THE COST OF WAR

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 11 February 1913, Page 6

THE COST OF WAR

TURKEY AND BALKAN STATES. ALREADY £30,000,000 POORER. EXPERT ESTIMATE. An interesting computation of the cost of war in the Near East is given in the "Economist" of December 21. Some weeks ago this paper gave an estimate based on the number of combatants in the field, on the probable cost of maintaining each soldier, and on the value of.the property destroyed. Taking the total number of men in the field at £1,000,000, and the aver- [ age cost per man at 10s per day, the I monthly cost worked out at some 16} millions. This excluded all allowances ! for losses to the future productivity of [ the countries concerned as a result of [ tho lives lost.

'Having now an accurate knowledge of tlio number of men engaged in the war, the "Economist" gives a revised estimate which', excluding the expense of mobilisation and upkeep after tho armstice was signed, works out as follows:—; Expenditure at . Men 10s per Day. Bulgaria ......... 300,000 7.050,000 •Servia. 200,000 4,700,000 Greece 150,000 • 4,800,000 .Montenegro 40,000 1,120,000 j Turkey 400,000 . 12,800,000 Total ... 1,090,000 30,470,000 J The period of actual warfare varies j for each country between forty-seven and sixty-four days. ! "As 'regards the individual figures jof expenditure," proceeds the "Econ.omist," "we may note that alreadv a. I month ago Bulgaria was stated 'to : have negotiated a loan provisionally j for £7.000.000 while Treasury bill's | were being floated as freely as possible ; by Servia and Turkey. According to Sir Adam Block's reI port on the Ottoman Debt, the Turkisli deficit instead of being £T3,500,000 ! was in November more like £T17,000000. Part of this was owing to the Italian war, but the figure is stated to include a new credit of £TG,500,000 for the present war. ) "Roughly, it is probable that some | thirty millions sterling have been lost during tho actual fighting, and that without reckoning the maimed and the dead. If the costs of mobilisation ( and the expenses which run on during tho armstice were.added the actual financial deficits caused by the war Ito the five States might run up already to thirty-five millions."