p. 24 | War's Woes by Uriah Smith

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jul 12, 1877

War's Woes.

By Uriah Smith

A LITTLE tract, published recently by the London Peace Society, gives some startling statistics, showing the results of wars waged during the last 25 years, or from the beginning of the Crimean war in 1853, to the present year, 1877.

The number of regularly trained soldiers in Europe at the present time, is about six millions; or, if we take into account those who, upon any special emergency, would be called out, the number is increased to ten millions. If only one-half of the present armies of Europe were disbanded, three millions of men, in the prime of life, would be restored to productive labor, and $500,000,000 of money saved from oppressive taxation.

The number of men slain as the direct result of the wars of the past 25 years, reaches the appalling figure of 1,948,000; and the cost has been eighteen billions, five hundred and ninety-three millions, one hundred and sixty-three thousand, nine hundred and ninety-five dollars ($18,593,163,995.00). This would give, if divided among the inhabitants of the globe, over $14 to every man, woman, and child. It would build two railways around the world at the rate of $250,000 per mile, or it would provide a freehold farm of 100 acres in this country for each of the 50,000,000 adult males in Europe. Yet all this is worse than squandered in purposes of slaughter and destruction.

How heart-sickening is such an exhibition of selfishness and passion on the part of those who call themselves reasonable beings. U. S.