The evening times., 1899-05-02
COST OF CONDUCTING
THE war WITH spain
An Approximate Estimate Of
the Expense Incurred.
More Than Two Hundred and Sey-
enty-five Millions Spent.
Interesting Figures of the Came
paign as Shown by Treasury
Statistics.

-
Of the war with Spain are not yet available
Treasury officials state that by careful
stady of the Government expenditures DUR
ing the past year the expense may be
closely approximated.
Many items which are charged in the
Treasury statements to "Civil and Miscel-
laneous" are really directly or indirectly
incident to the war.
This is conspicuously true in the case OF
the $2O.OoO.0Oo indemnity paid to Spain
yesterday. and it is quite as true in the
case OF largely increased expenditures for
clerks employed on the bond issue aud In
the extra force of employees required in
several bureaus Of the War and Navy De-
partments.
Fer the first ten months of the current
FISCAL year the total expenditures we're
s5sss. s5G.scs. as compared with 1913. $50
for the same period OF the year before.
This is an increase Of $220. .593. 421. most
or all CT which resulted from the war.
This reckoning takes no account Of the ex-
traordinary expenditures of April. May, or
June. 1895. before the present fiscal year
began. IN April, May. and June, 1897, the
expenditures OF the Government in the
Army and Navy Departments were respec-
lively s7,03l, ,09S S. 752. .53l, and 81, ,449. .93S.
as against S1l, ,759 ,64S, $50, 44i 6i1. and $22,-
40, ,SS7, respectively, for the same months
last year, when the war expenses were very
heavy. The increase for the three months
was thus $54.9Si.37. which added to the in
crease for the following ten months raised
the total extraordinary expenses to $780,
5T-,797.
II io eofa tn 70 this haf the
total war expenses to date have not been
less than $500. .O0O, 600. The War and Navy
Departments have not paid all the expens-
es incurred in the military and naval serv-
Ice during the last month or more. The
Navy Department expenses in April were
$4. .62S 900. which is not largely in excess
of the normal. The War Department ex-
penses are. of course, very heavy and they
will probably never again be anywhere
near as small as they were before the
Spanish war.
This does not include the recent expen-
ditures in the Philippines. If the vast ex-
perse of transporting troops from the time
the first detachment was started to Manila
after the destruction of the Spanish fleet
by Admiral Dewey is considered in con-
nection with the expense Of the campaign
against the natives during the past two
months. it is believed that operations in
lue fnillpplUeS Will dlTeduy very uedIiS
equal. II not exceed. the cost OF the war
in Cuba and Porto Rico.
Neither Treasury officials nor War De-
partment authorities possess any accurate
idea as to the cost OF forwarding the troops
to Manila or maintaining them there.
There are under charter between twenty
and thirty steamers. besides five large YES
sells owned by the department all of which
have been actively engaged for nearly one
year in transporting re-enforcements, car
rying thousands of tons OF ammunition and
hundreds of thousands Of pounds of sup
plies. medicines, clothing, and everything
necessary to maintain in effective condi-
tion the large army now under command
of General Otis.
All of the provisions and supplies used
by the troops in the Philippines have been
sent from this country. and the cost OF
transportation has been heavy.
BY far the most expensive item in trans
porting the army has been the charter oil
steamers. of which all but five are under
agreements to serve the Government as
long as they may be required. This grea;
fleet costs the nation thousands of dollars
day, but the exact rates are not an
nounced by the authorities. There are nov
twenty ships either at sea. between Amer
| ican ports and Manila or under orders. Of
which three -fourths have been sailing from
the Pacihc coast.
The estimated effective strength of tht
| present force now in the Philippines /:
about %. 000 men, and there are under way
and under orders to go there enough more
| to give General Otis an effective fighting
| force of %, ,00O of whom practically all will
/ be regulars. AT present the regulars anG
| volunteers in the Philippines are about
equally divided. The volunteers must now
be returned home. and the first movement
according to recent advices from Genera
| Otis will begin on May s, and is TO b.
| followed as fast as transports arrive unit
regulars alone are in the Philippines
| Fully 1900 men are to be brought homs
| by these ships, including large invalidei
| list.
| The sum required to pay the troops a
Manila is a large item in the total cost o.
maintaining the army. The paymasters. a:
| a rule have been chosen from the volunteer
service The salaries OF these officers, ant
| the expense OF the clerical hire to assis
| in the payment of troops. Is estimated BY
! the Paymaster General to have been larg
| er than has been supposed. but so intricat,
| is the system that no one has any idee
what this particular branch CT work alone
has cost the country. Government trans
ports have carried the gold and silver Il
Manila. otherwise the express charge:
would have further increased the expense
| of paying troops.