THE ECONOMIES OF WAR.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 97, 19 September 1914, Page 3

THE ECONOMIES OF WAR.

ittUvv CKR.UAN* FARES,

(By •W . K J. McUuire, in Dunedin ■Star.) i jiueniaL.onaillation of commerce and industry bung* in its tram competition between diuerent countries; Jt bnn«a ft'fco, and m a vastly greater decree : co-oi>eralion ami interdependence 0 DoUutn them. Germany has struck the first Slow against tnc vital principle rnderlymg cosmopolitan trade, whioh is based on a world-wide credit /system, a system which links inextricably togi'llier the we.fare oi' peoples who ditter from each other in race, in ian<nuge ana in nationality. Hence, win or lose' this war, German credit is stifled, and i her toiling millions will "pay the piper.'' j Jbe economics of iiriitJ6h commerce I is to establish a community and identity of interest a* far as possiuie be-

tween all nations. When there is aburca'l bciiviit alike; when there 13 scarcity, they sulfer together. i,o r can any narm come to the economic life of -<ne great nation which wi5H not ailect adversely the prosperity of others. V\e aie not economically separate groups but portions of a larger wnole; and no matter what distance divide nations there can be no economic cleavage or any division of economic interest. A general survey of the whole universal economic structure, then, forces ono to wonder why rivalry in. trade between civilised nations should cause enmity and war any more than bitterness and assaults should engage the time of rival storekeepers in neighboring streets. A nation could only be emerging from a state of imperlect civilisation and is profoundly immoral 5 whose duties go no further in. an econ- ( omic sense than, its own frontier. Had i this problem been studied in a sober, searching, and humanitarian light byGermany, her ignoble action might have been frustrated 1 , therefore, our light (the Allies) in stern reality, is for the equitable distribution of the means of life for all aa well as the free- , dom to till our land's and conduct our commerce in peace. The colossal ex- j penditure on Germany's) war machino ! for (.ne purpose of embarking upon her thoughtless and dangerous policy com- j pels all ibclligercnt nations, whether | they like it or not, to recede for the ! present, from it lie peaceful roads of j evolution, and this economic tragedy will ihe Germans dearly pay for. In- 1 stead of engaging her manhood in in- | creasing the productivity of the coun-1 try and the national wealth to promote the comfort and happiness of her people, the llower of the 'German na--1 tion is following the childish legend that they arc to be the destined owners of Europe. Germany, V a matter of fact, has not sufficient people for her | kind, in spite of lior increasing popula- 1 ■ tioii. Over 750,000 agricultural laborers ! , have to be brought fromi outside her j '■ frontiers annually to till: the land and 1 ■ reap tAe harvest. One-third of her I population, which totals nearly 22,000,000, depend for their sustenance on the ' 1 import of foodstuffs, which include the I I b;iire necessities of life, such as groceries, etc. This means she can only feed ; 55,000,000 or thereabouts, out of her : [ close on GC,000,000 people. Germany 1

lias for the last quarter of a century beer, expending an enormous sum for social insurance (accidents, illness-, and old age pensions). An this will be sus- i pended, and will cause an enormous transformation of stupendous proportions. Her national debt of twenty billions of niarka (about £1,000,000,000) . ■ carries no small amount of interest. That interest is paid out of the net profits of her (State railways, which might In fore long he in the hands of the iiiu-'sians. The polities'' of Jlritinii democracy has been aiming every year to ba'.ancc social class differences, and ' giving opportunities of labor for our workman afforded by an unhampered world's commerce. The future progiamme for adjusting the prevailing disputes between Capital and Labor were calculated eventually to promote internal tranquility, and assuredly would havri caused a social equilibrium las against a class war, hU.he.rlo unknown, and the whole civilised wond would have emulated this policy. Germany is thus thrown back, and through this unhappy war a Isocl.il revolution, with all its horrors, knocta at her doors. The great industrial development of Germany has had for its purpose tho provision of secure and well-paid employment (from a Continental scale of remuneration) for a greatly increasing population. Germany holds lirst place as an importer of raw materials, especially K inco bhe has taken up the manufacture of steel. Here lies the crushing blow in regard to her economic salvation. Her industries are all more or less dependent on absolutely undisturbed intercommunication on the high seas. If tho North Sea ports were closed for any length of time the greater part of those industries would he at a standstill, for tho major portion of them aro practically -shut out from auy •i.thi'r means of obtaining their raw materials or of exporting the manufactured articles, lltr inability, then, to ' liml employment for her people destroys the very fabric of 'her industrialism. ■ Herbert Spencer's enthusiasm for a ; future, age of alxolute industrialism to • bring about eternal peace is in .contradistinction to the Germany policy of: combining indtisirialitsm and militar- ; i»in. The "nation in annV even her ' greatest minds have pinned their fait-n - to, and is one of the greatest tenets j <:f uerm'an political economy. Germany I has yet to Jeani that tho economic I needs of the. canh must lie supplied by | all civilised lands, and that her eco- 1 nomie dependence lies in the non-inter- | ference with the international exchange ! of goods. She lias failed to grasp that j [ this is an age for the complete inter- I j nationalisation <d political economy, oi ; 1 tr.-we and commerce 'and that interna- ' I tion-al relations between nations rest on j j an economic ba>is, and must therefore j j he regulated- from th.it foundation, ] othe.rwiso we must come el; se to ceo- j nonnic peril. I Mt lia-ifour writes:—"We have had a 1 too bitU'r experience of the misfor- j ilines which result from the attempt of j n single Slate to '.lx-come master ot j Kurone." English foreign policy, fr-vi j an economic b.i.sis, is the strongest, the I wisest, and most swces-ful the world ! has ever known. Its cwiuopoliluiiism iinust 'lm understood to mean that only j the. worthiest! nations are destined to .impress their mark on the world and contribute most to keep tho dogs of war on the chain. This war will stille German maritime trade, which every veai* has been coming fasti into a state of almost independence. Tho falling behind 111 international economic comprtilion is industrial fatality. The surplus oi birth* in Germany is the second highest in the world—only a fraction behind Russia. This is anolher phase for hi-r need for economic expansion which must be reckoned with, and which cannot he lightly brushed Biside. We can expect that she will demobilise in this dir.s'tion. A nation -which look-B upon another with hoMilitv licca-iiso it is a commercial rival adopt s m areedv and ma'icio'js an attitude a-, the small trader who would -prefer to kill bis rival rather limn, by changing his methods and inciVMsitiu h'i* own energy, defeat his opponent in peaceful and legitimate competition. Wholly immoral is the doctrine that the economic welfare of the- working elapses in France « of no concern to the blnodhoundu of Germany—as immoral as tl"> doctrine of the savage Sioux, who would

share his last moiithlul witn a starving Sioux, but would take the scaip of the starving Apache. The inference (should be obvious.. Germany may be ever so kind in raising the so-tvtded economic independence of her people and no doubt. would .show .her gratitude .0 the Kaiser, who would still be able to hold millions of soldiers in Iris pocket. Bub if uermany comfort means the economic ruin of the bulk of civilised humanity, then we must "be cruel to 'be kind.' The legitimate interests of mankind in the . main must be protected, and anything ; or any nation which stands, in the way of international good-will and fraternity 1 it 13 holy and Christian to destroy.. , Germany will Ibe taught through this ! war clearly that it is not only the in terest but the actual duty of each, na- ; tion to realise as fully as possible the j true economic position oi the world' at I large. She -will com© out of this conflict battered, worn, and bent. Eagerness to I flght, to desfiroy and extirpate, and the \ devotion to the whole .paraphcnalia ot j military technics, Jet us hope, will be j concentrated to more glorious ends. Our moves on the European chessboard, : I am optimistic enough to believe, will be skilful and wise. We may lose a 'pawn or two—that is to be expected—but ultimately we will give checkmate, This war will, of course, retard temporarily, if it lasts lon.™ enough, out progress and development, but -we will go ot again more vigilantly,, like a phoenix, with greater energy for" the economic emancipation and promotion of social justice universally.