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Show PROSPERITY AFTER THE WAR. Much has been written about the devastating effects of the war and the enormous destruction of wealth Because of these things many persons per-sons are apprehensive that when peace comes the restoration of tilings to their normal condition will so engross capital that general prosperity prosper-ity may be slow in returning. While there has been a great deal of destruction, de-struction, the devastated area is not large relatively to tho rest of Europe Eu-rope If we Include all Belgium and oil that part of France lying north of the Alene and east of the Mouse in the western devastated area, we have only about 20,000 square miles A liberal allowance for the devastated area In the eastern field would be 80,000 square miles making ;i total of 50,000 square miles which, up to date, have felt the destructive hand of war. The population of the ares thus affected will not exceed 12,000,-000. 12,000,-000. Great, irreparable damage has been done, and much that has been destroyed will never be replaced., but the loss of a boautiful building will not of necessity have any permanent effect upon the prosperity of the Ieople, and the structure will not have to be replaced immediately. The restoration to normal individual prosperity pros-perity of the people of the devastated areas will not take long. The wounds of war soon heal, although tho- .cars may long remain. It is unlikely that the devastated area will be very greatly enlarged by future operations, so that we have now available seme measure of thr work of necessary-restoration. necessary-restoration. It Is to be hoped that the result of thp war will be such that no need Will be felt to replace the arms and munitions of war that will have been expended in It, and that the necessity neces-sity for the maintenance or -rent bodies of soldiers will no longer be reit. Reduction In armies and armaments arma-ments will lighten the burdons 01 the people and' leave free an enormous amount of capital and labor for use in the nurauits of peace. There Is just as much actual money in the, world as ever, and the expenditures of the war have put in circulation rest sums that have been locked up against such a contingency. We are strongly oT the opinion that, if peace is established upon anything like a permanent basis, and any other basis would be intolerable, all tho factors for a period of great prosperity will be found to be present. Victoria Col- f oulst. |
