The Dominion. THUBSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1915. THE ENEMY'S MAN-POWER

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2592, 14 October 1915, Page 4

The Dominion. THUBSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1915. THE ENEMY'S MAN-POWER

Recent happenings in the Balkans have added Bulgaria to ths list of cur enemies. This will give a considerable increase to the man power at the disposal of the Teutonic Alliance. ■ This war is . not merely a conflict of armies; it is a fight to a finish between whole populations. The issue largely depends on the number of iigliting men which the two Alliances are able to put in the field, and this is ultimately decided by the populations of tha belligerent countries. Germany's hope of winning bv swift smashing blows before the otiier side was ready vanished before last Christmas, and now tho size of the opposing hosts has bftcome a factor of increased importance. When the war began the population strengths of the belligerents stood as follow: — • ENTENTE POWETIS. ■Russia 17j.000.0nn 1" nilctl Kingdom (8,000,000 Overseas Dominions .... 12,000,00(1 France '10,000,000 '.Belgium 8,000,00^5 Serbia 1,300,000 Jlonlcuegro 500,000 288)009,000

TEUTONIC ALLIANCE Germany 70.000,000 50,000,000

_ 120,000,000 These figures do not include the Japanese or the Indian and other native races of the British Empire. The first outside nation to be drawn into the frav was Turkey, who sided with Germany, and later on Italy came in on the side of the Entente. Tho numbers of the opposing populations then stood thus: Entente Powers .'123,000,000 Teutonic Alliance 110,000,000 Now thai; Bulgaria has thrown in her lot with our enemies another four arid a half millions has been added to the populations which supply their fighting forces, and the totals now stand as follow: — Entente Powers - 323,000,000 Teutonic- Alliance 114,500,000 There is hardly a.ny room for doubt that our enemies, taken as a whole, are more effectively organised for war than we are. It is a significant fact that our own Empire is the only one of the belligerents which adheres to the voluntary principle as regards its supply of soldiers. Some form of conscription prevails in all the other countries engaged in the war. As the greatness of our task becomes more and more plain, thoughtful people are becoming increasingly doubtful as to whether victory for the Entente Powers can reasonably bo expected while the British States adhere rigidly to the volunteer system.

The strong German attack which is now being launched against Serbia is a striking illustration of' tho tremendous advantage which complete and thorough organisation gives to a nation in time of war. ■Despite tremendous losses and the heavy strain In the Eastern and Western campaigns, and also in the struggle with Italy, the Austro-Ger-mans can still find the necessary man power for a Balkan campaign. Tho revised statistics regarding the enemy's resources in personnel which have appeared in some recent London papers throw a good deal of light upon this point. One authority tells us that, after making various necessary deductions, the resources of the two Central Powers (irrespective of casualties) are approximately 9,500,000 for Germany and 0,000,000 for Austria-Hungary. These figures include, in the case of Germany, men between 17 and 45 years of age, and, in the case of Austria-Hun-gary, those between 19 and 42. The total net casualties (that is to say, the permanently non-effective) up to August 1 arc estimated by the authority quoted (the military correspondent of the Morning Post) at 3,268,000 for Germany and 1,936,000 for Austria. Calculations based on these figures lead to the conclusion that tho remaining resources in personnel are:

Germany 6,232,000 Austria-Hungary 4,061,000 Total 10,296,000 'Jflhesc figures do not, however, disclose the whole position, for they do not take into account the Germans above military age who have come forward as volunteers, while in the case of Austria the abovo total must bo increased by the addition of something like 1,750,000 men between the ages of 43 and 50 who have been made liable to serve by a rccent enactment. These figures, even though they may appear to err on the side of exaggeration, give a very fair idea of the magnitude of the task whioh Britain and her Allies have to accomplish in order to win this war. The enemy is putting every ounce of power it possesses into the struggle, and is making thu utmost use of its resources. No one can pretend that the British Empire is yet fighting as a man would fight if he were fighting for his life. Can anyone seriously contend that we in New Zealand, splendidly as our troops have behaved, are doing all that we ought to do—and wo ought to do all that we are capable of doing? .