The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-10-23


 but understood finance. The position fighting In France and Belgium con- firms part of his military theories but his financial theories have been blown fore the three months were out finan- ing a war which costs from five to eight times their peace expenditure; there Is no hunger: there is less un- employment than in peace time. and the working classes so far from op- posing a continuation of the war are the first to demand that the war shall be fought to a finish.
 Such satisfactory war cannot come to an end for want of men Moltke said that no war ever did end for want of men; wars ended only because the beaten side lost it's armed men as prisoners, or because it was unable to train and arm its stock of men. The wars supposed to have ended because one side had no more men really ended because this side was badly beaten. and had not fresh men ready. In the present war both sides are losing, and the relative numerical strength of the two groups remains un- changed. It is as easy to fight with A. 00o,00o men a side as it was to fight with the s,00o,000 which each side originally brought to the fray. "A progressive d. ,ninuation of armies" said Moltke, Twill not affect the continuation of war. As long as decisive strategical gain Is made by either side, exhaustion in men plays no role Wars are ended by vic tory In the present war the loss of men has not affected either sides resolution. Russia has endless stores of men to draw upon. The prisoners lost to Germany and Austria do not weaken Russia's army numerically. France has put all her men in the field, but Eng and's resources in men are endless. Chancellor Bethmann- Hollweg has assured the Reichstag that | sG l,ac elf cfr fraa los to deal new blows with" Austria's field army represents only small fraction of her male population. So does Italy S. Germany and England, as great manufac- turing states, find it easy to uniform equip and arm new units and their sur plus population goes into new crops Rus- sia, with weak manufactures, cannot cre- ate new units; but she can draft men without end into the existing units, so that loses are always repaired. Good judges on both sides admit that exhaustion in men cannot end the war. The Frank furter Zeitungs" military correspondent says that i've cannot win by wearing out ou~ foes: we can win only by winning bat ties" The soundest judges sof the en- tente powers agree with the French min l ister, Bibot. that 'only by successful l fighting, not by exhaustion, can France come out on top"
 
 All experts admit that financial ex. haustion cannot end the war. At first each side claimed that the other would soon go bankrupt The war is costing all the belligerent states s750c0.000 a day which is nearly four, times what Blocf | calculated Bloch held that a war wou j cost S20,000 900 day, and that that could , not be stood for three months. England alone is spending that sum. She ex. poets to spend it for the next three years and is able to spend it for 10 years more Germany's financial secretary, Helfferich introduced his demand for a new $2,500,- l 0oo.o00 loan with the admission that Ger. l many must face even higher outlay thar | the daily S12,000,000 she is now spend | ing. He added that Germany must moi rely on the bankruptcy of ner opponents l ending the war. Ex-Finahce Minister Wermuth says that Germany can spend 1000, ,0o9 day. the future estimated cost
 for "as many years as he war ca | eonceiveably last" Wermuth is a con. i servativc financier. He says that ths l savings of the German people-th, growth of new capital-wil cover tho cost. Fnglands s2O,000,0o0 day doe, moi l exhaust Englands savings. England's wealth has gone on increasing even ir l the mouths of war.
 Europe has adapted itself to the finan cial burden of war by transforming hel
 whole economic life. She stands the bur. den because the production of wealth | checked for a time by the withdrawal of millions of fighting men from the fac
 tories and fields. Is being carried on by youths, by the old men and by women This does not compensate for all the lost production. But vast savings are being made by reduced national expen. allure. All the warning nations preach and to some extent practice economy The blockade prevents Germany getting lIxurles from 5iocd; her citizens dc without scores of articles which they consumed during peace. Some experts find that this enforced economy amounts to 5000, O0O.O00 year which is nearly half the cost of war. Wermuth admits that if more and more men are taken from productive purposes for the army and If the cost e the war increa ses largely, d long war might threaten ma tional bankruptcy. But this will not en- force peace. All the belligerents will have to face the same strain, and all will storh at the breaking point Arma ments and outlay will not be allowed to grow to the bankruptcy point. We may even see armies being reduced, some men being sent back to productive occupa- tions. and the war continued. Things will adapt themselves. Financial stress will not compel either side to sue for peace, unless financial stress is accom- paniedby such overwhelming military de- feat that retrieval Is plainly impos- sible.'
 A years experience shows that this Is true also of the economic strain Things have adapted themselves There Is no exhaustion, no beggary. prices have risen about 90 per cent, but wages have grown almost as much, there Is no un- employment, and the vast increase in the number of women workers actually adds to the wealth of the average family. Bloch predicted that as a result of war hunger socialist pacifism would triumph. If the war hunger had come, his prQph- ecy might have come true. Instead. the in patriotic and nationalist enthusia sr1. In all Germany. only one known social- ist, the eccentric Licbknecht dares to oppose the war The French socialists