The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1922-01-28
Copyright. Western Newspaper Union
VII.
WARS HORRIBLE WASTE


VII.
WARS HORRIBLE WASTE
MIR. X. {. ~Leffingwell was the as
sistant secretary of the treasury In
charge of finances during the war.
While he was in the treasury he be-
came deeply impressed with the mag
nitude of government expeditures and
the looseness, inefiicicncy and waste
that are a part of government meth
cd. All the secretaries of the treas
ury since the outbreak of the wal
have shared this feeling of apprehen-
sion and concern with Mr.. Letting
of his on war expenditures:
"Of the $4,000, 900, 900. exclusive of
interest on the public debt. spent In
the fiscal year 1921. 81, 101 .6l5, 013.32
was spent by the War department.
$650,373 .S35.5S. by the Navy depart
ment, $500, 10000 0 on the railroads,
$230,000,000 by the bureau of war risk
insurance, aud 1857 81, 1910 81 by the
Interior department. mostly, | take 1t,
for Civil war and Spanish wal pen
sions-a total of $3.0S0, 200. 600 under
these heads.
"In the fiscal year 1920 the War de-
partment spent 81, 610,000 900, and the
Navy department S740,000,000, IA total
of $2,350,0 100000. Secretary Mellon
estimates that in the fiscal year, 1921,
the War department will spend 81 ,025,-
100000 and the Navy department
500, 100000, a total of 81, 1880 900 ;
and that in the fiscal year, 1929, the
War department will spend $4,000,
600, and the Navy department S545,-
100000, a total of $1,115,000, 900. This
makes a three-years' total of 50, 190,-
600, 1000.
Germany went to val to realize on
her investment in arms and armies.
The burden of universal military sery-
ice, expenditures Oh the army and
navy, subsidies and doles, became In
tolerable. She thought she would re-
peat the exploit of 1870 and make wal
so profitable i'll territory and indem-
mites ms to recoup herself for the
outlay of 40 years preparation. The
splendid resistance of the Belgians and
the French and of the little British
expeditiohary force made the short
war a futile dream. The unframed
manhood and unmortgaged resources
of the Western World, of the British
empire overseas, and finally of Amer
lea, determined the issue. Germany
suffered economic collapse, though her
armies, beaten but not routed, were
still on enemy soil. So Germany's
military preparedness was her cause
for making wal and was the cause oil
her defeat. In the issue, 1t was eco
nomic preparedness that mattered
most.
"TOday, men, women and little chill
dren are starving to death in Europe be
cause of the wars horrible waste and
because of the still more horrible waste
of after the war. Two years and a
half after arn1istice, nearly two years
after peace was concluded between
Germany and the allies, millions of
men are under arms, eating and wear
ing the produce of the fields and of
the labor of a civilian population
which must bear the load of taxes and
imitation necessary to maintain those
armies In economic idleness. The peo-
pies of continental Europe are stag
gering under the load of ornaments,
far too great before the war and in
tolerable now. Their rulers hold them
selves in power by subsidies and doles,
by PLAYING. now on their fears, and
again on their ~avarice, still again on
nationalistic ambitions or ancient ra-
cial hatreds. The allies have under
taken to insure Germany's economic
by insisting upon her disarm-
ament and the payment of r~eparations
which means the development of a
huge export balance; but for them
selves they reserve the doubtful prlvi-
lege of remaining armed to the teeth. =.
1--WE have demonstrated our mill
tary W We have shown what
nav be lone in a few short months
to make an army and transport 1t to
wage a foreign war. We have no need
to be aggressors abroad, we are invul-
nerable at home. Let us accept the
responsibilities of the position of lead
ership which is ours. show the world
how to beat swords into plow-shares,
relieve the peoples of the world OF ap-
p%rehension and lead them back into
tbe ways of peace and plenty. If we
epa for war we shall have 1t. If
we lead the world in preparation for
peace we may have that.