The Raymer enterprise., 1920-01-29
the wounded of the war.
Wars FriQhtfuI Cost.

Her voice is husky. her hands are
tired, but she must count on. Six and
a half million Of her sons were marked
.missing and prisoners" In the official
war score. Many Of these have come
back to her, but she does not question
them-she dare not. Their faces tell
Of the unspeakable horrors they en-.
dured She sees in their eyes a depth
OF pain that is unfathomable. She is
q mother-she knows.
The war is over, but she is not over
the war. Must she never stop count
ing? Is there no end to her losses?
The graveyards ore crowded. Her
thoughts turn to the dead who, while
they did not die In the war, died be-
cause Of the war. Those who went out
In battle left life In a burst Of glory.
Others there were who fell In their
tracks-exhaustion. broken hearts sent
them west" She has not forgotten
how the home flank suffered. The stay.
at-homes were not all slackers. They
fought hunger and cold, bent their
backs beyond the straining point.
Worst Of all. they waited. It Is esti-
mated that 20.000.000 civilians died
from weakness. fatigue, strain, broken
hearts-the horror Of waiting de-
stroyed resistance. These were the
underfed older men and women. the
scared, nndernourlshed children. Is
there any wonder that Europe has
death look In her eyes? Death has
been her morning thought, 1t has been
her night sob. and for four years made
up OF months, weeks, days, hours,
minutes and seconds death has been
her Nemesis.
She is now totaling. The figures are
appalling. They staggcr her lmngina-
tion. 1t is easy to write them, I'm
possible to understand their full mean
ing. The mind can't grasp II; the
world is bewildered by the number. It
Is too stupendous, too horrible for un-
derstanding. Think Of 1t, seven and a
half million young men, for the most
part between the ages Of eighteen and
thirty, the youth. the strength, the
spirit, the man power Of Europe, dead
twenty million from civil life dead,
over twelve and a half million wound.
ed.
Who can measure this loss?
War brought death. 1t did more
1t stopped birth. In the devastated re-
giQns Of Belgium, France. Italy, Po-
lsAfl. parts Of Russia and the Balkan
countries. the birth rate fell to al
most nothing. In England and Wales
the birth rate In the last part OF 1915
was 1916, the lowest on record. Nal
lett calculated that the birth rate had
fallen II per cent In England and
Wales by 1915.
The Journal Of Heredity quotes Saw
orgnan as having estimated that It will
take England at least ten years, Ger
many u years. Italy 3S years and
France SO years to recuperate their
populations. These calculations by
Savorgnan were made before the fear.
full losses Of the campaign of 1918.
A village In France, Blerancourt,
tells what the war has done to the man
power Of Europe. This village. which
is in the Chateau Thlerry-Soissons dis
trict, had population Of thousand
people before the war. It's losses have
been tabulated. Twenty-slx soldiers
from this village were killed in the
war. Ninety-seven Of the villagers
died from war prlvations. The total
of 1913 is the death toll Of village
OF a thousand.
The figures have quoted from the
Of Savorgnan and Mallett
were made before the war was finished.
Since the war, estimates have been
made, and these estimates show the
situation to be even worse. In France
was told that 81 per cent OF the men
between twenty and forty years were
listed as dead or incapacitated for
work. Further, that 1t would take
France over 10 years to recover her
normal reputation.
II is said that 1t will take Italy so
years and England 25 years to regain
normality of population.
The human waste Of the war is more
than sad memories. The loss of man
power makes grave problem. II has
out of balance the domestic
scheme Of the world. 1t will be felt
for years. There are great many
more young women than men. Home
life is bound to suffer. There will be
fewer marriages, fewer children. Sta
tistics only tell part Of the story.
Copyright. 1890. Western Newspaper Usios,