The financial strain is shown in her paper and exchanges at discounts outside her own border.

Within her own realm she is piling up a gold reserve in her great bank, to sustain her expanded paper issues and her strained credit; but how is she securing the gold?
Calling a mark a shilling, or 25 cents, let us speak for a moment of Germany's finances in marks.

After the war of 1870 she planted 125,000,000 marks in gold from the French indemnity in her war-tower at Spandau.

In June, 1913, the Reichstag voted to double this to 250,000,000 marks in gold, the addition to be known also as the Spandau tower reserve, but to be placed in the Reichsbank and not counted in the bank reserves.

There was also to be coined 125,000,000 marks in silver.
The whole was simply a stirrup-cup to enable Germany quickly to bound into the war-saddle with purchase of horses, food, and the light or perishable munitions of war which must be had at the outset and at a time when war panic first seizes the currency and supplies of a community.
The basis of German finance was 1,200,000,000 marks in specie, mostly gold, in the vaults of the Reichsbank at Berlin--the central bank of issue and bankers' deposits--with its 485 branches.
Before the war this metal reserve had been brought up to 1,400,000,000 marks.