Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1922-01-18
VII.
WARS HORRIBLE WASTE


Mr.. r. c. Leffingwel1 was the as
NSistant 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 Expenditures and
the looseness, inefficiency and waste
that are part of government meth
cd. All the secretaries of the treas
ury since the outbreak Of the war
have shared this feeling of apprehen-
sion and concern with Mr.. Letting
well. I quote here a recent utterance
of his on war expenditures
"Of the $4,O0OOOO,00O, exclusive of
interest on the public debt, spent in
the fiscal year 1921, $1,1O1, 615, O13.32
was spent by the War department,
$3.50, 1873, 1858 by the Navy depart
ment, $S0O,OO0,OO0 on the railroads,
$23O,0OOO00 by the bureau of war risk
insurance, and 1857, S14,S97.O1 by the
Interior department, mostly, 1 take it,
for Civil war and Spanish war PEN
sions-a total Of $3,OSO,OOO,OOO under
these heads.
''In the fiscal year 1920 the War de-
partment spent $1,61O,0OO,OOO, and the
Navy department $740,OOO,OOO, total
of $3.50, 100000. Secretary Mellon
estimates that in the fiscal year, 1921,
the War department will spend S1,025,-
100000, and the Navy department
$700,OOO,O0O, total of $1,725, 100000;
and that in the fiscal year, 1922, the
War department will spend $570,O00,
600, and the Navy department $685.
100000, total of $1,115, 100000. This
makes a three-years' total of $780,
100000.
Germany went to war to realize on
her investment in arms and armies.
The burden of universal military serv-
ice, expenditures on the army and
tolerable. She thought she would re-
peat the exploit of 1870 and make war
so profitable in territory and indem-
mites as to recoup herself for the
outlay Of 40 years preparation. The
splendid resistance of the BelgianS>and
the French and of the little British
eXpeditionary force made the short
war 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 war and was the cause Of
nomic preparedness that mattered
most.
To-day, 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
half after armistice, 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 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 Gernany's economic
recovery by insisting upon her disarm-
ament and the payment of reparations
which means the development of
huge export balance; but for them
selves they reserve the doubtful priv
lege of remaining armed to the teeth. :.
1--WE have demonstrated our mill
tary power. We have shown what
may be done in 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
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 APP
prehension and lead them back into
the ways of peace and plenty. If we
prepare for war we shall have it. If
we lead the world in preparation for
peace we may have that