THE WAR'S COST.

Taranaki Daily News, 31 December 1915, Page 9

THE WAR'S COST.

, THE DREADFUL PRICE OF BLOOD. . ' In the Nineteenth Century for September, Mr. Crammond writes an article, congested with figures, showing the cost of the present war. At tbo end of the first year, he says, "the Central Powers find themselves in the folloing position: {aj They have occupied 70,000 square miles of enemy territory; (b) they have captured 7000 to 8000 guns and 2000 to 3000 machine guns; (c) they claim to have captured 1,695.000 prisoners of war (in all probability a great number of civilians are included in this total); (d) they have inflicted losses upon aggregating aibout 5,800,000 men, including prisoners of war. '"On the other hand, the Central Pow ers (a) have lost in filled, wounded anu prisoners at least 5,700,00 men; *l>) they have lost the greater part of their colonial empire, aggregating 1,000,000 square miles; (c) they have lost their entire overseas commerce. "We know the distress and agony of mind caused in our own immediate alleles by the death and maiming of our loved ones. We also know that the British losses up to July 18 aggregated 329,895. Allowing for the difl'eren-c between the population of the German Empire and that of the United Kingdoni with the Overseas Dominion®, the German losses are about eig.'it time.; as large as the British. It is" impossible to believe that these frightful losses arc J not having a terrifying effect upon the ■ inind of the German people. They art learning in bldtid and in tears liiat war *3 bad business. In addition to tlw; loss of 3,000.000 men and the destiuctiion of her colonial empire, Germany has pretty well used up the war material accumulated during the past forty vears She has added already £1,000,000.00.) to', her national debt. She has aroused against her the active and abiding hatred,,. so far as this generation is concerned, of nearly one-third of the people dl the world.'' Tli|s is a sufficiently alarming summary ;} but Mr. Crammond goes on to give if} more exact detail the cost in men an\l money of the first year of the war: ' "In ori?er to show the suffering and destruction which Prussian militarism has already brought upon t'ne world I have prepared the two following tables: The direct and indirect cost of the war from represented in pounds sterling, runs to figures that are almost beyond the comprehension oflthe average man; but they are estimated\by the writer, as follows, in millions: \ v ALLIED POWERS. Power \ A B. Total Belgium 526% 200 526' A France Russia 11®4 400 1501 Italy 20.3 200 453 British Empire .. 1000, 250 1250 CENTRAL POWERS. Power A B. Total Austria-Hungary 1097 600 1697 Germany 2040 740 2780 A covers direct Government expenditure, destruction of property, and capitalised value of loss of humacn life. B covers loss of produ,dtion and other losses. J So that the grami totals, representing the losses of ayVl the combatants, read thus: i Direct Government expenditure £3.746.400,000 Destruction i>f property.. 810,000,000 Value of 'human life 2,541,000,000 Production and other losses 3,015,000,000 Total losses £9,912,400,000 ' ALLIED POWERS. Russia.—Killed, 900,000; wounded, missing and prisoners, 2,600.000. Total, 3,500,000. France. —JDllad, 400,000; wounded, m'ssing and prisoners, 1,000,000. Total. 1,'400,000. Groat Britain.—Killed, 69,713; wounded, prisoners and missing, 260,182. Total) 329,895. .. \ Belgium. Killed, 47,000; wounded, prisoners and missing, 200 000 Total 247..000. Serbia.—Killed, 64,000; wounded, prisoners and missing, 152,000. Total 216 000. Italy.—Killed and wounded, 60,000. Allies' total losses.—Killed, 1,480,713; wounded, prisoners and missing 4 212 - 182. Grand total, 5,752,875. ' ' ' CEXTRAL POWERS. Germany.—Killed, 900,000; wounded missing and prisoners, 2200,000. Total' 3,100,000. Austria - Hungary. Killed, 600,000; wounded, missing and prisoners 1 900 - 000. Total, 2,500,000. ' Turkey.—Killed-. 46,000; wounded, missing and prisoners, 130,000 Total' 176,000. ■- ' ' Central Powers' total losses.—Killed 1,546,000; wounded, missing and prisoners, 4,230,000. Total, 5,776,000. The grand losses in men in the war for the twelve months, then, were: Ki"ed ~.. 3.026,713 c Missing and prisoners .. 2 673 188 Wounded S ; WB ; 9m ; S'i Total "... 11,528,895 "In twelve months," says Mr. Cram- i mond, Prussian militarism has caused i the death or maiming of nearly 9 000 000 - of men and the destruction ' of £10000.000.000 of the world's vfealVflH