OCR Text |
Show Counts War's Cost Something Like $55,000,000 a Day Is Given as the Expenditure Necessary Nec-essary for. Keeping E-rop-ean Armies In the Field Paris, Aug. 7. What tho cost would bo of a war between four or, moro first class European powers has repeatedly been subject of calculation calcula-tion and estimate by European experts. ex-perts. When tho matter was under discussion at the outbreak of the Russotfnpanoso war In 1004, n well known French statistician, M Jules Iloche, estimated that a conflict In volving two or three largo powers with, .say, 3,000,000 men In all under arms,' would absorb ? 100,000,000 In tho first two months. On tho samu basis of operations the average cost would bo nbout ?G,000,000 a day. Hut n war In which Franco, Uussla, Germany Ger-many and Austria were all engaged v'ould cause a total averagu expenditure, expendi-ture, for purely military purposes of $18,000,000 per day. His calculation may be thus summarized: In January, 1S71, tho actual cost per day to tho French treasury, according ac-cording to tho Uureau-Lajanudlc olll-c5al olll-c5al report, was IC.000,000 francs (or ?S,2C0,C0O) ; this for COO.OOO men 'in tier arms. Tho actual cost per 'Jay of every man under nrlns during tho 'entlro period of tho war was efictly 13 francs 88 centimes. Into tho :osts of forago and of keep of horses, which are usually figured nt tho rate of say $1 a day for each horse, M. ltoche did not go. Dut even with tho figures fig-ures for tho war of 1870-71 teforo him, he admitted that it was no easy matter to estlmato war that might happen in our times. He continued: "Conditions generally havo consld erably changed within the last thirty, years, and warfare is now far more expensive. To begin with, the number num-ber of men under arms in France, on a declaration of war, would ho far greater than in 1870. France then began by putting 600,000 men into the Held; but In tho next great war In which she may be engaged her military mil-itary organization Is such that within forty-eight hours she can mobilize In round figures, 2,000,000 men and 600. fk 000 horses and mules. The Aral troops to be called up would bo the thirteen classes of actlvo and active reserve troops. Each class numbers 160,000 men, so that tho actual number num-ber of men to be mobilized nt onco, would bo 2,080,000, Against this tho Germans can pit 2,530,000 men, tho Austrlans 1,300,000 men and Italy 1,200,000 men." Herr Schafflo, tho tcmlnent Austrian Austri-an economist, who was for some tlmo minister of commerce In the Hohen-wart Hohen-wart cabinet, estimated In 1S'J5 that a European war In which any of tho above powers wero engaged would cost Franco $0,100,000 a day, Uussla $5,600,000, Germany $5,000,000 and Austria-Hungary $2,600,000 and with this estlmato M. Hocho agrees. Ho calculates in American values an out lay of $3.12 n man for each day for tho forces under arms In a first class contest between European powers. A still higher estimate is that published pub-lished In 1913 at tho time of the llalkan wur by Dr. Charles Ulchot, statistician of the University ct 1'arl, is, in a very detailed nud e'aborn'. calculation. Ho bases his estlmato on tho assumption as-sumption that, roughly, 20.000.000 man would bo cttlkd to a'liiB, of which at least ouo half would bo sent to tho front. On tills basis ho wotto cut lUe daily expenditure forstho Revm powers as ioilows, the figures be!oj5 here rendered into dollars: Provisioning of troops.... $l2,o00,t'00 Feeding of horses 1,000,000 pn). 4,2;0,OI)0 Wages, arsenals and harbor har-bor l.tJOO.000 Mobilization 2.000,000 Transport of foodstuffs, weapons, etc. 4,000,000 Ammunition-Infantry Ammunition-Infantry ,O.W,000 Artillery , l.KO.000 Ship Artillery 375,000 Fitting out of army 4,000,000 Ambulance tervlce '.00.000 Movement of ships 300,000 Deficit In taxes IO.OOOM'0 Support for population without with-out means 6,750,030 Requisitions, damage to towns, bridges, etc 2,000,000 Total 51.125.000 If such a war lasted only as loni' Kas tha brief Franco-Rujslan conflict la 1870 tho outlay on this basis would exceed five thousand million dollars, Irrespective ot war indemnities. |