proper (1939) were 921,300,000 marks with contingent expenditures set at 199,500,000 marks. The Lufthansa airlines announced (Jan. 25, 1941) that their planes flew approximately 3,230,000 miles, carrying 40,000 passengers in 1940. Baggage carried was 440 tons, an increase of 50 per cent over 1939, and freight transported was estimated at 900 tons, an increase of 20 per cent. Mail carried decreased to 1,000 tons. Lufthansa extended its air routes (1941) to touch ten more foreign countries and to furnish air connections with 15. Agriculture is a highly specialized industry although the ground is not naturally fertile and requires much artificial fertilizer. Some of the more important crops are wheat, rye, barley, oats, potatoes, sugar beets and hay. Other commercial products are tobacco, grapes, hops, apples, pears, plums, cherries, apricots, peaches and walnuts. The principal minerals are coal, lignite, iron, zinc. lead, copper, salt, potash, petroleum. The Ruhr and Saarland are the chief seat of iron and steel production, though the industry is carried on to a lesser degree in the Sieg, Lahn and Dill districts and along the lower Rhine and in Westphalia. Berlin is the center of the electrical industry. Bavaria, Rhenish Prussia and Prussian Saxony lead in the manufacture of chemicals: Saxony in textiles; Silesia and Westphalia in linen. Cotton goods are made in Saxony, Westphalia, Wurttemberg and Bavaria; woollens in Saxony, Brandenburg, Rhenish Prussia and Baden. Beetroot sugar is manufactured in Prussia (chiefly in the provinces of Saxony, Silesia, Hanover and Pomerania). Potash is produced in Prussian Saxony, Thuringia and Hanover; glass, porcelain and earthenware in Bavaria, Thuringia, Silesia, Brandenburg and Saxony; clocks and woodenware in Baden, Wurttemberg and Bavaria; and beer in Bavaria. The German merchant marine (1939) had 2,466 ships of 4,492,708 gross tonnage, compared with 5,459,296 tons (1914). Chancellor Hitler (March 16, 1935) reintroduced compulsory military service and increased the peace basis of the Army to 36 divisions in 12 corps. probably about 600.000 men, inclusive of police troops. By the Versailles treaty, Germany was allowed an army of 100.000. in which the soldiers were enlisted for 12 years and the officers for 20. The Army was increased by one corps (1938) and two more were added with the absorption of Austria into the Reich. There has been a vast increase in the size of the Army with the War in Europe and its true size has not been made public. The new army law, (May 21, 1935) provides for one year of active training of all ablebodied, non-Jewish Germans between the ages of 18 and 45, with active military service beginning at 20. The trained soldier then passes into the Reserve until he is 35, then becomes a member of the Landwehr from 36 to 45. From 1813 to 1892 the term of active service was three years, and from 1892 to 1919, two years: however, the present one-year term follows compulsory service in the labor camps. The Air Force, under control of the Air Ministry, was organized (1939, before the outbreak of war) into seven groups, including one in Austria, with 60 squadrons each of 12 aircraft in commission and to have more than 2,000 reserve aircraft. The Air Force has been increased vastly since the War in Europe and the true facts as to its size have not been made available. By assuming the cabinet post of Minister of Defense (Feb. 4. 1938) Chancellor Hitler became supreme commander of all the armed forces of the Reich. Simultaneously he removed Field Marshall Werner von Blomberg. War Minister and Col. eneral Werner von Fritsch, Commander in Chief the Army, on grounds of "ill health" and elevated Gen. Wilhelm Keitel to chief of staff and Col. Gen. Walther von Brauchitsch to Commander in Chief of the Army. Conscription of all German youth between the ages of 10 and 18 for service in the Hitler Youth was decreed (April 5, 1939) by Chancellor Hitler. By this decree the Hitler Youth gets exclusive charge of the "physical, mental and moral education of the entire German youth within the Reich territory outside of the home and school." The decree abrogates voluntary membership and implements the Hitler Youth Law (Dec. 1, 1936) which declared "the entire German youth within the territory of the Reich is comprised in the Hitler Youth." The principle of voluntary membership was in force then. There were within the confines of the Reich (1939) approximately 11,750,000 boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 18 and the Hitler Youth membership was given as 7,000,000. As a result of the new decree all German males, excluding the unworthy and unfit. begin compulsory service on reaching 10 and are discharged only on death. From the Hitler Youth they go to the Labor Service, then to the army. then into the armed reserve and Reich Warriors League, in all of which they are under constant supervision. Facing the Maginot Line of France, Germany has constructed a similar series of fortifications along the eastern shore of the Rhine from Switzerland to Luxemburg. The line, originally known as the Siegfried Line and West Wall and later changed to "Limes Germanicus" by Hitler, is built of steel and concrete with tank traps with pillboxes of slightly more flexible construction than those in the Maginot Line. The labor code (effective May 1, 1934), definitely eliminates collective wage agreements and substitutes the fixing of wage scales for the individual enterprises. Manufacturers failing to comply with the national economic policy may be deprived under the law of their managerial rights. It was announced (Jan. 15, 1941) that 1,391,000 foreign laborers were working on German farms. They were classified as 650.000 Polish, French and Belgium prisoners of war: 180,000 former Polish prisoners working voluntarily in Germany: 469,000 Polish civilians; 47,000 Italians; 32.000 Slovaks and lesser numbers of other nationalities. Germany's foreign trade (1913) formed 13.3% of the world's commerce, and (1927) it had so far recovered as to reach 10%. German commerce continued its expansion until 1939 when the publication of foreign trade statistics was discontinued. The principal German imports in the order of their value on the last available returns are wool, raw cotton, iron ore, mineral oil, wheat, coffee, butter, fruit, coal, timber and copper ore. The chief exports are coal, iron and steel, dyes, pharmaceuticals, paper, copperware, glass and glassware, leather, silk and rayon, cotton goods, woollen goods. The Reich-owned railway system began a fouryear replacement program (1939) costing 3,500,000,000 marks to include the purchase of 10,000 passenger cars, 112,000 freight cars and 17.300 automobile trailers. An additional 620,000,000 marks were added to the replacement budget (1939). The Reich had (1938) 42,299 miles of railroad. Germany also has vast inland waterways of some 7,000 miles (1938). The rolling stock of the Reich Railways is reported by the Foreign Commerce Weekly of the United States Department of Commerce (Feb. 1. 1941) as follows: Greece (KINGDOM OF HELLAS) Capital, Athens-Area, 50,257 square miles-Population (1938) 7,196,900 Greece occupies the southern peninsula of the Balkans, stretching down into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Ionian Sea on the west and the Aegean Sea on the east. On the northwest lies Albania, on the north Yugo-Slavia and Bulgaria, and on the northeast Turkey. It is about the size of New York State. The Indus Mountains with many spurs, a continuation of the Balkans, run through the country from north to south. Gulfs and bays are many. The authentic history of Greece begins (776 B. C.) although the country obtained its greatest glory and power in the fifth century B. C. It became a province of the Roman Empire (46 B. C.,) of the Byzantine Empire (395 A. D.) and was conquered by the Turks in 1456. Greece won its war of independence (1821-1829) and became a kingdom under the guarantee of Great Britain, France and Russia. Greece was occupied by Axis forces (May, 1940) and the Government fled to Egypt. The Cabinet resigned (June, 1940) and a new one was formed by Premier Tsouderos. Greece, by treaty (1923) ceded for 50 years to Yugoslavia a free zone in the harbor of Saloniki (now called Thessaloniki), thus giving the Serbs an outlet to the Aegean. The Greek National Assembly (1925) voted the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of a republic, which lasted for ten years, or until a plebiscite (Nov. 3. 1935) restored the throne to George II. King of the Hellenes, who had fled Greece during an uprising against him (Dec. 18, 1923). Gen. John Metaxas became premier (Aug. 4, 1936). Metaxas tried to fashion a Fascist state. with large expenditures for rearmament. He died (Jan 29, 1941) and was succeeded by Alexander Korizis. Korizis died a suicide (April 18) and was succeeded by Emmanuel Tsouderos. King George, accompanied by his brother Crown Prince Paul, and high officials of the Government arrived in London (Sept. 22, 1941) to establish a Government in exile. A son, heir to the throne, was born (June 2, 1940) to Crown Princess Frederika. Greece's King is childless and his brother, Prince Paul, to whom the son was born, is next in line of succession. Military service was compulsory between the ages of 21 and 50. Service was for two years in the Army followed by 9 years in the first reserve and 8 in the second. About 50,000 recruits were called up each year. The Greek Navy comprises light craft, used mainly for defense purposes. Greece, Turkey, Rumania and Yugoslavia signed a Balkan non-aggression pact (Feb. 9, 1934). Greece proper is chiefly agricultural, with little, manufacturing. Only one-fifth of the total area is arable: 13.350,000 of the total of 16,074,000 acres are covered by mountains and lakes and rivers. The forests have been denuded, but reforestation is going on; they cover 5,944,059 acres of which 4,121,119 are state-owned. The chief agricultural products are wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, tobacco, olives, lemons, oranges, mandarins, apples, pears, figs and nuts. The principal minerals are iron, zinc, lignite and salt. It is planned to convert Mount Olympus, the mythical home of the gods, into a National Park modeled on American lines. The region is wild and largely uninhabited. Olympus is a precipitous, broken mass fronting on the sea, in part forested, rising to an altitude of 9,800 ft. Greek Orthodox is the State church. Education is compulsory. There are two universities in Athens, and one in Thessaloniki. The rocky promontory of Mount Athos (121 square miles), is occupied by 20 monasteries of the Greek Orthodox Church, each a sort of little republic in itself. The monks number 4,800. No females are allowed to enter the territory, which has been granted a constitution by the Greek government, receiving autonomous powers as a nomastic republic under Greek sovereignty, but with an appointed Greek Governor. The monetary unit is the drachma with an average value of $.066. Government receipts (19391940) were estimated at 14,014,821,680 drachmai: expenditures 14,653,841,014 The principal imports are agricultural products, yarns and textiles and metal manufactures; primary exports are horticultural products, oils and waxes, minerals, wines, spirits and beverages. Guatemala (REPUBLICA DE GUATEMALA) Capital, Guatemala City-Area, 45,452 square miles-Population (1938), 3,284,000 Guatemala, the northern state of Central The University of Guatemala is in Guatemala City. America, has Mexico for its neighbor on the north and west, British Honduras on the east, Honduras and Salvador on the east and south and the Pacific on the southwest. A range of mountains containing many volcanic peaks runs from northwest to south-sory between the ages of 18 and 50. east near the Pacific. The narrow west slope is well watered, fertile and the most densely settled part. The language of the country is Spanish. More than 70% of the population is pure Indian and most of the remainder are half castes. Peonage was abolished (1936). Military service is compul Agriculture is the most important industry, the Guatemalan soil being exceedingly_fertile. Coffee accounts for 70% of the exports. Between 30 and 40% of the plantations are owned by Germans. Other important crops are bananas, sugar, beans, corn and wheat. Chicle gum is exported to the United States. Silver, gold, copper, iron, lead and chrome are found The principal imports are cotton textiles, wheat, flour, cotton yarn, petroleum, medicines, hardware and motor cars, and silk textiles. The main port of entry is Puerto Barrios on the Atlantic, 800 miles south of New Orleans. A railroad connects the port with the capital, Guatemala City, and San Jose, a port on the Pacific. Under the Guatemala Constitution (proclaimed 1879, modified 1928), the President is elected for six years. the National Assembly for four years and the Council of State of 13 members is partly elected by the Assembly and partly appointed by the President. Gen. Jorge Ubico (born 1879), was elected President (1931) and his term was due to expire in 1937 but as the result of a plebiscite (June, 1935), it was extended to 1943. The Constitutional Convention (1941) extended his term to 1949. The President is normally barred from reelection for a period of 12 years. Roman Catholic is the prevailing religion but all creeds are tolerated. Education is compulsory. The monetary unit is the quetzal with an average value of $1. The budget (1939-1940) is estimated to balance at 10,332,650 quetzales. There are famous Mayan ruins in Uaxactun (pronounced Wa-shock-tune) in Peten, northern Guatemala, about 25 miles south of the Mexican and 20 miles west of the British Honduran boundaries. They are partially surrounded by logwood swamps and by thick jungles whose luxuriant foilage swarms with howling monkeys and green parrots. Only habitations are the rude camps of chicle gatherers and timber cutters. An airfield was cut out of the jungle (1938) and tourists may now fly directly to the ruins from Guatemala City. A net of 5,000 miles of motor roads leads from the capital in all directions. Besides these and other ruins in the Department of Petén, there are the beautiful Maya ruins of Quiriguá, discovered (1840) by the American explorer John L. Stephens and situated in the valley of the Motagua river, 60 miles south of Puerto Barrios, in the center of the banana plantations of the Atlantic coast of Guatemala. The ruins are only two miles from Guatemala City and consist of temples and monoliths covered with inscriptions of the Maya chronology. The old Maya empire flourished in what is today Guatemala during the first 1000 years of the Christian era. For reasons unknown they abandoned these cities after the IX or X century and built a new Empire in the Peninsula of Yucatán. Haiti (REPUBLIQUE D'HAITI) Capital, Port-au-Prince-Area, 10,204 square miles-Population (est. 1937), 3,000,000 Haiti occupies the western third of the Island of and Puerto Rico on the east. The boundary which Hispaniola (or Haiti), the second largest of the separates it from the Dominican Republic to the Greater Antilles lying between Cuba on the west east is about 193 miles long. Copper is found, but is not worked commercially, and there are few, in the French Legation (July 26, 1915) after 167 other mineral resources. Coffee is the most important crop and the production of cotton, sugar and log wood is increasing. Sisal, tobacco, cattle, tropical fruits and cashew nuts are promising new industries. Negroes form the majority of the population, the remainder being mulattoes descended from former French settlers. There are about 1,500 white foreigners. Roman Catholicism is the state religion, and the clergy are French (mostly Bretons). Education is compulsory. Illiteracy is about 85%. There are approximately 1,060 schools with 1.190 teachers and an enrollment of 90,000 pupils. French is the official language of the country, but a dialect known as French Creole is spoken by the majority. Haiti, discovered by Columbus (1492) and a French colony from 1677, attained its independence (1804), following the rebellion headed by Toussaint L'Ouverture (1791). Revolutions and bloodshed characterized its early political history. From 1910 to 1915 there were seven presidents; the last. Gen. Sam, assumed office (March 4, 1915), took refuge political prisoners had been massacred in jail, and at the funeral of the victims he was dragged out and killed. Two nours later a United States cruiser landed marines at Port-au-Prince. United States forces occupied the country and restored order. The American occupation terminated (Aug. 14, 1934). A fiscal representative appointed by the President of Haiti on recommendation of President Franklin D. Roosevelt remained to supervise the customs. Administration of the Republic is carried on by departments under the direction of the President. The only military force is an armed constabulary (Garde d'Haiti) consisting of 2,500 officers and men. Elie Lescot was elected (April 15, 1941) President for a five-year term by Congress by a vote of 56 to 2. The unit of currency is the gourde with an average value of $.20. Government receipts (1939-1940) were estimated at 5,837,800 gourdes; expenditures 5,837,796. Honduras (REPUBLICA DE HONDURAS) Capital, Tegucigalpa-Area, 44,275 square miles-Population (1940), 1,105,504 Honduras is an agricultural and cattle raising state of Central America, bounded on the north by the Caribbean Sea, on the east and south by Nicaragua, on the south and west by Salvador and on the west by Guatemala. The coast line on the Caribbean is 400 miles long. the chief ports being Truxillo, Tela, Puerto Cortez, Omoa, Roatan and La Ceiba. On the Pacific side it has a coast line of 40 miles on the Gulf of Fonseca. The country is mountainous, very fertile, though mostly uncultivated, and covered with rich forests. It is about the size of Pennsylvania. The inhabitants are chiefly Indians with an admixture of Spanish blood. Mineral resources are abundant but undeveloped, and includes gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron, antimony and coal. The chief export (65%) is The President is elected for six years, as are the members of the only legislative house-the Chamber of Deputies. The term of Dr. Tiburcio Carias Andino, who became President (Feb. 1. 1933) was extended by the Congress (1937) until Jan. 1. 1943. Education is compulsory. There is a university in the capital. Roman Catholic is the prevailing religion. The language is Spanish. Military service is compulsory. The monetary unit is the lempira with an average value of $.49. The budget (1940-1941) is estimated to balance at 10,848,005 lempiras. Hungary (KINGDOM OF HUNGARY) (MAGYAR ORSZAG) in the district of Pecs. Other industries are mill- In the dismemberment of Czecho-Slovakia (1938) Hungary obtained, by virtue of the Vienna arbitral award, the predominantly Magyar-populated south-eastern strip of Slovakia and a part of Subcarpathian Russia. Hungary incorporated (March, 1939) within her boundaries the rest of Subcarpathian Russia and a strip of territory in Eastern Slovakia. By these annexations Hungary added 9,261 miles of territory with a population of 1,728,000. The Vienna Conference (Germany and Italy) awarded to Hungary (1940) approximately half of Rumania's Transylvania territory with an area of 16,642 square miles and a population of 2,633,000. The award returned to Hungary a large share of the property she had lost in the settlement after the World War but to which she never had renounced her claims. Also returned to Hungary were Batchka province, the Baranya triangle and the Murakos district. Budapest, the Hungarian capital, is built on both banks of the Danube, the two parts, Buda and Pest, being connected by bridges. Buda, the old city, with its background of wooded hillsides, its ancient buildings and narrow winding streets, and Pest, the modern metropolis with up-to-date architecture and wide tree-lined avenues, present a striking contrast. Hungary is primarily an agricultural country, The principal Hungarian crops are wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, potatoes, sugar beets. It is in the hilly country, near Tokay, in the northeast section of the country, that the best Hungarian wines are made. Another important wine district is situated along the north shore of Lake Balaton. Hungary's bauxite deposits are considered one of the largest in the world. The output of coal is extensive, particularly from the Mecsek Mountain The monetary unit is the pengo with an average value of $.20. Government receipts (1941) were estimated at 2,063,230,000 pengoes, with expenditures of 2,084,442,000. After the abdication of King Charles (Nov. 13, 1918), a republic was proclaimed with Michael Karolyi as president. A Bolshevik government with Bela Kun dominant was set up (March 22, 1919), but was swept away by public distrust. An elected government (March 23, 1920) declared Hungary a monarchy and named Admiral Nicholas Horthy (governor since Aug. 1919), as Regent. Ladislaus Bardossy was named Premier (April 1, 1941) after the death of Count Paul Teleki. The The legislature consists of two houses. upper house is composed of representatives of former hereditary members and people of distinction in the national life. The lower house has approximately 260 members elected by a restrictive franchise extended to men over 24 and literate, and to womeu over 30, who have had three children or have earned an independent livelihood or have had a diploma from an institution of higher education or who are wives of secondary school or college graduates. At the elections (May 28-29, 1939) the following parties were elected: Party of National Unity. 186; National Socialist, 45; Agrarian, 14; Socialist, 5; Liberal, 5: Christian, 3; Independents, 2. The total number of ballots cast was 3,928,334, of which the government parties polled 2,137,667 or about 54 per cent of the total. There is no state religion. The religious affiliation of the population (1930) is as followsRoman Catholic, 64.9%; Reformed Calvinists, 20.9%; Augsburg Evangelicals, 6.1%; Jews, 5.1%; Greek Catholics, 2.3%; Greek Orientals, 0.5%; Unitarians, 0.1%. There are six universities, all maintained by the State. Education is compulsory. All males between the ages of 18 and 60 are liable to military service. Active service is two years with the Army and three years in the Air Corps after which the men belong to the reserves. The first reserve includes those up to the age of 42; the second from 42 to 48, and the third from 48 to 60. Hungary has no Navy, but has a police patrol on the Danube. Parliament passed (May 3, 1939) anti-Jewish laws limiting Jewish participation in business and the professions to 6 to 12 per cent of the total number of persons engaged in the various callings. Hungary has an estimated Jewish population (1939) of 750,000. The principal imports in the order of their value are: Raw cotton, paper, hides. machinery and apparatus, metals, and mineral oil. Iceland (ISLAND) Capital, Reykjavik-Area, 39,709 square miles-Population (1939) 118,888 Iceland is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean of volcanic origin. It has many geysers and hot springs. The climate is much modified by the Gulf Stream. The land is treeless. There are no rail roads. Natural hot water from many of Iceland's volcanic springs is piped into Reykjavik and provides heat for office buildings, homes and hot houses. A public swimming pool and a laundry derive their heat from this source. The flow of hot springs in the vicinity of Reykjavik is more than 200 gallons a minute with a larger supply easily obtainable. Vegetables are rare in Iceland where the climate is too severe for their normal growth, but big garden plantations have sprung up around the hot springs and have been able to grow even semitropical products. Agriculture engages 47,512 of the population. About six-sevenths of the land is unproductive and only about 65,000 acres are under cultivation, producing potatoes, turnips and hay. The fishing industry is important and the catch, mostly cod and herring, is huge. Iceland is admitted to have attained approximately absolute justice of the sterner sort. It has neither army nor navy, nor fortifications; no deficit and no unemployment. The Althing is composed of a varying number of members, not exceeding 49, of whom 38 are elected in constituencies, each electing one or two members of simple majorities except the capital. In the capital six members are elected by proportional representation, while a necessary number of supplementary mandates is distributed among the parties which have got too few in proportion to their voting numbers. The King of Denmark appoints the President of a Council of Ministers, all of whom are subject to the approval of the Althing. Herman Jonasson has been President since July 29, 1934. Men and women over 21 enjoy the suffrage. The people of Iceland celebrated (June 23-28, 1930) the 1,000th anniversary of the Althing, the oldest parliamentary assembly in the world. The Icelandic language has maintained its purity, as in Eddas and Sagas, for 1,000 years. Danish is widely spoken. Illiteracy is low. There is a University in Reykjavik. The national church is Evangelical Lutheran, but there is complete refreedom. Iceland was an independent republic (9301263), when it joined with Norway. The two came under Danish rule (1381). When Norway separat-ligious ed from Denmark (1814) Iceland remained under Denmark. Denmark acknowledged Iceland as a sovereign state (1918) united with Denmark only in that the Danish King. Christian X., was also King of Iceland. The Althing (Parliament) voted (May, 1941) to cancel the union with Denmark, declaring Iceland independent; resolved to elect a regent to assume the functions of the King and to introduce a republican constitution as soon as the union ceased. The Althing assumed control of Iceland's foreign affairs (April, 1940) when Germany occupied Denmark. A British Expeditionary force occupied Iceland a month later. Sveinn Bjoerrsson was elected regent for a period of one year. United States naval forces occupied Iceland (1941) on invitation of the island's Government, which later approved the occupation by a vote of 39 to 3. Leif Ericson, the Norseman, sailed from Iceland in the year 1000 and discovered the American mainland, starting a colony called Vinland, probably at New Bedford, Mass. A colossal bronze statue, by A. Stirling Cadder, the gift of the United States Congress, was presented to Iceland and unveiled at Reykjavik (July 17, 1932.) The unit of currency is the krona whose value is fixed officially as that of the Danish krone. Government receipts (1941) were estimated at 18,478,173 kronur and expenditures 18,016,263. The principal imports in the order of their value are-vessels, carriages and machinery; coal: textiles manufactures; oils and tallow; cereals, metals and hardware; timber and wooden goods. Exports, in order, are-living animals and animal food; oils and tallow; fish and herring meal; skins and hair; textile materials. Iran (PERSIA) Across the plateau, which lies at an altitude of 4,000 to 8,000 ft., in the north central part, from northwest to southeast, stretches a desert, 800 miles long, varying from 100 to 200 miles wide. There are many peaks from 9,000 to 10,000 ft. high. Fine forests cover the maritime plains and mountain slopes. Mineral deposits still undeveloped, are known to be considerable. Turquoise mines are worked crudely in Nishapur. Capital, Teheran-Area, 628,000 square miles-Population (1933) 15,055,115 Iran is the official name for Persia. The people refer to themselves as Irani. Persia was the name of a province. The Kingdom occupies the western and larger half of the great Iranian Plateau between the rivers Indus and Tigris in Southwestern Asia. It is bounded on the north by Transcaucasia (Russia), the Caspian Sea and Turkestan; on the east by Afghanistan and Beluchistan (British India); on the south by the Arabian Sea and the The Iranian oil field in the southwest territory at Persian Gulf; on the west by Mesopotamia (Iraq) the head of the Persian Gulf is the richest single and Armenia. The boundaries are indeterminate field in existence. William Knox D'Arcy, an Eng-a cause of much friction. The people are Moslems, lishman, obtained (1901) for about $20,000 a 60mostly of the Shi'a sect, and generally illiterate. year monopoly for the exploitation of petroleum Legislative government consists of a National As- in a territory comprising 500,000 square miles, sembly called Majilis, elected every two years The five-sixths of the Kingdom. The British governking-called Shah-appoints a Prime Minister who ment owns a controlling interest in the company; (if acceptable himself) selects a cabinet agreeable the Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. A new agreement, much to the Majilis. Mirza Riza Pahlevi (born March more favorable to the Iranian government, was 16, 1878) was proclaimed Shah (Dec. 16, 1925). drawn up by the League of Nations, and signed by Crown Prince Mohammed Reza Pahlevi (born Oct. the company and the Persian government (1933). 26, 1919) married Princess Fawzia, 17-year-old The Shah granted (March 6, 1937) American sister of King Farouk of Egypt (March 15, 1939). companies the privilege of developing oil concesBritish and Soviet forces occupied Iran (Aug.- sions in eastern district of Iran. Other minerals Sept., 1941) until war conditions permit their include iron, coal, copper, lead, manganese, withdrawal. Riza Shah Pahlevi abdicated (Sept. marble, borax, nickel and cobalt. 15, 1941) and was succeeded by his son, Mohammed Agriculture is a prime industry, wheat, barley, Riza Pahlevi. The Prime Minister is Alo Furanghi. | rice, fruits, gums, drugs, wool, tobacco and cotton being the chief products. Some wines are famous. Persian carpets, all made on hand looms, are produced in Tabriz, Sultanabad and Kerman. Khurasan is famous for the quality of its wool. The chief exports are petroleum, cotton, carpets, fruits. gums, hides, wool, opium and rice; the chief imports are textiles, sugar, tea and manufactures of metals. Rug exports to the United States average more than $3,000,000 a year. Military service is compulsory beginning with the age of 21. Active service in the Army is for a period of two years followed by four years in the active reserve, 14 years in the first general reserve and five years in the supplementary reserve. The strength of the active peace time Army is approximately 120,000 officers and men. The unit of currency is the rial with an average value of $.585. Government receipts (1940-1941) were 3,094,393,000 rials and expenditures 3,210,973,000. The Trans-Iranian Railway, the nation's major construction project, was opened to freight tramc (1938). Branch lines connect Teheran with Tabriz, Yezd and Meshed. Iraq (MESOPOTAMIA) Capital, Bagdad-Area, 140,000 square miles-Population (est. 1937) 3,670,000 Mesopotamia is the name applied to the whole Euphrates country in southwest Asia-the former Turkish Vilayets of Basra, Bagdad and Mosul. The Arab name for this territory is Iraq. It is bounded on the north by Kurdistan, Turkey; on the east by Persia; on the south by the Persian Gulf and Kuweit and on the west by the Arabian and Syrian deserts. The country is a great alluvial plain. The temperature varies widely; 120° fahrenheit in the shade is not uncommon with severe frosts in the winter. Elementary education is free but not compulsory. Arabic is the language of the majority. The people are preponderantly Mohammedan, 1,146,685 adhering to the Sunni sect, and 1,494,015 to the Shi'ah sect. Jews number 87.488; Christians. 78.792. The soil is of extraordinary fertility, and engineers estimate that the Tigris-Euphrates Rivers could irrigate 7,000,000 acres in winter and 3,000,000 of varied crops in summer. The Tigris-Euphrates valley is the legendary cradle of the human race, regarded by some Biblical scholars as the original Garden of Eden. It was here that the ancient cities of Nineveh and Babylon flour ished. Wheat, barley, rice and millet are the chief crops, with tobacco in the Kurdish hills. Dates are grown in the tidal stretches of the Shatt el Arab and the hundred miles from Fao to Qurna on both sides of the river is a continuous date grove. Large flocks of sheep are raised in the north, and wool and skins form a considerable export. The Bagdad railway line links Iraq and Turkey. connecting the cities of Iraq. Mosul, Bagdad and Basra. Bagdad has a modern airport. Iraq is one of the great oil-producing countries of the world. The mandate (under the Treaty of Peace with Turkey, 1920) for Mesopotamia as an independent state was intrusted to Great Britain by the Allies. British and Indian forces having conquered the country during the World War, occupying Basra (Nov. 22, 1914) and Bagdad (March 11, 1917). Emir Feisal, third son of the Grand Sherif of Mecca, then King of the Hejaz. was chosen ruler by a referendum. On his death (Sept. 9, 1933), he was succeeded by his son, Ghazi Ibn Feisal (born March 21, 1912). King Ghazi was killed in an automobile accident (April 4, 1939) and was sucKing Feisal II (born May 2, 1935). King Feisal II ceeded on the throne by his son, Emil Feisal, as was proclaimed (April 4) and later a five-man regency council was named to rule until he became of age. A Constituent Assembly met in Bagdad (1924) and passed an organic law and an electoral law for the election of a Chamber of Deputies. A Constitutional Monarchy, hereditary in the family of King Feisal, was created with a Senate of 20 members nominated by the King for eight years and a Chamber of Deputies of 150 members, elected by suffrage. The Prime Minister is appointed by the king and (if acceptable himself) selects a cabinet agreeable to the legislature. A pro-British Government was set up (June 3. 1941) under Prime Minister Jamil al-Midfai after a revolt had been crushed and the insurgent leaders had fled to Iran. Jamil al-Midfai resigned (Sept. 21, 1941) and was succeeded by Nuri es-Said. The Iraq army numbers 28,000. Military service is compulsory between the ages of 19 and 25. A treaty with Great Britain was signed at Bagdad (June 30, 1930). By it the British mandatory rights were formally renounced and the independence of Iraq recognized. The monetary unit is the dinar, equal to about $5 in American money. The government's receipts (1939-1940) were 6,093,054 dinars, exclusive of oil royalties totaling 2,054,503; expenditures were 6,369,148, exclusive of capital works expenditures amounting to 2,232,916 dinars. The principal imports in the order of their monetary value are iron and steel; cotton piece goods; machinery and tools; silk and rayon goods; sugar; tea; vehicles; and woollen piece-goods. Exports, in order, are (besides petroleum) dates, barley, wool, wheat, hides and skins. The chief sources of imports are Great Britain, Japan, India, Germany, United States and Iran, respectively. Exports are consigned mainly to Great Britain, United States. India and Iran. Italy (REGNO d'ITALIA) Capital, Rome-Area, 119,800 square miles-Population (1940) 45,330,441 The Kingdom of Italy occupies the entire Italian | peninsula, stretching from the Alps southeast into the Mediterranean, with the islands of Sicily, Sardinia, Elba and about 70 smaller ones. On the east is the Adriatic Sea, which it dominates; on the south, the Mediterranean, on the west between the mainland and Sicily and Sardinia is the Tyrrhenian Sea, and further north the Ligurian Sea. The Maritime Alps on the west separate it from France, the Swiss Alps in the north from Switzerland, and the Dolomite Alps from Germany (Austria), and the Carnac and Julian Alps on the east from Yugo-Slavia. The great plain shut in by these huge mountains, and the Ligurian Apennines, and watered by the River Po (220 miles long) and the Adige, shared by the departments, Piedmont, Lombardy, Emilia and Venetia, stretches across the top from the Maritime Alps to the head of the Adriatic. The Ligurian Mountains, circling the Gulf of Genoa, run down the middle of the peninsula as the Apennines, with many summits like Monte Cimone (altitude 7,103 ft.) in the northern part, and the Gran Sasso d'Italia (9,560 ft.) in Central Italy nearing the western coastline in Campagna and continuing down (with altitudes of about 6,000 ft.), through the southern province, Calabria, to the "toe of the boot" at Cap Spartivento. Across the narrow Strait of Messina the mountain range continues through the Island of Sicily with its famous vol cano, Mt. Etna (altitude 10,755 ft.) having a record of more than 120 eruptions. The active volcano, Mt. Vesuvius (altitude about 4,300 ft.). with a record of 50 known eruptions, rises to an altitude of more than 4,000 ft. on the Bay of Naples, and north of the Strait of Messina is the island volcano of Stromboli (3,040 ft.) After the occupation of Yugoslavia (April, 1941) Italy annexed the province of Lubiana. Furthermore, Croatia, an ethnical unit of Yugoslavia, was declared an independent kingdom. Prince of Spoleto, of the Italian royal family of Savoy, was given the crown under the title of King Aimone. A customs and monetary union between Italy and Croatia was established. Italy also placed under her own sovereignty several islands along the Dalmatian coast. The length of the peninsula is 760 miles, while its breadth nowhere exceeds 150 miles and does not generally measure more than 100 miles. Italy is slightly larger than New England and New York and has more than twice their population. Two rivers, having the greatest historic importance, rise in the Apennines, and flow west to the sea-the Tiber, which moves through Rome, and the Arno, which waters the Florentine plain. Between the spurs of the Alps lie seven beautiful Italian lakes, especially noteworthy being Como, Lugano, Maggiore and Garda, the largest. Both Maggiore and Garda are more than 30 miles long. The Adriatic coastline is flat and has five ports |