The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-03-07

A HNb budget speeeh-cited by MT. Morley as a text to the chapter of his biography dealing with the Grim can war-made the following impressive statement:
 "The expenses of war are the moral check which it has pleased the Almighty to impose upon the ambition and lust of conquest that are inherent in so many nations. There is pomp and circum- stance. there is glory and excitement. about war, which, notwithstanding the miseries it entails, invests it with charms in the eyes of the community. and tends to blind men to those evils to fearful and dangerous degree. The necessity of meet ing from year to year the expenditure which it entails Is salutary and whole some check, making them feel what they are about, and making them measure the cost of the benefit upon which they may calculate
 The conflict between Russia and Japan must soon demonstrate the soundness of MT Gladstone's view of the increas- Ing cost of war as an influence for peace.
 
 of those familiar with the subject that the comparatively small expense att tending the war of 1894, in which Japan not only vanquished China but won her footing in the family of nations. had much to do with the light hearted enthu- siasm in Japan for a war against Russia which preceded the night attack on Port Arth 10 m ta 0I0 1,x, 1,a Japanese in that short and one-sided war, not to speak of the enormous money indemnity and the cession of the rich island of Formosa were stupendous re- wards for such trifiing outlay of money and sacrifice of blood.
 For ten years, therefore, Japanese poll icy has been more or less blind to the financial devastation involved in modern war on large scale. With less than 5O,- 600 men she drove the Chinese from Co., req, invaded Manchuria, captured Port Arthur and Weihaiwei. smashed the Chi nese navy and compelled the oldest and most populous empire in the world to sue for peace-all within seven months. As a business nvestment-from a pagan point of view-the war with China was a pay ing business investment for Japan.
 But the present war in Asia is a different thing. Russia must send her re- Inducements more than 5000 miles by rail. Japan must carry all her troops across the seas. Hundreds of thousands of men must be in the field on each side. All this aside from the cost of maintain- ing and operating warships.
 It is estimated that Japan's available army at the present time aggregates about 100000 soldiers The cost of landing this force on the Corean or Manchurian coast at the rate of say. s10 per man. exclusive of horses, artillery and sup plies, would be S4,OO000O. MT. Roche. for merly minister of commerce of France. believes that the cost of maintaining the Japanese forces will not be greater than $1. day for each man. including cloth ing. equipment, food. transportation and munitions. He estimates the cost of war to Japan. including the navy, at about $1. 900, 900 a day. If this be a fair valu- ation of Japan's fighting expenses, 1t will take the entire earnings of more than 5000. GOO Japanese toilers to support the war, at the average rate of 12 cents a day. This out of a total population of about 45,o0Oo00. In other words. more than one-third of the male population of