234 CORRADO GINI 



race," or better still, on "a population." Indeed, a consideration of the 

 results so far obtained shows that the effects of the various wars have been 

 essentially different. This is true not only of the direct effects but likewise 

 of the indirect; and not only of the actual war but also of its preparation, 

 which entails the organization of armies in time of peace. 



According to whether the system of recruiting be general or special, and, 

 in the latter case, according as to whether it be voluntary or compulsory, 

 and still further, according to the classes of the population which supply 

 the men, according to the more or less severe criteria of selection, according 

 to the longer or shorter period of service, —the results may be radically 

 different. They may also differ according to the diffusion of diseases, and 

 particularly of the venereal diseases, varies in the military and civil popu- 

 lations, and according to the remedies applied in both to check the diseases. 

 They may be different according to the greater or lesser prestige the soldier 

 enjoys with the population and according to the preference which women 

 accord to those who have served in the army. 



As regards the war proper, the data we have at our disposal show that the 

 relative proportions of the soldiers who died of wounds and those who died 

 of illness, the mortality among officers and soldiers, the losses suffered by 

 the various social classes may vary greatly from war to war, and, for the 

 same war, from belligerent nation to belligerent nation, according to the 

 nature of the war, to its duration, and to the particular circumstances 

 arising during its development; finally, they vary according to the system 

 of recruiting, to the evolution of the means of offense and defense, and to 

 the progress of sanitation. The mortality suffered by the fighting military 

 population, by the territorial force, and by the civil population may also 

 vary greatly from war to war. 



Identical war losses, furthermore, may have different results for popu- 

 lations which are in different stages of demographic evolution. Easily re- 

 placeable and, in the last analysis, insignificant for a nation demographically 

 exuberant, these losses may stop forever the progress of another nation 

 which has passed beyond the time most favorable for its growth, and they 

 may also determine its ultimate ruin if it is already in a condition of un- 

 stable equilibrium. 



Aside from these considerations of a general nature, there are special 

 circumstances which may cause certain war effects to assume a particular 

 aspect for some nations. Generally, war determines a scarcity of adult men. 

 In countries having a strong emigration it may however have the opposite 

 effect, by stopping the emigratory currents and causing the repatriation of 

 the men abroad. The diminution of males of the most productive age deter- 



