Der Deutsche correspondent. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1841-1918, 1916-03-24

STORM SIGNALS FoR ENGLAND.

STORM SIGNALS FOR ENGLAND.
When England entered upon the
present war, the British Aristocracy
took il for granted that it would be
repetition Of the many wars that
have built up the British Empire,
There would be considerable fighting
and much expenditure OF money.
Some thousands of soldiers recruited
from the ranks of the common peo-
pie would be killed in battle and
some millions OF pounds would be
spent in military operations. In the
meantime the wealthy "Aanneled
fools" would be permitted to indulge
in their favoritc pastimcs without
being personally affected by the
mighty struggle carried on in the
interest Of British trade. Conscrip-
tion was undrcamt Of Neither was
it foreseen that war expenses would
mako such drains upon the pockets
OF rich families Of Great Britain that
many Of them would find 1t hard to
make Both ends meet
But the unexpected has happened.
At this moment thousands OF Eng
lish landed estates arc in the market.
The correspondent Of the Associated
Press writing from London under
date q? March 10, says Of these
sales: "The old owners in many in
stances have been forced by in
creased taxes TO seek more moderate
places There is talk OF wholesale
migration, with predictions that
country life VIII undergo q revolu-
tion such as perhaps England has
not witnessed since the Norman Con-
quest Many Of the estates may be
cut MP and parcelled out among dis
banded soldiers whose jobs are gone
and for whom no other employment
can be found"
Mr. Frank Hifst, a widely Known
English economist in commenting
on this state of things says it Is one
Of the inevitable results OF the pres
cnt war which has imposed such
heavy ilhancial'burdens that English
families, which hitherto were care
free In regard to money matters,
now find 1t extremely difficult to pay
the greatly increased taxes imposed
to meet huge military and naval ex-
penses The English economist we
have mentioned makes this estimate
of the amount of England's wealth
that has disappeared: I" 1t is impos-
siblc to arrive at anything better
than an approximate estimate Of the
economic cost Of tho war. The mere
economic effect of the loss Of
hundreds OF thousands OF young men
in the prime OF life and vigor is al
most incalculable We may safely
assume that by November, 1915, we
had lost through the war about the
tenth OF all the wealth we pos
sessed" This English writer tAen
goes on to state that at the present
moment tho whole of the private in
! comes Of the people Of Great Britain
and Ireland is about equal to what
| is spent in carrying on the greatest
and cOstliest Of all wars. We quote:
1--WE arc adding to the national debt
! every FIVE or six weeks what we
added during the three years Of the
/ Boer War We spend as much in a
minute as we then spent in balf an
hour"
70 put this in figures would be
useless, so far as imparting anything
! like an accurate Impression Of the
amount England ID spending in her
endeavor to conquer Germany, All
ready the national debt Of England
has been swollen to eleven billion
| dollars in this 50 far futile effort.
But as it is next to impossible to
realize what billion dollars stand
for this statement does not convey
an idea Oh tho financial burden Eng
land has assumed The nature Of
that burden viii be better under
stood by the following comparison:
"If Alfred the Great" says Mr.. Hirst,
"had lived till now, and had through
out his long life Of more than q
thousand years burned one five
pound bank Of England note Given
ty-fve dollars) every hour Of the day
and night, he would not have de-
stroyed nearly as much money as is
being added to the national debt
every fortnight"
Here we have a standard by which
we can gauge the amount tho Brit
ish Government is spending for wal
purposes. 1t is staggering proper.
tions. For England it spells nationa
bankruptcy IL peace be not soon re-
stored The selling OF so man,
estotes of members Of the British
arlstocracy is the first warning O
tho coming storm, which, If once
unloosened, wiz sweep away man!
social and political institutions tha
two years ago seemed as impregnabl'
as the ancient regime appeared to b.
a., I,rotcn an fha aNyp Of fhp N'rpnpl