Manawatu Herald SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 1918. THE COST OF WAR.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XL, Issue 1843, 22 June 1918, Page 2

Manawatu Herald SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 1918. THE COST OF WAR.

THE money cost of the war was mentioned by Mr Harold Beauchamp, Chairman of Directors of the Bank of N.Z., in a speech at Wellington yesterday, when he said; .—“Britain’s war expenditure eon-, tinues at the rate of practically £7,000,000 a day, and nearly every country in the world is piling np debts incurred for either war or defence purposes. A glance at (he staggering aggregate will be instructive, The Mechanics and Metals National Bank of New York lias published an interesting booklet entitled ‘The Cost of the War.’ The publication has been made with the object of providing a serviceable work of reference for those whoso interest in the financial significance of the war is more than cursory. On the assumption that hostilities will continue to the fourth anniversary (Ist August, 1918), the writer estimates the direct cost of the Avar (all belligerents) at an- average of £18,000,000 a day for the three years to August, 1917 (a total of £19,490,000,000) and £31,800,000 a day for the following year (to August, 1918)—an aggregate of £31.120,000,000 for four years. The figures of the United States are included in the last year. The sum of money expended since the middle of 1914 has been greater than the combined money expenditure for all other Avars that have occurred in recent history. The following figux'es show the approximate costs of the Avorld’s most notable struggles of modern times: Napoleonic Wars, £1,250,000,000; Crimean Wax’, £340,000,000; American Civil War, £1,600,000,000; Franeo-Prussian War, £700,000,000; South African War, £250,000,000; Ejisso-Japan-ese War, £500,000,000; The Great War, £31,120,000,000. Even if the Avar terminated at the end of the year (which, unfortunately, does not seem probable), there would sf jJI be vexy heavy expenses in respect to repatriation, reconditioning of shipping and railways, and readjusting the businesses that are noAV controlled, together, xvith numerous other items. These we may safely reckon xvould absorb another one thousand to txvo thousand millions of expenditure.”