lu8 ECONOMICS OF THE WAR. 



thing spent on war material is directly unproductive outlay, 

 and consequently the bulk of the capital spent is destroyed for 

 all time. Naturally, if a country spends a certain sum on war 

 and through spoils of victory obtains valuable territory, or 

 other similar consideration, then it is a question of calculation 

 as to whether the considerations make the expenditure produc- 

 tive — the gains are often found by examination to be illusory. 

 Speaking generally, all war expenditure is a loss of capital to 

 the world. It is estimated that the cost to the Government 

 per day of the war in England is £2,700,000 — the other chief 

 belligerents must be spending more, — the total cost can be esti- 

 mated in the neighbourhood of £12,000,000 per diem. 



An interesting article appears in The Economist, of 9th 

 January last, giving an estimate of the cost of the first six months 

 of the war for the five principal nations involved. This showed 

 the following totals: — 



Armies involved, 18 million men. 

 Cost to the Governments involved, 1,660 millions. 

 The estimated value of lost production, 2,240 millions. 

 The total population of the countries was 374 millions. 

 The total foreign trade was 3,523 millions. 



The national income of the individual nations was esti- 

 mated : — 



Germany 2,100 millions. 



Austria-Hungary 900 „ 



France 1,250 „ 



United Kingdom 2,250 „ 



For Russia the fig'ures are not known. 



The national wealth of the nations is estimated: — 



Germany 16,000 millions. 



Austria-Hungary 9,000 ,, 



France 13,000 „ 



United Kingdom 18,000 „ 



Figures for Russia are not known. 



The proportion of direct cost to the national income for 

 both sides is estimated at 43 per cent. The proportion of total 

 costs to the national income is estimated at 96 per cent. 



The above takes into no account the loss of capital repre- 

 sented by the loss of life or the destruction of property. 



The capitalized value of the loss of life in the war over a 

 period of one year has been estimated as follows : — 



Great Britain 300 millions. 



Germany 79 ,, 



Belgium 40 „ 



France 348 „ 



x\ustria-Hungary 240 „ 



For Russia the figures are not given. 



