Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1899-12-23
COST or GREAT WARS.
The Aggregate Sum Is SO Vast as 70
BE Beyond the Ordinary Grasp.

BE Beyond the Ordinary Grasp.
We have. recently heard that as FAR
as we have gone We have spent some
thing like six millions to bring Mr.
KRUGER 10 bis senses It win, there
fore, be interesting 20 look back to
other items Of cur war bills. dating
back TO exactly three hundred years
ago.
II we tale the paid bills or the file
ana add III the totals, We find that
during this period we have spent
about Al 400 900, 0D0 In war. Cal
QUILTING the population on the United
Kingdom at forty millions, we might
estimate that had the money been
saved, there would lie a nice little
nestegg of G35 for every man. wofn
an and child Of the population.
StiE, IL Is well To remember, when
peace advocates poiAt 70 The figures
with grief, that, On the whole, we
have maae q yeEy fair profit Oh orr
war expenditure for # has helped us
largely to gain an empire whose total
revenues would pay of the war Bill
in less than SIX Years. indeed, one I'll
the best investments We ever made
10 fOund iii tie heaviest item 81 tie
whole account, the G s31 eco 600 spent
IN snashins Napoleon. If this gum
had NOS bsea forthcoming, Answers
would, without d@ust have been print
ca IL the Frenca language, and the
tHc0i0r Wouil nog be waving over
the iOaae of Parliament
The next largest iteA 10 the Well
iagtpa aee0am ~ rae atll fgr the caul-
pa Vas ct the grea. Duke 81 Aaflbor
ouSn which totals up to the compala-
tsvesy modest figure Of 1882. 900 900
waile -i2l,8 ,90G 4s written OF ia
0T profit aad loss account as t. the
pficc vi our hlle family quarrel WHEN
Cousin Jonathan left home and set ap
ia business Tor binIseif john Bull al
ways scratches his heed rather doubt
fully oyer taat leat ID his ledger.
Ii Is three hundred years ago this
year since the Earl 81 Essex started
the account ny four million pounds
worth Of WIZ against the SpauiaTds IN
Ireland while less than fifty years
after Cromwell followed him III the
same distresafti country wasting iifty-
seven good millions Id Strengthening
some OF che very best material in tae
British army He his turn was fol-
lowed by William fll., whose travel
amounted to 1888 060,0 900
Canada cost MS about E62.000, 900
4 fairly good bargain when compared
with the Crimean War, Of when orr
share was e69000 900, out OF d total
Of C 305, 600, eco, The terrible waste
In this war laid rather in lives than il
money, for, cut OF 1850 men we pGt
Ia the field, we lost 22,1S2, or 22& per
cent of the total strength. Only 2755
of these poor fellows were killed in
action, while of the 1880 wounded
only 1875 died of their wounds. There
were 1871 died OF disease. and it
may be safely assumed that had our
troops been as wsls cared for as those
who are now engaged with the Beers,
the British army would have left the
Crimea richer by 900 men.
Less unpleasant reading than our
own are the war bills OF our neigh
bors, though they naturally have in
volved many of our losses.
The worlds wars during the ninety
years ending in the year 1880 cost al
together G3,047GG0, coo. together with
a loss of 4.470000 lives
Next to the tweuty-year war be.
tween ourselves and France which,
ending at Waterloo, cost altogether
.25O.000,000 ana 100000 lives, the
most costly struggle was that between
the Northern and Southern states Df
America. the price OF which was
6 TAO, 100000 and Csc 600 lives,
The Franco Prussian war cost the
beiligerents G3I6,000 600 and Sl0UU9
killed and wounded out of the lib.
600 men engaged. Altogether, Si7751
men were put out of action although
this total Includes 100000 French pris
oners.
The German hospital returns, how
ever. showed a great improvement on
our Crimean record for out of their
127 600 wounded only 1910, or 81
per cent OF the cases terminated la-
tally
The last great war Of tho world
that between Russia and Turkey, cost
altogether 100000 900 and 10000
lives of which Russia paid G1SS00J,
Gee and 10000 lives London An
swers.