Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-04-15
PRESENT WAR IS NOT
GREATEST IN EFFORT
conflict Between North and South
Far Exceeded II in
Sacrifice.
SOUTH pUr OUT ONE IN FIVE
IN Same Proportion, American Ma
ton, In War ON Which II Is Now
Entering, Would BE Required to
Put In Field 10000, 900 Men.

Put In Field 10000, 900 Men.
~ seems to be generally accepted
mat the present war is altogether the
greatest In history. and so IL is, in one
sense, FOR undoubtedly there are more
men under arms than ever before. But
mere numbers or mere size arc not
themselves Of supreme Importance. \
man is no, Of greater prominence he
cause he weighs $50 pounds instead Of
$50.
The present war is Ly no means the
greatest in history propor,ionaily-
taat is to say. one Of the nations
engaged III the present is throw
ihS into the ,Ghting line as many men.
IN proportion TO its population as has
hccn the case several times In the past.
The real test is the effort a nation
makes. and on a certain number OF
occasions in the past those efforts have
been greater than those or the present.
The greatest effort tina, the civilized
world has ever seen was made on
american soil. No nation. neither
France nor GERMANY and still less any
other Of tho European nations. is
throwing to-day into the firing line
such a large proportion OF its popula-
;ion az did the North in tho American
War Between the states. and AS did
the South. as the figures In the now
Encyclopaedia britannica show.
EFFORT OF SOUTH WAS
GREATEST OF ANY PEOPLE
undoubtedly the creates, cnor, made
by any people was tina, Of our own
south when the War Between the
states broke out she had a population
Of 100000 but OF this 5000 zoe. not
less than 100000 were negro slaves.
who could not fight In tho course Of
the war. during "a period Of three years
and nine months. She placed on the
. firing line a total OF slightly over ,O0a.
coo mon
This WAS ono in nine Of her total
peonc but II tho colorcd are excluded,
because they were not allowed TO fight.
She put slightly more than 100000
men out OF total OF 1000. 0l0 popula
ton. In other words. about one in
five OF her white population. mon.
women and children. entered the ranks
and fought
Tic record OF tho South is without
parallel in civilized warfare. What
makes 1t tho more astonishing is that
the South. hcins entirely agricultural,
was no, prepared. aud that the moth
crn blockade. stopping the incoming Of
supplies OF every kind, was "a constant
and serious handicap.
The population Of the North IN 1869
was 1000. ooO. In thc course of the
war she put into the field 5000. 900 men
This was on. il seven Of The total
population. a hummer considerably!
greater than any of The European ma
lions has yet thrown into IN" firing
WHAT EUROPE. MtsI
40 TO EATER COMPARISON
Tho European wa :,as now lasted
two wears aud seven months. II the
war las,s another fourteen montns Chy
which time tho duration Of the Euro
pcan war viii equal the War Retween
the States large number or addi
ttoual meu viii he called upon TO do
their hit" rs the English SAY: hut il
is Improbable that il will bring tn"
figures to one in seven
In order TO reach The figures Of ono
in seven Germany must place in the
lighting line between 1900. 900 AID 10.
UpCoGo mon: Franco. approx imatcly.
100000: Russia. 1850 900: Great Brii-
ain from her snug little islands. $3.50
GOO. without counting any from her
colonies or from that vast empire on
which the sun never sets and whose
morning drum is heard round tho
world
One other point in this matter OF size
should he considered. The battle OF
Waterloo Was decisive OF the Napc-
lconic struggle ard the battle Of Get
tysburg Of the American War Between
tho States. vt Waterloo there wee
not far from 10000 men on each side:
AZ Gettysburg about the Somc nam
her, In comparison with the vas. ag-
.rcEatc of troops engaged III Europe at
present. these figures seem small. but
in comparison with many Of the mcst
important battles that have even been
fought. the numbers are large.
&c one e: amincs the figures given in
The new Encyclopaedia Britannica Of
the numbers engaged in the fifteen
battles commonly considered the ff-
teen decisive battles of the world" one
finds that only two three were
fought by greater numbers than at
Waterloo and Gettysburg, and several
much smaller. At Hastings. William
the Conqueror had. perhaps, $4,000 men
at Marathon. where European civiliza-
ton was saved. the Greeks had but TO-
zoe. and at Saratoga, where the deci-
sive battle Of the revolution was