ANOTHER ESTIMATE OF WAR COSTS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2309, 17 November 1914, Page 6

ANOTHER ESTIMATE OF WAR COSTS

A LONDON "ECONOMIST" CALCU-

LATION OP £10,000,000 PER DAY. • On the basis of the French and English official data regarding the daily average costs of the war to those Governments to date, a minimum estimate was published recently,, of £6,000,000 expenditure per day, by all the combatants combined. ■ The London "Economist in' the middle of October, using another basis of estimate, reckqns the daily outlay at £10,000,000. It thus arrives at ■ it: : —

"According to a Swiss computation, there were in Europe at the end of AuKust about 20,400,000 men actually "under arms. At the beginning of October Germany (on the same authority) had under arms twenty-seven army, corps of her regular troops' and an equal number of reserves, making 'total of fifty-four army corps, say, 2,160,000 men. Of these, twenty-four army corps were in France, sis in Bel-, gium and Alsace, thirteen in East Prussia, and oloven between Thorn and Cracow. There are, in addition, assumed to be 1,600,000 Landsturm and volunteers serving in the interior, while 600,000 fresh recruits are reported to be in training sufficiently advanced for them to be ready for service: in. Isoveinber '■'■■' •'Even the neutral States, it was osti-. mated, had mobilised more than 2,000,000 soldiers on a war footing. For each soldier, including initial and conse-. quent expenses, 'ten shillings per day is usually counted in an estimate. This cives a total daily war expense in Europe of over ten millions sterling. Of tbis Germany would provide for somo £2 200,000 per day, Austria for £1,600,. 000 Russia, for £2,100,000, and France for £1,600,000, Even Switzerland was then spending some £60,000, and Holland probably ,£100,000." . The "Economist s" estimate brings .the assumed daily average close to the lrghest European estimate published before the .war, which was £10,800,000, but with Italy also assumed to bo a; war. ■'■ ■■ ■■" ■'■.■■ ■'■