Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-12-01
WARS MONEY COST
(To be coptinued.)

WARS MONEY COST
Authority on Economics Says Peace
Must Como Soon.
The great event of last week was
the fiotation Of the huge English
loan Of s1,125, 100000. Just think
of It! Nearly three times the cost
of the Panama canal. And yet, ac-
cording to the statements OF high
officials Of the English government,
this will pay the expenses Of the war
on the present footing for less than
year, says Roger w. Babson, In
Philadelphia Ledger.
When one considers that England
today has only a few hundred thou
sand in the field, and has not yet
sent to the continent any Of the l.
100000 recruits which she is now
drilling, It can be seen that this great
loan will serve only short time at
best. But this Is not all. English
statesmen are telling their people
that just as soon as the 100000
raw recruits go to the continent an
additional million must be drilled to
take their places. What does this
mean? If to support a navy and
few hundred thousand men costs
from $4,500,O00 to s5,000,000 per
day, it does not take a statistician to
figure what 1t will cost TO support
navy, a great transport system and
nearly 100000 men.
AS readers know, am not paci-
fist, nor do I preach disarmament.
but 1 am sure that in the present
conflict the rulers of all these nations
have absolutely lost their heads. The
great late war here in the United
States a generation ago, which
wrecked most Of our railroads and
brought on the terrible panic of
1881, was merest child's play COM
pared to what has already taken place
in Europe, from a financial and in
dustrial point Of view, yet, according
to their own statements, they have
not yet got under way.
Let me give just one illustration
of Whist have in mind: Last week
met the publisher Of we'll known
machinery journal who has just
completed his round among certain
mills Of the east
To my great surprise, he told me
that he had actual knowledge of
$50, 100000 worth Of Russian con-
tracts that have just been placed In
this country for shrapnel. BY using
a few statistics relative to these or
ders I find that each shell will cost
about $40 landed in Russia and that
they are discharged per gun at the
rate of six a minute. or, say, 1000
per three hours. If a battery of "a
guns was at work, this would mean
a cost Of about 100000 just for the
shells in a three-hours' engagement!
When we first hear Of such a $780,
000,0 900 contract, we think that 1t
should keep the Russian army sup
pied with shrapnel for the rest Of
the war. When we take pencial and
paper to figure the cost, we find that
the $80,000,000 can be used up in a
very short time. With two sections
of the army engaged in three-hour
battle twice a day, this $S0,OOO,O00
would last only 40 days!
1 care not what the statesmen Of
the various nations talk about a long
war, I can say authoritatively that
the bankers Of these nations know
that the war cannot be long. During
the last week / have not only talked
with a we'll known English banker,
but last Friday morning, had break
fast with a director of one Of the
great banks of Berlin, who has just
arrived in this country. Although
he is sure that Germany will not be
defeated. and declares that Ameri-
can readers are being grossly misled
as to the causes and conduct of the
war, yet he insisted that 1t must be
short. In fact, as I interviewed
bankers Of all nationalities in New
York the last week. I found them
agreed that the attempt Of either
side to fight this war to finish
means financial bankruptcy for Eu-
rope. 1t is all very well to talk about
the unlimited supply Of available
men; how England can draw upon
her colonies and even Japan; while
the Germans have countless numbers
of Mohammedans in reserve; but
neither the Japs nor the Turks can
fight without huge sums Of money.
Why, for England merely to trans
port q small army Of japanese to
Europe and maintain them for 60
days would cost nearly billion dol
lars. So say that the rulers Of Eu-
rope have actually gone crazy. No
one Of them dreamed of such a war.