BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1902-06-17

exceed $Sooooo,ooo and may even be
less than that.
When the war began in 1899 the
the British government was paying
something like $Ioooooooo for its army
the expenditure in 1899, in fact, was
exactly that figure, or $II,7o7.9o5, less
than the gross estimates for the year.
Tue expenditures in 1900 leaped up to
S2I8 100000, which were almost doubled
in 1901, the figures being $45S,55oooo,
while the estimates voted for I9oI-Ioo2
were $45S ooS695. The actual expendl-
lures have not yet been reported, but
as Lord Kitchener has reduced the ex'
penses about S 100000 month by his
admirable system, they will be, IN all
probability not more than $39o,oooooo
But this is the expenditure for the
whole army engaged in South Africa
or elsewhere at home or abroad Ob-
yiouslv good round sum must be
deducted in order to give the actual
expenditures upon the forces engaged
in subd,ling the Beers. The total ex-
penditures for the army in the three
years, 1900, 1901, 1902, would be SIo75'-
10000, which in themselves are $780,,
100000 less than 'the cost of the war.
as usually given by the newspapers
Deduct from this amount the usual
army expenditures for three years, tax
ing as a basis the figures for 1899 anc
amounting to S36ooooooo IN roune
numb srs, and the result is $7I5,55o,ooo
from which again mt1st be deducted
the cost of the China troubles, upo1
which SIS, 100000 was expended. L hi
brings the actual cost of the war It
SoS7 100000 up to July l, 1902.
There remains yet TO be taken int
consideration the cost of maintaining
the forces in South Africa until clvi
rule is permanently established. Judg
ing from the spirit displayed by tn
Beers this will not be more than ont
year, if that; at any rate, the number o
; troops will be ra apidly diminished will
> the disarming of the colonial population
and the enormous cost of transport SCI
vice will be materially lessened. Ae
, cepting Secretary Brodricks statemen
: of the economical genius of Lord Xii
= chener as a basis the cost OF the force
= in South Africa for 1oo2-Ioo3 ought no
: to exceed $Iooooo,ooo; but grant1n'
that, adding in the SIS 100000 for re
= stocking Boer farms and the cost 9
= retransportation of Boer prisoners,
! will reach $2oo,ooo,ooo, the grand COS
' of the war up to July I, 1908. will hav
!. been only $S87.25oooo
> It is interesting to note the direction
:. -1,1,;oh +heco +,oorevc have been p2
!. pended. The greatest item outside
, the actual pay of the soldiery has bee
? as will probably be conjectured, that Q
; provisioning the troops. In 1901 thi
cost S48oooyooo. which, with the az
dition of the cost of feeding the Boz
r prisoners in the RECOMMENDATION camp
+ Increased in 1902 to S764Io 600. Th
9 next big item is the cost of transpo1
, service, which in 1000 1901 was $4,000
r 900, and in the following year SOM
IS thing more than $1,000 ooo. For wa
\ like stores the cost in 1901 was S27.5oC
II 600, and in 1892 was $5475o,oo
# The pay of the men reached S45,5ot
r 900 in 1901 and increased to S7a787,5o
i'll 1902 The clothing of the men Co
n something like 100000. 1t may
y, stated here that these figures have bee
# reached in each instance by deductln
# the mean cost of Great Brltalns stan
S ing army for several years before tt
" war from the estimates for the arm,
Is for the years during the war. II
n failure to do this in all computations
IS the cost of the war seems to be one
# the chief factors in reaching the hgur
n of SI,25oooo,ooo Manifestly it is un1u
- TO add to the COS. of the forces in Sout
IS Africa the cost of the regular standlr
d army of Great Britain, which must
maintained whether the country be
4 peace of war
10