The Snyder signal. (Snyder, Tex.) 1887-????, 1920-02-13

thoughts turn 10 the dend who, while
they did not die IN the war. dicde0e-
cause OF the wnr Those who went out
In bnttle left life In hurst OF glory.
Others there were who fell IN the'r
tracEs-exhnustlon. broken hearts sent
them west" She has not forgotten
how the home flank suffered. The stay
nt-homes were not all slackers. Ihey
fought hunger and cold bent Their
backs beyond the strainlng point
Worst OF all. they waited. II Is csil-
mated that 20,O00000 civilians died
from weakness. fatigue, strain broken
hcarts-the horror Of waiting de-
stroyed resistance. These were the
underfed older men and women, the
scared. undernourlshed children. Is
there any wonder that Europe has II
death look In her cyesi Death mas
been her morning thought, II 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 IL now to,ning. The figures are
appalling They staggcr her iinag'nh-
ton. II Is easy to write them. I'M
possIble 10 understand their full mean
Ing. The mind can't grasp II; the
world Is bewildered by the number. IL
is too stupendous, too horrible for I'M
derstandIng. Think Of II. seven ana
half million young men. for the most
part between the nges OF eighteen ana
thirty, the youth, the strength the
spirit, the man power OF Europe dehu
Twenty million from civil life dead
over twelve and half million wouhu'
ed.
Who cnn measure this lossf
War brought death 1t did more
Il stoned birth. In the devastated re-
gions Of Belgium, France, Italy TO
land, parts OF Russia and the Balkan
countries. the birth rate fell to al
most nothing. In England and W les
the birth rate In the last part Of 1919
was 1915. the lowest on record. MAI
lett calculated that the birth rate had
fallen 10 per cent in England ana
Wales by 1916
The Journal of Heredlty quotes saw
orgnan as having estimated that II VIII
take England at least ten years, Ger
many IL years. Italy IS years ana
France 80 years 10 recuperate their
populations. These calculations ny
Savorgnan were made before the fear
full losses OF the campaign OF 1918.
A village IN France, Blerancourt'
tells what the war has done 10 the man
power OF Europe. This village, when
Is In the Chateau Thierry- Scissors dis
trict, had population OF a thousand
people before the war. Its losses have
been tabulated. Twenty-six 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
calculations Of Savorgnnn 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 ~ per cent Of the men
between twenty and forty years we're
listed MS dead or lncapacltated for
work. Further. thai 1t would take
France over 20 years to recover her
normal population.
II Is said that II will take Italy 30
years and England % years TO regain
normally Of population.
The human waste Of the war Is moro
than sad memories. The loss of man
power makes grave problem. II has
thrown out Of balance the domestic
scheme Of the world. II viii be felt
for years. There arc n great many
more young women han men. Home
life Is bound to suffer. There VIII be
fewer marriages. fewer children. sta
tistics only tell part of the story.
Copyright. 1899. Western Newspaper unionl