The times., 1898-07-31
OUR BILL AGAINST SPAIN
She May Be Asked to Pay Four
Hundred Millions.
TAKING 1T IN TERRITORY
The Heaviest of Modern War In
IDENTITIES That which France
Paid to Germany-IDcreascd COST
of War-The Compensation for the
Maipe-Other Items of Expense.

of Wharf.-The Compensation for the
Maipe-Other Items of Expense.
The heaviest war indemnity of modern
times says the New York Sun, was, of
course, that paid by France at the close
of the war with Germany. The hostilities
lasted over eight months. and the total
cost of the war was estimated at sl.SSo'-
900. .0O0 Besides the cesscn of Alsace and
Lorraine. France had to pay Germany five
milliards of francs $1,000, ,0OO IN IN
stallments which We're allowed to extend |
over three years. The original demand of (
Germany was six milliards. or S2C0,00 600
more. NJ. Theirs strove in vain to save
Metz. but it was to his extortions that the
reduction in the amount of the indemnity
was due.
The cost of the Russo-Turkish war of
1877 has been estimated at $9i5, 900, 900. Be-
tween the declaration of war by Russia
and the treaty of San Stefano nearly
eleven months elapsed. BY this treaty
the Porte admitted itself indebted to Rus
| sia in the sum of 1,4l0. 600. 900 rubles about
725.O00, 000) indemnity for the losses and
| expenses of the war. The items in the
| account were as follows: $3.50 900, 900 for
war expenses, sos. 900. .0eO for damage done
| to the south coast of Russia, her export
commerce, industries and railways: $751;
! 10000 for injuries caused by the invasion
! of the Caucasus, and s., 100000 for inju-
ries suffered by Russian subjects and
tablishments in Turkey. In consideration
of the financial embarrassments OF the
| Ottoman Empire, the CZar consented
| to accept in substitution for about three
he nft tHa toI 81 IL
| torial cessions sanctioned by the treaty of
! Berlin. This left balance of SOS COO. 900
! due to Russia by Turkey. and a part of
it is still unpaid
/ The latest and most lenient war indem-
| nifty was that levied by victorious Turkey
on Greece last year. The Sultan was
Obliged by the great powers of Europe to
cut ii down to $50. COO 900. which was not a
fourth part of what it actually cost him.
A Few cooperative figures. taken from
ofhciai records, will serve TO put the great
increase in the cost of war as now con-
| Quoted, with all the modern improve
ments, in a clear light Our war for in
dependence lasted eight years, and its
cost Is officially recorded as S135, 600 000
using round figures There were about
10000 troops engaged in that war-one-
third more than have been called out In
the present conflict with Spain 1t fol-
lows that, accepting Mr. Dingley's esti-
mate of 500 900 a year as the cost OF
the present war. 1t is going to cost three
times as much TO fight Spain for one year
In 1898 as it cost to fight Great Britain
for the eight years from I775 TO 1883. The
war of 1872. which laste>s ,.wo years and
eight months. cost the United States a
little over sl07, 600 and to carry it on
we put in the field 576. 600 nearly three
times as many we now have under
arms.
The Mexican war. which lasted two
years and three months cost the Ameri-
can people sl00.0OOO00 and 1l2.O00 troops
were engaged in it If the number of The
troops who carried our flag victoriously
to the capital of Mexico had been doubled
they would have about equaled the num-
Der of the army now in the field against
Spain, and the cost of their two years
and three months of operations would
have been about s200. 900, 600 From which
it is a plain deduction that, with the
same number of men under arms a year
of war in 1898 is about five times as ex-
pensiye as was a year of war in 1876.
The cost Of our great civil conflict has
been put down at S. 1S9. .929 900 but that
estimate includes all expenses growing
out of the war as well as the actual cost
Of the military and naval operations. The
direct outlay of the United States Gov
ernment in carrying on the war for four
years was S3, 400. 0oO coo. and in the course of
the struggle 2,S59, 1872 Union troops were
engaged. 1t is estimated that the num-
Der of troops actually engaged on the
Union side averaged 2.326 ,16S for three
years. Hence IL appears that the direct
cost of the war, counting 1t on this three
years basis, was about s1.4G6, 900 a
| year But Mr. Dingley has told us that
1t will cost $5o0. 900, GOO to keep 200 900 men
] fighting Spain for one year. which is
more than one-third as much as it cost
the Government to keep 2.S26OOO men
| fighting the Confederate States for the
same length of time
| 1t is easy TO understand why modern
warfare is so much more costly than the
| old-fashioned kind if we turn to few of
the leading items in the military and ma
| val expenditure of our time. The aver
| age cost of first-class battleship is S3-
900. 900. The cost of the Maine which was
battleship of the second class, was 81
| 5G0,0 900. An arVnored cruiser of the Brook
Il lyn type costs $. .0O0. 000 An arrnored ram
like the Katahdin costs 81, 100000. A dou-
ble-turreted monitor costs about 81 500 0O0
A single-turreted monitor costs about
: s500.O00 A protected cruiser costs all the
way from s1.e00 600 to 81 100. 900: the
Charleston cost the former and the Co.
lumbia the latter sum. An unprot ected
cruiser of the Detroit type costs $500 900
An unarmored gunboat like the Concord
is worth $780, 900. A composite gunboat of
the Newport class costs $3.50 900. A dy-
S namite gunboat like the famous Vesuvi-
US is worth $3.50 600. torpedo boat of
, the Faragut pattern costs S225, 900.
n We have not lost any of our vessels
e in the war with Spain. The Maine, de-
t stroyed in Havana harbor before the
n war began, is the only item of this kind
e that will figure in the coming bill of
costs. The Maine cost about s2 500 900 to
y build. A more serious item will be COM
:, pensation for the lives of the 266 Amer
4 lean sailors that were destoyed with her
t This may well justify claim of S.
r 100000 more, to be distributed among the
S surviving families of the men who were
o thus treacherously killed. Other items
: in the bill will cover our general war
: expenses of all kinds; for coal used al
y sea; for transportation of our soldiers
= by land and by sea; for war supplies OF
S all kinds; for the pay of our soldiers and
sailors, and for the losses sustained by
> the interruption and disturbance Of our
s trade and commerce, not only with Gu
r ba but with other parts of the world.
e The quartermaster's department has
It estimated that S4400O.0e0 will be needed
Y to pay the transportation charges alone
n of our armies now engaged in fighting
: Spain for six months. The Navy De-
d partment.s latest estimate of the cost OF
| in IF