Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1898-08-03
WHAT A WAR MEANS.
Loss to the Wealth OF the World In
the Blood and Ashes Of Battle. I.

LOSS to the wealth OF the World In
the Blood and Ashes Of Battle. +.
What has actually been lost to the
wealth of the world in the blood and
ashes of the war since authentic his
tory began is beyond all estimate 1t
has been computed that the loss of hu-
man life alone in tina, time from war
amounts to fourteen thousand million
souls--a number equivalent to the en-
tire population Of the globe for the last
800 years. says Il writer in Lesiie's
Weekly. 1t should be noted here that
the class of men who are drafted or ac-
cepted for military service are invar-
iably the very class who, by reason OF
age. health and strength. are tile most
valuable to the world from The purely
economic and material standpoint.
They are the stalwart, intelligent. ca
pable men. In this country economists
have set the definite value of 81 900 up-
on the average man. considered as IA
wealth producer. Taking this figure
as the general standard of the value Of
man. it can be seen what an inconceiv-
able amount OF wealth in the shape OF
men has been destroyed on the battle
fields Of the world since time began.
The war losses of the United States
nave not been as great. comparatively.
as those of other civilized nations in
recent times, but even the totals here
are sufficient 10 show the abS.lrdi.y Of
the snNposition that either now or at
any other time We may reap financial
gain by the sicl;les of battle The an
nual expenditure CT the United States
during the war of the revolution was
$40 900 IN specie. Most OF the
money was raised by public loans in
the form OF paper currency. The dimin-
ishing value of this slender security In
evitably brought about the boarding OF
gold. The consequent scarcity of real
money. as a 1n"tter OF course. WAS fol-
lowed by suffering widespread and in
tense
Our second war with England lasted
only two years. but it cost us ST.. 900 900
70 Vlndlcatc our cause. just and RI ghteOuB
as 1t was. And this did not include the
losses to our merchant marine from
English privateering. a loss beyond
N''HP'huA'''A, SNV'l III lIiohc tunes OI
our comparative commercial poverty.
For the folly Of the Mexican war we
had to pay Leally in men and treasure
loss for which our acquisition of ter
ritory did not compensate The lives
OF more than 5000 American citizens
were Il part OF the price we paid for
that display OF power and something
more thnn SIS 900 900 for military dis
5urscments was another part
For the civil war the figures of loss
all around mount up to stupendous
totals. The immediate financial losses
were 81 ECO 900 900 to the north and So
3O0, 900, 600 to the south with such after
results as national debt of 81. 600 ,OOO,-
600. a crippled merchant marine. IL
ruined agricultural community, besides
the losses occasioned in otherparts of tle
world, .inclndin" those consequent up.
on the. :cc-otton famine OF Lancashire.
and the loss Of employment to more
than 100000 European laborers. Such.
at least, are the losses computed by
Leroy Beauieu in his LES Queries
Contemporaries, causing him thus to
close his chapter on our civil war:
Such Is war. Its nature is so homi-
cidal that 1t Stays thousands of victims
even 1T distance of thousands of
niles from the battlefield"