Semi-weekly herald., 1915-03-15
PEACE INSURANCE.

WIN tne Individual views OF editors
and people generally, at the same
time often great deal of informa-
tion is obtained. One especially in
the Scientific American advancing the
plea for more protection--a larger
army and stronger navy-contains
some figures regarding many subjects
that our readers will find it exceed
ingly interesting, being as follows:
That the cost of providing navy
and military forces sufficient to pro-
tect this country from invasion may
very properly be regarded as money
appropriated for the maintenance of
peace, is fully borne out by review
of our past military history. That
a condition of military preparedness
can be obtained at very small cost
compared with the expenditures made
by the nation for personal comfort
and the luxuries of life, is proved by
governmental statistics. By similar
indisputable authority, it can be
shown that the loss of life, when war
has to be undergone, is amazingly
small in comparison to the loss of
life which is daily occurring through
accidents, the greater part of which
are preventable.
The most telling statement of the
case which we have seen for long
time is presented by Richard Stock
ton, Jr., in his work entitled "Peace
lnsurance"--a book which we COM
mend to the careful perusal of those
extreme pacificists who have so far
lost their heads, or at least their
sense of proportion, as not only to
oppose the greatly needed increase
in our naval and military forces, but
even to advocate the abolition of
these altogether.
The most telling portion of the book
is series of diagrams, presenting
the whole gist of the argument in a
graphic form, the immediate appeal
of which is SO strong that it must
force conviction on any mind that is
not absolutely beclouded by prejudice.
The diagrams are merely graphic rep
resentatons of facts which have been
taken from carefully compiled gov
ernment statistics, and which, there
fore, may be taken as reliable. Thus,
we find that the cost of peace insur
ance amounts annually to s245, ,O00,-
600, that being the annual appropria
tion for the maintenance of our army
and navy. With this may be compar.
ed the annual cost of insurance
against fire and crime of $594,1S6,.
104.
10 those people who complain of
the shameful waste of the nations
money, entailed in the building of bat.
tleships and the manufacture of ar
tillery, we direct attention to the dia-
gram comparing the money spent on
the army and navy with that expend-
ed by the people of this country for
the luxuries and indulgences of life.
For soft drinksf, candy, etc, we spend
in the United States, $452, 200, 900; on
automobiles, 100000, 900; on jewelry,
100000; on immortality, S3,O00.-
ooO,OoO, and on liquor and tobacco,
$4,000, 100000; that is to say, the
country spends twenty-five times as
much on liquor, tobacco, and vice as it
does on its naval and military de-
fenses.
1t is great thing to keep level
head and preserve ones sense of pro-
portion; and if we do this, and look
at things as they are, we find that not
only is the expense for peace insur-
ance mere bagatelle compared with
what the nation is willing to spend
Tor sef-indulgence, but also the sur
prising discovery is made that the
deaths through war do not begin to
be comparable to the deaths from
accidents due to following the pur-
suits of peace. In remarkable dia-
gram Richard Stockton shows that
the peace accidents in a single year
In this country reach total of TO-
900; whereas the average annual Jap
anese loss during the Russian war
was 33,340; the average annual loss
during the civil war was 27,5lS; the
English loss for one year during the
boer war was only 1890; the French
loss IN the Crimean war during one
year was s,l60, and the English loss
IN the same year was 1887; the Unit
ed States loss in the Mexican war
was only 725. and our loss in the
Spanish war was only s62. II the to-
tails for all these wars are added to-
gether, we find that the total annual
loss was 1882, or 5000 less than the
annual loss in this country from ac-
cidents.