EATING UP THE MILLIONS

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2225, 11 August 1914, Page 7

EATING UP THE MILLIONS

WHAT WAR .COSTS

SOME STAGGERING FIGURES Dr, Charles Richet, a professor in tin U nl yersity of Paris,: has recently calcu lated the cost of a European war at'tk'i present day. Should war break out, b says, the' Triple Alliance and-the Tripli Entente would together be forced .t< mobilise roughly 20 million men, of whon at; least haf would, be sent 'to the front . On-the basis of official statistios, he worki out this mobilisation by land and sec ;83 follows:— '•'■•■ Germany .:...... ;'.;-......;\3,G00,000 England .'5n.,;.,..;-..' 1,500,000 .France- 3,400,000 Italy ..........;...... 2,800,000 Austria ..'....,.....;., ; 2,000,000 -.-Rumania ....... ........ 300,000 , '.'- Kussia .;.............. 7,000,000 .' ■"', '-. - ;'... '-. .-.-21,300.000 ' More striking still Is the expense pot 3ay whioh Europe-would incur throuih keeping these huge armies in the field-fcr Expensei par-Day for.the Seven Powers. ""•■■'" '.-' : -' '•' - : ' '.-.' '. -."'.- ■*.', Provisioning or troops ............... 2,500,000 ■ - Feeding of torses ......v............'......'200,000 Pay .................1.....:........,.......: 850,000 Wages of arsenal and * harbour per50nne1.....„..;... 200,000 Mobilisation (on average .100 - - ■ • kilometres - spread / over UO v days) ........;..i.....'.,..........„....i ; ..'i00.000 Transport of foodstuffs, weapons, ■! etc.-- ; „;.. .... 800,000 Ammunition—: . Infantry (10 rounds per man per ■' day) '<. ;.......:™...i.........;...„. 800,000 Artillery (10 shots per gun per ' day)...- : . 250.000 Ship. Artillery: (two per gun per day) .....•.;.;......: .........;..;.... 75,000 Fitting out of army ...... ;........ '800,000 Ambulance (500,000 ttounded or ill at 4s. per day) ;..,..:... 100,000 Movement of ships (six : hours' journey per day)....:....;.... i...... 100,000 Deficit in taxes (25 per iient.) ...2,000,000 Support for population without : means'(9d. per day for 10 per cent, of p0pu1ati0n).......,. 1,850,000 Requisitions, damage. to towns, ■".- bridges, etc. ..i'....„„....;........;... .400,000 ' ■'■' Total ...........,....;..,,......„.....;. 10,825,000 .: • . Armies too Larjjt>,;".;. The _ only inference to be drawn from Dr. Richet's figures is that armies are becoming too large. This vview ■is held by Mr. Ellis Barker, I 'who in a recent issue of the "Fortnightly," says '; that, with the vast growth of modern armies, ■ superiority in numbers' has' lost'mufch'of its former importance. "Efliciehcy'is becoming more important thaji numbers," says Mr. Barker. "That was shown iu the HussoJapanese War.: The Russian troops were defeated,: although,' they possessed a large numerical '■ superiority in men and. far more and far better guns than the, Japanese; because the Japanese were more efficient, and were better led than the Russians. An army may be too large. A very largoarmy is a very slow, ponderous, and awk- \ ward machine which cannot live on the country, but must cling to the railway for its supplies, and which can be fed, moved, and manoeuvred' only with great difficulty. .It may have' the fate of-the whale who is. attacked by the swordfish. It may be defeated by a small but more agile lores: Besides, the eastern districts 01. France and southern Belgium are so v - densely studded with powerful, for tresses and forts that there is not sufficient room for deploying armies of the largest size. Lastly, the paucity of Toads forbids-the ! effective .use- of.' large armies. When the ground is heavy troops 'on the maroh must stick to the roods. •. '... "A German army oorps of 36,000 men, rcarohing.cn a single road) extends over, fifteen miles, and requires , five hours for deploying for battle. It is followed bj> two ammunition, oolumns. and.-.a .baggage oolnmhy%hich-'exten;d over-anoiher fifteen miles of road.' Through the great increase of tho field artillery-and of thenumber of ammunition-carts, which, the modern, 'quick-firing guns' 'and' magazine rifles have • made' necessary,- 'and the recent addition of siege iguns, howitzers, mortars, machine guns, • wireless telegraphy j sections,'balloon sections, flying machines, field kitchens;,' and the like, the length of the army oorps is constantly As an army corps with all its impedimenta requires thirty miles of road, it is clear that every army corps requires a road. 1 for itself, and that the effective use of millions cf. men In battle is impossible, except to countries where the ground isi hard." ' h Germany's Strenofh Over-estimated? Germany is generally, looked upon as a menace, casting its dark shadow On the whole political landscape. But writer in.the "Fortnightly 1 ' is of ,the" opinion that her strength is much over-estimated., The' reckless enlargement of Germany's land and sea forces has provoked a similar l>olicy by the other Great Powers, •with the result' that of the two Alliances which divide Europe that 'to which tho fortunes of Germany are linked ii hopelessly overshadowed. The writer puts in '.' a novel and impressive form the'figures showing tho relative, strength' of the Great Powers—military, naval, and fina:i-: . cial. He takes the figures from Britain ' as the basis of his arithmetic, and shows how the other Great Powers stand when measured against Great Britain:— : Armies . . Cruisers (Peace Battle. (Ist orui6ers strength.) ships class) (light) Great Britain* ...' 10.0 10.0" 10.0 ' 10.0 Germany 32.8 6.7 2.1 5.1 Austria-Hungary' 18.9 ** 1.6 -0.2 1.0 Italy .......-........;... 12.8 -.2.0 1.6 'i; 5 France 29.7 4.0' - 4.3 1.4' ' Eussia 51.4 2.8 1.4 1.7 X, ' Credit.—lnterest ":'•■'' onGovt. Destroyers Submarines Btook Great Britain.' ...10.0 : 10.0 ... £3 8 6 Germany ........'.:. . 6.2 . - 8.6'.' ■ .4,13 Austria-Hungary 0.7 1.8 '417 9 Italy .....;...... 1.5 2.3 4' 9 0 France .'3.8 V 10.6- 316 0 Russia 4.6 5.2 4 8 6 •Including Indian establishment. The broad facta.which., emerge from this analysis oi military, naval, and- financial power is that ; in neither does Germany Hold the pnniaoy; situated like a nut in the crackers between Russia and France, her army is hopelessly outnumbered; sue las about half the naval .power of 'Great Britain,"and her credit stands lower than that of either Great Britain or France. '.Germany is' to-aay paying, tho. penalty of her mistakes. . Six or seven years" ago she .held the hegemony of Europe in virr 'tue both of her own strength and the support which her allies guaranteed. She was not satisfied. Her Statesmen must needs ask for more ships and.men, and for thousands more' troops, and "her policy was'supported by rasa, words. •What has been the" result? She has sacrificed in large measure tho quietly harvested fruits of-earlier years. By her later acts she drew on herself the scrutinising gaze of the Governments of every country in Europe, and immediately in each case action was'taken,to neutralise the increase in' German armaments. She stands to-day -poorer and relatively weaker than she has been for many -years. Nevertheless, it is .ihterosting to recall • Bismarck's famous remark, to Li Hung Chang. "The time will come," said Bis- . marck, "when the German Empire will dominate- Europe. England, with all nor ' bluster and show, has a hundred weak points, and she knows that a conflict with a Power nearly her equal will mean her undoing. I hate : the boastful Engenders, oven though German blood rule 3 from tho throne." A WORKERS' BUREAU . TO ENROL- MEN WILLING v TO HELP. On the suggestion of Mr. H. G. 'Hill, the Central Chamber of Commerce has decided to place its office ". in Winder's Buildincs, Cuba Street, at the services of the Defence Department. Mr. Hill said . at last evening's meeting of the Chanibsr that there were many men who wished to help tho Defenoe Department, but there seemed at.present to be no organisation placing the Department and .the would-bu helpers in touch with one another. His •idea was that men willing to assist could enrol with tho secretary of tho Chamber, and that whenever the Department needed help they could obtain it by communicating .with the secretary.

Tha office of the German Cohsnl (Sir. E. Focke) in Wellington, and all dther German' Consulate oifioes in tho Dominion 4ave beep closed, and all papers thereig. 5»Te been taken possession o s by tie "*ff Zealand Government.