Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-03-19
THE COST OF CONFLICT
the beginning of Pi
Taledw the of
Making Estimates of Any would

In cost. Then following the FIRST cost
Is the enormous bill for transportation,
which can scarcely be computed.
OTHER COSTLY DETAILS.
The same scale of elaborate expense
runs through all branches OF naval
equipment, limited, however. by the
fact that navy cannot be expanded
in weeks or months, as an army can
be formed. Although war between
the United States and Spain would be
essentially q marine struggle, both OF
the parties would have much difhcuity
at the outset in increasing the number
of their ships. From the moment war
was declared every port In the world
would be closed to both in any efoft TO
buy ships, While free to buy OF the
Armstrongs or any other foreign firms
nj the present, these markets would be
closed the moment hostilities began.
The arming Of merchant ships would
be q costly operation, fUf they would
he drawn from their regular service
and the government would have to
nay literally for their use. AT such
times war profits" are expected and
exncted and there would be no re-
course from it. And aside from tho
first cost to the government OF takinS
these. merchant ships from the coast
ing trade, the transatlantic, the
trans-Pnclnc, the West Indian and
the South American trade. there
would be the second cost Of mounting
guns and giving them such armament
as would 1T them for war service.
The financing of the civil war was n
stupendous operation, as may be
Judged from the fact that today the
government is slowly paying of the
bonds floating at that time and IL
maintaining an issue of s3i6.OOO.OOO
green backs issued OH the faith Of the
government to tide over the demand
for funds.
In this connection 1t will prove in
teresting to consider the expense Of
wars to the world since the dawn Of
the Christian era. The cost In human
lives since Christ is computed at a.
600, 100000. The money cost since the
Crimean war. less than half century
ago, has been sl3,265. 100000. or enough
TO give every person on the globe $40
In gold. During the most peaceful
years of the present era the standing
armies OF the world number 100000
soldiers. II costs the world $4,000, 900
day to meintain them.
Here are some figures CLEANED from
the American civil war. The navy
cost $40, 100000 In 1862, $4,000. 900 In
1863. 5000. 900 in 1854 and $l22. 000. 900
In 1865 The war department cost for
the same years 1894 900 900. $3.50 200. 900.
5000 900. 900 and 81 .031 900, 900. Confeder-
ate cruisers captured or destroyed so
ships 40 brigs, 67 schooners and eight
other vessels flying the American flag.
The Union fleets captured or destroyed
1876 sohooners. 15b sloops, 262 steamers
and 40 other vessels trying to run the
blockade. The Federals withdrew
46s men from other pursuits. The
Confederates withdrew over 100000.
ENORMOUS NUMBER KILLED.
In 1866 the United States provost mar
shall general reported that 81, 1862 men on
the Union side had been killed in battle.
3iI27 had died of their wounds, 1s3.2sI
had died of disease: total deaths, 279,-
49, total assertions. 1885, 1916. A partial
statement on the Confederate side de-
clared that 133,s21 men had died in bat
tie of wounds of disease and l04,42s had
deserted. During the war the Union
troops captured i7G,l69 Confederate
prisoners the Confederate captured
1.5 died In Confederate prisons. while
26,T74 Confederates died in confine-
ment.
During the civil war the ordnance
department on the Federal side served
out to the army 1882 cannon, 4,022. 900
rifles, 2.36O.0o0 equipments for foot and
horse, 1000 tons of powder. AZ. 900
tons of shot and 1,O22, 900, 900 cartridges.
The total cost to both sides has been
estimated at over Sc, SOC, 000, 900.
Contrasting these figures with the
cost IN blood and treasure of the two
most important modern wars, the Cri-
mean and Franco Prussian, and some
| Idea OF the enormlty of the expense
VIII be gained, The Crimean war was
fought out with an army now relegnted
to rust. The civil war with the mon
| itor and the Rodman 3 and 2-10 inch
field rifles, set the pace which has re-
suited in the deadly floating fortress
and the breech- loading rifles for field
naval and sea coast use. The Franco
modern high velocity magazine guns
were In service. The figures for the
civil war have been given in pre-
cedlng paragraph. Here are those /oi
the other two conflicts:
| In the Crimean war of 1855 500 ,4OC
men went to the front, of whom S,49C
We're killed in battle. $3.50 were
wounded, of whom li,750 died In tho
hospital, 1885 died of disease con-
| traoted during the campaign. The
total deaths were 1856. The wal
cost e305,oO0,000,
During the anco-Prussian war Of
| 1901 10000 French and 1908 00C
Germans took the field OF the former
| Al 900 We're killed In battle, $4,000 died
! of wounds, 10000 died of sickness
4 10000 were In various ways disabled
and 100000 Were taken prisoners. OF
| the Germans, 1879 were killed In nc-
ton. 1910 died OF their wounds, 1425.
of sickness, $4,000 were disabled. The
| prisoners taken by the French were
very few in number. In all 6Si00t
| French and 13S,75l Germans were
killed or disabled. loss to the world
| OF S17.151 men. The cost was CORES
| pondincly great. Germany. 1t will he
remembered. used the deadly needle
| gun, while France tried the mtrail-
| leusc. or French Calling. II was q
failure. while the kaiser's magazine
rifles picked OFF the gunners at long
! range.
These figures show how expensive II
! IL to fight ANY nation. however feeble
/ II may ba-Chicaro Chrnnicle