Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-07-14

waSte-a waste OF money, Of men, and
Iof morals. Horace Mann states that
Elf thousandth part of what has been
depended In war and preparing its
mighty engines had been devoted to
the development of reason and the 1if-
/ fusion of Christian principles, nothing
would have been known for centuries
| past of its terrors, its SufferingS, its
iimpoyerishment and its demoraliza-
ton but what was learned from his
tory" ........ ......
Let us consider first the price Of war
| financially. 1t has been estimated
| that since the French revolution the
| cost of war is no less than forty bill
| lion dollars. Added to this is the cost
arising from destruction of property,
the arrangement of business, the in
terruption of commerce, the deprecia-
| ton of values, the taking of men from
productive employment; statisticians
consider that these additional, though
indeterminate, sources of loss would
bring the total up to one hundred bill
lion dollars. This, of course, relates
only to the direct results of war. An
other outlay is the institution of the
national debt, which is almost wholly
war institution; in fact, without 1t
modern warfare would be impossible.
The total national Indebtedness of the
world today is upward of thirty-five
billion dollars, plus the annual inter-
est charge, which must be paid as it
arises, and which amounts to about a
billion and a quarter dollars. Then
there are pension and charity rolls oil
all sorts equal to the interest charge
given. r.. b. ".:.. .=....: ~.
More burdensome than this in these
later years, is the cost of armed
peace" or preparation for war. A few
years ago it cost about five million
dollars to build fine battleship; now,
one costs from ten to fifteen million
dollars, and from one to one and one
half millions year to operate and
maintain it. The total cost at the end
Of ten years will be about thirty mil
lion dollars, and then it may be sent to
the scrap heap or be undermined" at
heavy additional outlay Besides
this, the great size they are making
the ships today call for larger dry
drydocks, and deeper ports and chan
Inels. Why is it that the present an
nual armament bill Of the seven ma
lions should be 165 per cent greater
than it was thirty years ago? One an
swer to this question is that the ma
iority of people still climb to their
warlike instincts and cry, in time OF
peace prepare for war" Sir Edward
Grey, when speaking in the house of
commons, on March 13, 1911, gave this
warning: Unless the incongrutty and
mischief are brought home, not only
to mems heads generally but to their
feelings, SO that they resent the incon-
sistency and realize the danger OF II,
Lii this tremendous expenditure on ar
maments goes on, ii must in the long
run break down civilization"
One of the most perfect exam
pies in modern times of the IN
liuuity of war as a method of set
fling international disputes is the
example of the war between the
new German Empire and the Third
Republic of France. Surely the result
of this war was as productive as 1t
was swift. But compare the differ
ent prospects with which these two
nations took up life after the con-
flict was over. One victorious, her
great aim gained, her territory aug
mented and the whole cost OF the
war paid for by the vanquished foe;
the other literally at the feet OF her
invader, despoiled of much OF her
former wealth, crippled by the enorm-
Gus Indemnity exacted by her con-
querors. ..c.:.. -:
The financial loss in war is great
but the loss of life is greater, for the
number of men sacrificed to the god
OF war is SO vast that it only con-
fuses the imagination. Still it has
been estimated that since Napoleon
began his campaign no fewer than
fourteen million people have died as
a result of war. You say perhaps.
that these people would have died If
there had been no war. True, but
what would be the difference? Death
ordinarily comes in the midst OF
friends and kindness, but to those at
war it comes in the midst of horror
and suffering, in noisy camps or
prisons perhaps. In war, the Sacrl-
flee of life involves every detail OF
cruelty, misery and suffering that
one can conceive of. In the accounts
OF the late RussO-JapaneSe war we
read how lin those fierce hand to
hand fights men grappled, ragged and
tore each other like beasts, biting,
c!nwing and gouging each others
eyes out" All are not killed by the
merciful bullet, which brings a speedy
death. This is but one instance,
which does net half describe the
awful horrors on the battlefield. Hun
dreds of statistics try to describe the
terrible scenes, but mere words can
not depict or eXagScrate the horror
of warfare, a horror SO terrible that
even the great masters of war nave
been loudest in its denunCiation.
During the last decade and q half,
the three great wars of that period,
namely the British-Boer. the Spanish
American and the Russo-Japanese,
took millions OF men out Of the pro
ductiye activities Of civilization into
the wasteful activities of warfare. Be-
sides this, many more millions OF
men were set to work to use their
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