WAR'S HEAVY TOLL

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2400, 4 March 1915, Page 6

WAR'S HEAVY TOLL

TERRIBLE CARNAGE

| COST IN LIVES & MONEY PARALYSIS IN PRODUCTION i Whatever else may be said of 1914 (writes the London correspondent of the "New Yrk World"), it holds the record for carnage in war, and for tlio greatest waste of the fruits of industry and science. . . • Six million men are believed by estimators to have been killed, wounded, or captured in five months, and £1,400,000,000 has been expended, and l untold millions more in money has gone to waste in consequence of the paralysis of production.; Germany and Austria together are estimated to have lost 3,500,000 men in battle, of whom 600,000 were '•killed. The Allies' losses in men foot up more than 2,000,000, of. whom 500,000 are dead. Servia has lost 250,000 men, killed, 1 wounded, and missing. Germany and Austria have expended £500,000,000, the Allies £900,000,000..

1 Cost of the War In Meiv. I Careful study and! comparison, of the available. statements and estimates ,of casualties of all sorts—killed,, wounded, and, missing—are coaolusive upon that point. .' In the cases of Russia, Prance, Belgium, Austria, and Servia no, official lists have been published, and any information is only deducible. from unofficial estimates, while in Germany the only lists available deal with the Prussian losses. Those-of Bavaria, Saxony, and Wurtembnrg are not authoritatively published. According to the latest Prussian casualty lists, bringing the figures up to the beginning of Novemr ber, the total losses, including dead, wounded, and . missing, among the Prussian troops, were 763,202, while the total -casualties of all the armies of the German' States, calculated up to • the same date, are said to be 250,000 killed, 400,000 missing, and 850,000 wounded. To these. figures must be added the estimates. of. -he casualties in the fighting for the last two months, which have been particularly heavy in Poland and in the east of France. In the Polish battles the Russians estimate that Germany has lost 180,000 killed and over 800,000 wounded and caotured. This calculation ■ seems tremendous, but in the, German casualty lists published on December 28 alone 85,883 officers and men of the Prussian army are - given as dead, wounded, or missing. Hence, according to the .best information available, Germany as a. whole has lost close'upon-2,000,000 men in five months of war Of these, it is calculated that 40 per cent, of the less seriously wounded have returned to the fighting line, or have relieved for service at'the front men otherwise engaged, 'while another 20 per cent, .of the wounded will become available as time

goes on. •■-■■■- Creat Britain's Losses. The. British casualty lists have been published- regularly, ■ but those- of . the rank and file are from a month to five •weeks behind. The Prime Minister (Mr. Asquith) stated ou November 13 that Britain's total casualties up to October 31 were 57,000., But the intervening fortnight had seen some of the fiercest fighting of the war on the western front, and on November _22 Lord Newton, speaking apparently with knowledge, though not officially, put the British casualties at 80,000, and unofficial estimates up to the end of the year plaoe the British casualties at 105,000. , The exact size of the Expeditionary Force has never been announced, but it is believed to, be about 300,000 men, so the British losses are ample proof of . the severity of the 1 fighting in which that force has been engaged. It is estimated that. 800 officers have been killed and about 4000 wounded, while of the rank and file about 15,000 have been killed, about 50,000 wounded, and 25,000 are missing. 'Tl»e Germans say they have 20;000 British prisoners., The percentage of complete recovery from wounds among British troops is said to be 69 per cent:, while the losses from illness have been very low. During the three years, of the Boer war Great Britain lost 518 officers and 5256 men killed in action, while her total losses from all causes were 1072 officers and--20,820 men.

Estimates for France. France has published no casualty lists, but it was officially admitted on. December 23 that 489,733 wounded men had been treated up to November 30, of whom 79 per cent, had returned to the ranks. Since then it is estimated that France' must have lost 250,000 more in killed and -wounded. Germany on November 1 claimed to have as prisoners 3128 officers and 188,618 men. In French military circles Franoe's total casualties since the war began are ,calculated at 1,100,000, of whom 180,000 had been killed. . .

The Russian, losses are difficult to arrive at, because no figures are forthcoming officially. Germany estimated the Russian losses of all kinds on November 27 at 1,200,000, comprising 200,000 killed and wounded and 850,000 prisoners. Allowing for some oxaggera 7 fcion in these, figures and discounting reasonably the. Austrian and German claims, Russia has probably, lost 1,800,000 men, as the recent fighting in Poland has been the bloodiest probably in the annals of war. In this figure there would probably be 250,000 deaths.

Austria, Servla, Belgium. The Austrians. have lost over 1,500,000 men, of whom it is . estimated that 160,000 were killed; A recent dispatch said that 27 divisions on the Austrian side had been reduced to ; 17 in order to bring the units up. to almost full strength. ' Russia 1 is said to have 400,000 Austrian prisoners and Servia 190,000, while' great masses of Austrian and Hungarian troops have crossed the border into Rumania, and were interned there. _ • i Scrvia's casualties i have been apparently about 170,000, and Austria claims to hare 80,000 Servian prisoners. . Belgium has lost 30,000 in _ killed, 58,000 in wounded, and 35,000 prisoners, and in addition 32,000 Belgians are interned in Holland, a grand total of 155,000, by far the highest proportion of losses by any army.

Cost of tho War In Money. Tho only definite cine to the coat of the present war was given the other day % the Chancellor of the Exohequer (Mr. Lloyd George), when, he stated that it was costing Great Britain £49,000,000 a month, Mr, Asquitli had deviously announced in the House of Commons, when asking for an additional vote of credit of £245,000,000 that tho outlay' was between £900,000 and £1,000,000 a day. Hence Mr. Lloyd George's increa6cd estimate caused some surprise. , But even hie figure presumably does not include the whole cost of the war. It is impossible as yet to calculate what Great Britain is losing in trade and industry. Britain is £225,000,000 pooret by the war to date. Her expenditures seem Largely out of proportion to the number of men she has in the field, but that is accounted. for by the heavier outgoings on Iter Navy and the expenditure of'her greatly increased army, which noiv numbers 2,000,000, and also' that, unlike the Continental Powers, she is carrying on extensive operations, either offensive or defensive, practically, all over the ivorld.

The French financial experts 6tate that the war is costing France £60,000,000 a month; therefore her outlay has been £300,000,000. It is contended that this expenditure will decrease henceforward, as in the opening months an immense amount of leeway had to be made up in both army and navy equipment, a great part of which will not have to bo made good again. But the French, financial loss from the results of the war are vastly greater than Great Britain's, because all her industries except those immediately dependent upon war requirements have been destroyed for the time being. For instance, it is estimated that in Lille, Rouhaix, and Ypres alone machinery worth £18,000,000 has been destroyed or looted by the Germans, and of course there is further loss by the. stopping of all production in the occupied region, which industrially is perhaps the most important in . France.

Drain Upon Russia. Financial experts 6ays Russia cannot be keeping her vast armies in Poland and the Caucasus at a less cost than £70,000,000 a month, and to make good her losses in m&tflri&l sns must incur an increasing charge as war proceeds. It is believed that Great Britain is giving Russia substantial assistance in tkis direction. Certainly in munitions of war Russia is being aided by her ally, as her own manufacturing resources are unequal to making good with required rapidity the losses she has sustained. , ... But Russia has not suffered anything like the industrial losses of France, and her business is (joing ori pretty much as usual outside the war zone. Moreover, it-is understood that her magnates, who are .enormously - rich, are contributing freely to aid her exchequer... . . ' i. Still the war cannot rave cost her much under £400,000,000 in the first five' months. Germany's war expenditure has not been officially indicated, .but it is calculated to be approximately the same as that of Franoe —£60,000,000.' Germany's plan was to overwhelm France and Russia, at whatever cost of men and material, and she pursued it for the first four months without stint. Of course, she has recouped herself to minor extent by her exactions_from Belgium, which sourcs of- profit is now almost exhausted. But the cost of waging war is'becoming progressively greater to Germany, owing to the increased values of all war munitions, as well as of provisions, and she suffers from the same paralysis of production as France.

Germany Pays for Turkey. Her campaign in Poland has beeneven more costly than that in France, and in addition to her own direct outlays she has subventioned Turkey, and is rcrodited with having spent large sums bribing Turkish officials in Asia "Minor, , There is abundant evidence, however, that Germany is troubling less than any other oountry engaged in war about what it oosts, every other consideration •being, necessarily subordinated to attaining a result by which she plans to make vast ultimate profit on the whole transaction. In the first five months Germany has spent, according to such data as are available, more than £300,000,000 . on the fighting, apart from her losses m Austria's affairs are in such utter confusion that even her Finance. Minister could not give any reliable information conoerning her expenditure, which may be estimated at £200,000,000 at least. The failure of her war loan has been so complete that, aocording to the latest advices, her Government is making forced requisitions on her wealthy magnates, who have not shown much patriotism, with their • purses in their country's extremity. , . The Hungarians have been particularly slow. about contributing, but that is believed to be duo mo.re to political, than to frugal reasons. The war debts that are being incurred have no parallel, and financial authorities refuse to commit themselves to any prediction as to how they will be met or the results of this monstrous waste of money, industry, and life ~_ The leading financial here are convinced that monetary considerations must compel the ending of war within the next five months. But it is pointed' out that in all great wars the financial authorities, having but .one narrow viewpoint, have been nearly always wrong in their prophecies.

Holland, Italy, Switzerland, Bnlgaria, add Rumania are all incurring heavy liabilities in connection with the complete or partial mobilisation of their armies, so that' the actual outlay by warring countries does not complete the tale of financial woe arising from this unprecedented struggle. > .