The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1915-07-15
.UNHEARO Of
WASTE { Of
HUMAN LIFE
GERMANY'S SOLDIER SUPPLY is
HALF GONE FIRST YEAR OF
WAR HAS GREATLY DIMINISH
ED FIGHTING MEN.

Side by side with the enormous and
unexampled destruction of wealth by
war, there is going to be an equally
unheard-of waste of human life. If
the exhaustion on the financial side
may tend to bring the conflict to
close the drain or the available sup
ply of men must, with at least equal
certainty, make its long continuance
impossible. Hence the interest at
taching to such a computation as
that made by Mr. Hilaire Belloc OF
the German and Austrian losses up
to date. These he calculates to have
reached a grand total of 3,75000O-
that is, of men permanently removed
from the field By death, capture or
disablement. Hence the conclusion
that the potential manhood for actual
fighting of the Teutonic allies has,
within the first year probably been
diminished from all causes by nearly
one half This is highly significant
statement and there happens to be
some available statistics by which at
least its probability may be tested.
contribution to the supply cannon
fodder" we are on solid ground in
quoting from the census of the Ger
man empire of Dec. l. 1910. That
showed a male population of 32,04o,0O0
out OF total of 64.926,000 But to
ascertain the number of males OF mil
itary age-that is, between Is and
40, available for service four years
later, on Dec. |, 1914,-it is obviously
necessary to start with those between
the ages of II and 40 at the time
the census was taken. These are
found to have numbered 14,413,039
After due deductions for deaths there
are other deductions to be made;
some based on Gctual returns, others
estimated from records of varying
degrees of eXactitude To the former
class belong the annual reflections
of the military inspection boards, on
the score of absolute or partial un-
fitness for military service, and these
amounted in the four years to 9S5 ,14S
men, reducing the available total to
13,OSS,3S3.
Pushing the INQUIRY into detailed
examination of similar results from
other forms of disease which perma-
nently enfeeble large proportion of
those who survive their attack, and
allowing for the steady increase with
advancing age of the risks contingent
on disease, there has been worked
out total loss for the military mill
under this head Of 100000 men dur
ing the four years in question. On
the score of accidents, in the pursuit
of mechanical industry, on railroads,
on the streets and highways and at
sea, fairly accurate returns are avail
able, and from these the conclusion
is approximately trustworthy that
u57,S71 must be added to the previous
total of disablement. Hence the orig
inal total of over 100000 of men
between the ages of IS and 40 ca
pable of bearing arms on Dec |, 1914,
is reduced to 9,53O,512 But by that
time according to trustworthy re-
turns, the German army has already
lost in killed, wounded and captured
and sick 100000 men, so that the
disposable force of males of military
age must be reduced to 100000.
Even after assuming, however, that
older or partially enfeebled men are
sufficient for garrison duty, there re
main the necessities of railroad ser.
vice in the occupied territory as well
as throughout the empire; of the
telegraph and postoifice, of work in
the arsenals and at the navy yards
and Of the force employed by private
concerns in the fabrication of indis-
pensible munitions of war. The draft
made by all these services on the
vigorous manhood of Germany has
been placed at 100000. so that the
number of the physically fit available