THE PRICE OF PEACE.

Evening Star, Issue 18031, 27 July 1922, Page 8

THE PRICE OF PEACE.

TO THE EDITOR.

Sir The results of (his ■ conference exceeded expectations, and have, laid a round foundation for ponce among the | nations that -participated 1 in it.” These words are contained in the GovernorGeneral’s Speech at the opening of Parliament on Juno 28, 1922. Although I do not question the truth of that statement, it is somewhat incompatible with the following figures which have recently come into my possession. England is spending for the current financial vear on public education £61.518.000'. on the Army, Navy, and Air Force £207,794,000. Thus she is spending more than three times the amount to destroy than to construct. The sum’of £30',000 was all that could' be spared to patch up the slum property in the whole of brnriaml; but £24,960,000 was donated for the military occupation of Mesopotamia, A house-building programme, recognised as indispensable, was cut down by about one-half; but a Hock of peace doves ; r . the shape of four new Dreadnoughts flow into the Washington IBsa.rmamom Convention. I might say in writing that the initial cost of these ships is to be from eight to ten millions apiece. In ten years before the Great. War £684,000,000 was spent on armaments, which we were told would ensure peace. Wo got war, and- to-day the National Debt of Britain stands in the vicinity of £8,000.000,000. Britain won the war. She lias added about one million square miles to tho Empire, and likewise added' two million more unemployed to the workless army throughout the British Isles, and today she is spending four times more on armaments than was spent in 1913. the war cost Australia £400,000.600, and sixty thousand' lives were sacrificed, while j-risato ■wealth-holders enriched themselves to the t ime of £600,000,000 since 1914, and thousands of Ausaies are out of work. His Excellency might be quite in order in saying that a foundation tor the world’s future peace had been laid. It is going to be a. very costly affair, and no doubt Mr Massey will be compelled to make a few move cuts into the workers’ wages so that we, too. in tins remote part of the world will hare the knowledge that we are surrounded with “ peace, perfect peace. —I am, etc,, William Brown. July 26. [The Navy and Army Estimates in 1913j. ■ totalled '£74,529,300. The flock of_pew Dreadnoughts numbers two.—Ed. EH.]