THE TOLL OF WAR

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2231, 18 August 1914, Page 6

THE TOLL OF WAR

MEN AND MONEY /sfATISTiGS OF PAST. CONFLICTS, It is difficult to ostimato with any degree of- accuracy the cost of war cither directly or indirectly, apart from tho lives lost in Hie struggle.- So far as tho expenditure incurred in, a great war is concerned, "tho cosfcito Groat Brituin might be approximately ascertained by refcreiije to the particulars of'her national debt, which shows the amount owing at successive periods. S'or instance, jthe cost of the war between Britain and Russia was about .£70,000,000, while the lives lost totalled 20,526. Of this number 12 per cent.' died, in'the fight, the remainder succumbing in hospital. The American Civil • War involved.: that nation in probably the largest sum ever spent, on war munitions, while the loss of. life was about 600,000. Franco lost 290,000 men, and it' cost her .£316,000,000 in the Franco-Prussian War. In addition, .there was a..war indemnity of 5000 -million francs. ;'i'hp Germans, in one victorious ■ battle—of-Gravelobte—lost 328 officers and nearly 5000, men, while 571 officers and 11,000 meri' c were wounded. The French lost. 13,000 men. The, wars of 90 years, down to' 1880; involved the expenditure of 3047 millions of money, in addition to tho loss 0f,,4,470,000 lives. A Record of Millions. A glanco at figures taken from "Mulhall's Dictionary of Statistics".shows the awful-waste of life and money involved in war. - Froni'l793'to 1815 tho wax between. Englandi:,and:.J?rance cost 1250 millions of money, and the loss of 1,900,000 lives. In 1825 the Russian and Turkish conflict cost and the Joss' of 120,000 lives. • Spain and Portugal's combat, between 1830 and 1840, .caused the 1653 of and 160,000 men. From 1830 to 1817 France | and Algeria spent ,£38,000,000' and lost 110,000. The Austrian ,civil war in Europe iu. 1818 the expenditure of ',£10,000,000 and the deaths of 60,000 men. From 1851 to 1856 the Crimean War cost £305,000,000, while 485,000 persons lost their, lives. In 1859 the war between ■France and "Austria cost and the death of. 68,000 persons. The civil war ,of tho United States, .from 1863 to 1865,. resulted in tho death! of 656,000 persons and the expenditure'of .£740,000,000.' The" wars of Prussia arid Austria, and of France and Mexico, in IB6o,'cost respectively ,£20,000,000 and ,£15,000,000, and the loss of 51,000 and 65,000 lives. From 1864 to 1870 in .'the war between Brazil-and Paraguay,, the. losses were ,£48,000,000 and 830.00 P men; 1870-71, France and Germany, "JE»16,000;000,and 290,000 meii; 1876-77, Rus«ia and .Turkey; .£190,000,000 and 180,000 men. ; '■■ .;;' ' . •. , : . , ' In less than 300 years Great Britain las spent 1359 millions. To this has to be added tho which the Boer War cost, besides several expeditions of a punitive character. In, tie Crimean War ,""07,800 British soldiers were in the field, nnd-'of these'27ss; were- killed in action, and 18,280 wounded; 1847 died in hospital, and 17,580 died from disease, equal to 22J per cent, of deaths of the total strength.' :Disease.and Wounds., ; As a matter 1 of fact, disease, has been more fatal'than bullets: France spent 093 riiillions pounds in 218 years, m tho Crimean,. war 309,400 men went into battle.; Of this number 8490 were killed in action,, 39,870 were wouWed—ll,7so died in the hospital, and, 75,375 died of disease,.equal to 95,615, or 31 per cent, of the total strength. Of/ tho wounded Frenchmen, 29 per,' cent, died, as did SO, per, cent, who were admitted to bospital for disease; the British only lost 10 per cent.' by> disease. :' At-'-tho samo time, 71 per cent, of the French army ivere admitted to hospital for disease, equal to 225,000; Ul .per, cent, of the British were admitted during the campaign. The English 'fired 15,000,000 shotsduring the Crimean, war, killing 21,000 Russians. V., According .to. 'this;''!it "took'f7oo shots to kill eacb man. The French' killed 51,000 Russians, firing 29,000,000 shots,' an average of 590 shots for each death.. The Russians fired 45,000,000 shots,' and killed 48,000 men, being at. the rate of 910 shots'for each death! The average shots, for each death on all sides wan 740.., In/the-Franco-Italian .war 128,000 Frenchmen'fought; 2536 were killed-, in action, 2962. died from wounds, and 2040 from disease. ,\ The , French war with Mexico cost the former nation 6651 deaths;and the struggle,against Germany caused 138,870 French deaths, of which 45,600 were due 1 to disease, Germany lost 44,750 men in her war with France. She fired 180,000,000 rifle shots, and 363,000 rounds of artillery, killing 77/000 French, equal to 400 shots,:as compared with the ,740 shots in the Crimean war, for each death. Russian campaigns'for 60 years, up'to 1892, cost ,£335,000,000, and the loss rif 664,000 men, not including the cost of the war with Japan. The' AmericanBritish embroglio cost £28,000,000; tho American-civil war was responsible forthe death of 96,089 killed, and 184,650 died through illness. • The Ordnance Department served out 7892 cannon, 4,000,000 rifles, 2,360,000 equipments, 12,000 tons of gunpowder, 42,000 tons of lead, and 1022 million cartridges. Britain, in wars with the Boers- spent £222,974,000, while the lives lost were 1072 officers and 20,870 men. Japan's-,war with Russia cost that, rising nation £135,600,000, and the lives cf 85,538' soldiers. To be added to air the foregoing is' the expenditure and loss of life through the late Balkan war. What 'the grand total losses of life and money will Teachnin the present war cannot even be imagined. .'■■'...-■■' , '- , '.- I '".- 1 ; secret Services. . ■-'■'-' .' Another adjunct which increases the cost to .nations in the direction of peace or war, isjhe secret service. In a statement issued-by ■ the British Foreign 01particulars .'of the annual expenditure on secret service by the Governments .-.of, Austria-Hungary, France, Germany,'" Great Britain, Italy, and Russia, according to their respective budgets, the anibiirits. set aside for this purpose in eac.K'bfiflic'last three years were:—Aus-tria-Hurigaly,- ,£62,500;. France, JE4O,000; Germany-,-508,225; Great IBritain, £50,000; "Italy, "£120,800.:. In addition to the amount sl)ont by Germany, a total of £22,102 was placed in each of the last . three/years; at the disposal of the general staffs of Prussia, Saxony, and Wurtemburg. Italy's expenditure was made iip df .£40,000 for secret service, £34,800 for police rewards/and £46,000 for detectiveservice at;home and abroad. In 1810 .Russia spent £380,000 "under direct order of the Emperor." A large.sum is also ; set aside, annually for miscellaneous police expenditure, of _ which a portion is "not .subject .to publication." AUSTRALIA'S MILITARY CHIEF COLONEL LEGGE. . Colonel J. G. Legge, tho newly-appoint-ed- Chiof of the Commonwealth General Staff, arrived in Melbourne last week after two years of hard work at the brain centro of tho Imperial Army. Colonel Leggo was a passenger from England by the R.M.S. Orvioto, and on ■his 1 arrival in Melbourne he was'seized, of all tho facta. Colonel Legge discussed tho. situation, in all its bearings with Senator Millen, and there,is reason to believe that ho was offertd the command of the Australian Army so long as a state of war mjght continue and that he accepted the responsibility. Commencing as second lieutenant in 1887 Colonel 'Leggo has in, the intervening 27, years risen to the highest military post within tho gift 'of the Commonwealth, although he still is a few days under 51 years of age. Colonel Leggo was born in .'England on August '15, 1863, being one.of three sons of tho late Mr. J. 11. Legge, ,who made his home at Gosford, N.S.W. He completed his education at the Sydney University, where ho secured tho M.A. and LL.B. degrees, and h& qualified as a barrister-at-law. In the South African War Colonel' Legge saw active service, and he came through the campaign \ with exceptional distinction. '' ' ' ■ For his service 'in the field Colonel Legge was awarded the Qucon's medal; with four clasps and the King's medal with two clasps. Apart from work on the field of war, Colonel Legge had opportuitt ities of studying military science in other spheres, hoving attended a course in India in 1894 and 1895, when ho was attached to the 56th Royal' Welsh Regiment and the Fifth Dragoon Guards, his work earning a certificate of merit,.