GENERAL WAR NEWS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XL, Issue 1850, 9 July 1918, Page 4

GENERAL WAR NEWS.

SOME WAR FIGURES, An American writer estimates that by the end of this year the war will involve, in person or property, 92 per cent, of the world’s population. It will have cost in money three times as much as all the previous wars together since the beginning of history. It will be costing daily more than four times as much as when it began. It will be consuming more than halt the daily per capita income of every person in the world.

A compiler of war statistics estimates that two hundred and fifty millions of men, about three-quar-ters of the working population of the world, have been withdrawn from productive industry for several years by the great conflict;. Nearly all the energies of mankind have been devoted to the task of war. The world is beginning to feel the hand of starvation; it is not producing enough to meet its primal needs, it is living on its savings, and the ordinary progress of civilisation has been brought to a standstill.

AIRSHIP EFFECT ON BIRDS. Man’s new power of aerial travel is giving closer observation of the flight and migration of birds. The notes of a French aviation officer show an evident preference of swallows for a height of 2,000 ft., but other birds go higher, and last March he met plovers at 0.500 ft., the greatest altitude at- which he has yet seen bird groups. Wild duck made their migrations at about 5.000 ft. They follow the twists and turns of their leader Avith extraordinary agility, and the whole flock has the appearance of 'manoeuvring • automatically. They climb at 05 miles an hour, then travel at TO miles.

SALON OPEN AFTER FOUR YEARS.

President Poincare opened the Paris Salon at the end of April, which, after an interval of four years, has been resumed in the Petit Palais, its former site, the Grand Palais, being used for military purposes. M. Poincare went through all the rooms and surveyed with evident interest the equestrian portrait of Feild-Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, and several busts of Marshal Jolfre, one of Avhich is by the celebrated French sculptor Injalberf, a persona 1 friend of the great soldier. Another interesting Avork in the sculpture section is a bust by Paulin of Rodin, shoAving the master as he Avas only a few months before his death.

THE MAN THE TURKS WANT

Under the agreement hetAveon Great Britain and Turkey for an exchange of interned civilians, Reshid Sadi Bey will go hack to Turkey. He has been specially named by (be Turkish Government Avith three others. Lord NcAvton said there was one man the Turk's are very anxious to got. Reshid Sadi Bey is one of the most interesting interned civilians in England. He Avas a Bond Street cigarette"merchant and a political financial agent. In September, 1915, he Avas interned by the special orders of Lord Kitchener. Sonic months ago additional evidence was .secured showing (be importance of keeping a light hand upon this enemy subject, who was continually boasting of Ins approaching release. At (bo outbreak of Avar with Turkey he was in correspondence witli Talaat Pasha, and Djemal Pasha, who led the Turks against Egypt in 1915, was a codirector with him on the board of a Turkish tobacco company until August of (bat year.