EATING UP THE MILLIONS

North Otago Times, Volume C, Issue 13139, 21 August 1914, Page 3

EATING UP THE MILLIONS

, *WttAT WAR (COSTS* § &)ME ' STAGGEBING-FIGUBESj Dr Charles Richot, a professor ifytlw Unnersity of, Tans, has recently eal dilated tho cot of a European war at tho present da) Should war brcik out, he says, tho Triplo Alhanco and the Entente would together bo forced to mobilise roughly twenty mil lion men, of whom at least half would bo sent to the front On the basis of official statistics, he works out this mobilisation bj laud and sea as follows Germnnjr ~ , t ~ J 600 001) England « .„ „ 1500 000 France .. 4. .. 3 400 000 Itslv ,7 .. ». „. 2 800 000 Austria ~ ~ w 2 000 000 Rumania ~ ~ ~ JOO 000 Russia „„ 7 000000 21,200,000 More striking still is the expense per day which Europe would incur through keeping thee huge anmes m tho held EXPOSES PLR DAI lOR THE bEVEN POYURS Provisioning of troops , ~ U 500 000 1 ceding ot horses .. 200 000 I'm 850,000 \Ugcs of nisenal and harbour personnel ... .. .... 200,000 Mobilisation (on average 100 kilo mettcs spread over 10 dnjs) 400,000 Jran«porl of food<luA*> weapons tU , 800 000 Ammunition— Infantry (10 rounds-por man per dm) 800 000 Artillcn (10 shots per gijn per dm) 200,000 Ship artillery (two per gun per da\) . 75,000 Fitting out of liruiy .. ... ... 800,000 Vmbulance (jOO 000 wounikd or ill, it 1/ per dn\) 100 000 Movement of ships (six hours' "journey per day) .. .. 100,000 Defiut 111 taxes (2o pel cent) 2 000 000 Support foi population without mollis (9d per dai for 10 per cent of population) 1350,000 luqm«it|on« damage to loiuu. bridges, etc. ~ .. ... 400,000 lof ill 10,825 000 ABMIES 100 LABGi. Tho ontt intircncc to bo drawn from J)i Bit hot V hguies is tint irmies aro | becoming ioo This wew is held ib\ Mr Ellis Birkei, who in a recent 'issue ol the ' Portnighlh," «iys that, 'with (lit ut growth ol modern trimes, supenonh Hi numbers has lost much ol its loimei import nice "Elhcicno is biiomiiig more important thin mini jbers," says Mr Barker. "That: was j shown in the Russo-Japanese war. The ; Russian troops were defeated, .although j they possessed- a large numerical I superiority in men and far more and ; i'ext better giuis than the Japanese, be'cause the Japanese wcro'mpre!efficient, ! ami were better led than the Russian's. LAn army may: be too large. A. very I large, army is a very slow, .ponderous, - an|\ awkward machine which cannot ! live on flic country,' but must cling to i the railway for its supplies, and;which ; iea'ii be'foil, nioved, and manoeuvred, only: with great difficulty. It may have the. fate of the whale who is attacked by the swordlish. It may; be defeated ib'v a-small but more agile force. Besides, the eastern districts of France and southern Belgium arc so densely studded witti powerful fortresses and forts that there : is not sufficient; room for'deploying-armies of the largest size. Lastly, the paucity of roads .forbids the effective use of large'armies, .'When the'''ground is heavy, troops on' v thomarch, nn'isti the ;, ;roads. ''.f-* <*;' w, arhiy cfigis of- 35jporj* .mc!i,..iharching extends'; over: 15; - requires' five.'hours, for deploying for battle. It is followed by two ammunition columns and a 'bag?.' gage column, which extend ovof '■ another 15- miles of- road. Through tho great increase of the field artillery -°. nd of the number of ammunitioi 0 carts 1 which the modern quick-firing'guiu Md :magazino rifles have made necessary,' land-..the recent addition of siege guns,. j howitzers, mortars, machine guns, wirei less telegraphy sections, ' balloon sections, flying machines, field-kitchens, and'the like, the-length of the army corps is constantly growing, As an army corps with all its impedimenta requires 30 miles of.-road, iHs clear that every army corps requires a- road for itself, and (hat. the effective use of millions of men iii battle is impossible, except in countries where the ground is li.ird "

[8 GERMANY'S STRENGTH OVER- • ESTIMATED? Germany is generally looked.upon as a menace, casting its dark shadow on the whole political landscape. But a writer in the "Fortnightly" is of the opinion that her strength is much, overestimated. The reckless enlargement of Germany's land and sea forces lias provoked a similar policy by the other Great Powers, with the result that of the .two Alliances which divide Europe that to which the fortunes of Germany are linked is hopelessly overshadowed, The writer puis in a novel and impressive form the figures showing'the.relative strength, of the Great Powersmilitary, naval, and financial. "He takes the figures from Britain as the. basis of' his arithmetic, and shows how the other Great Powers stand when measured against Great Britain:— l' : " . i '?" •5 ' i2a » a *j. * J ' ■ © 43 ©: uc "&%*£» i «•£• »•= .i-'jj' .JM Gt. Britain*' 10,0 10,0 10,0 10,0 Germany ... 32,8. 5,7 2.1 5.1 Aus.-Hungary 18.9 1.6 1 0.2, 1.0 Italy :~' 12,8 2,0 1,6 1,5 France.' ..'• 29,7. ' 4.0 4,3 .1.4 fiussia .'. 51.4 2,8 1,4 1.7 Credit, . Int.onGov. Destroyers, Submarines, stock.' Gt. Britain* : 10.0 : ' io.O S3.;Z 6 Germany '.', fi.2- 8.5 . i'l 3 Aus.-Hungary. 0.7 1.8 ' 417 9 .Italy,. .. '., 1.5 '2.8 . ,4i 9. 0 France. ~ '3.8 .. 10.fi 315 0 Russia ; '.. 4.G . .5,2 4-8 6 . 'lncluding Indian establishment, ■'.- The broad facts which emerge from this analysis of military, naval, and linancial power is "that 1 in neither does Germany'hold the .primacy; situated like a nut in the crackers bctwecn\Bussia and France, her army is hopelessly outnumbered; she 'linn' about half;'; tho naval power of Great Britain; and lief credit stands lower than that of 'either ({refit Britain or .France, : '''';> ••••'■'

Gei nmn is to da> pi) nig the pewit) of her imstikis Six or sc\cn jean igo slip liild tin 1 V gunoti) of Europe in Mrtue both ot her own strengtli iml Mil auppoit wliuli lur illns guudiiteed bhe w not "utisiicd Her statesmon must nt-oiK isk foi niOH' ships ix.il men, mil for thousands more troop, mil litr polio uas supported, by wh words, \ "Wlut has boon the u'sult? She Lis siuiiliid in laigc incisiue the quietl) li trusted J mils ul i irlicr years By her hlot klb slie drew on heiscH tho siriiliinsiii h ' fja/c ot the Oouninients of omm, loimtn in linropp, ,unl inline dutch hi i tdi i. tsc action wa-i tikcn to neutralise the increase in Germ in aimimonts She shuds poorer and Tclatnch Hciktr th,ui she has, been for 111H113 ears AcuTthcless, jt is 111 foresting to recall Dismarck's famous 'remark to Li lUin; Chauj f '•'Thfl fair'' 11 wi'l come, said BispiarekJ |'uh,en the Umpire, will d,onyi,rate Europe England, with all her bluster and shon, has a hundred neak points, and she knows th_at a conflict with a Power nearlj her equal ivill mean her undoing I hate the boast fuij linglande'rs, wen though Gornian blqod roJcs'Jlroiii the tfoone„ , _!