THE ENEMY'S STRENGTH
The Central Powers at the outbreak of the war had a population of 142,250,000, in round numbers, of which 26,310,000 were males between the ages of 18 and 44, and if 70 per cent. of them were available for military service their man power would be approximately 18,360,000. Since the Russian fiasco Germany has occupied a territory greater in area than both Germany and Austria, in which there live upward of 51,000,000 people. And if the reports that we get are to be believed, the Kaiser has compelled the boys between 18 and 21 in this occupied territory to enter the German training camps, and he hopes in a short time to have them on the western front, thus augmenting his man power to approximately 21,000,000 fighting men.
This is the job we have on our hands. The newspapers tell us that the Kaiser has only 2,000,000 or 3,000,000 soldiers, but it would be wise for the members of this House in passing legislation affecting the conduct of the war to keep in mind the figures that I have just indicated. To meet this Great Britain—the British Isles, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand—France, Italy, and the United States have a combined population from which they can draw 30,000,000 or 40,000,000, and in addition to these numbers there is an enormous reservoir from which to draw further man power in the colonies and possessions of the Allies and the twenty-three smaller countries now allied with us in the war. To show something of the relative strength of the contending forces I will read the following capitulation, which is believed to be substantially accurate and has been compiled after very careful inquiry from the best sources available:
| MAN POWER OF CENTRAL POWERS COMPARED WITH THAT OF THE ALLIES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| A. | B. | C. | |
| Est'd avail. | |||
| Estimated | for mil. | ||
| Males 18-44 | serv. of all | ||
| Population | inclusive, | kinds—70% | |
| 1914. | 1914. | of B. | |
| CENTRAL POWERS | |||
| Austria-H'ary | 51,000,000 | 9,360,000 | 6,500,000 |
| Bulgaria | 4,750,000 | 800,000 | 560,000 |
| Germany(Continental) | 68,000,000 | 12,850,000 | 9,000,000 |
| Ottoman Empire | 18,500,000 | 3,300,000 | 2,300,000 |
| ————— | ————— | ———— | |
| Total | 142,250,000 | 26,310,000 | 18,360,000 |
| ASSOCIATED GOVERNMENTS | |||
| Australia | 5,000,000 | 850,000 | 595,000 |
| Canada | 7,500,000 | 1,275,000 | 892,500 |
| France | 39,000,000 | 6,630,000 | 4,640,000 |
| Gt. Britain | 46,000,000 | 7,820,000 | 5,474,000 |
| India | 320,000,000 | 54,400,000 | 37,800,000 |
| Italy | 36,000,000 | 6,120,000 | 4,284,000 |
| Japan | 54,000,000 | 8,180,000 | 1,390,000 |
| New Zealand | 1,200,000 | 204,000 | 142,800 |
| Portugal | 6,000,000 | 1,020,000 | 714,000 |
| Serbia | 2,800,000 | 476,000 | 333,200 |
| South Africa | 6,000,000 | 1,020,000 | 714,000 |
| United States | 100,000,000 | 17,000,000 | 11,900,000 |
| ————— | ————— | ————— | |
| Total | 623,500,000 | 104,995,000 | 68,879,500 |
The casualties resulting in death, permanent injury, or incapacity in the German Army have amounted to admittedly about 3,000,000 men during the four years of war, or approximately the same number as have been supplied by the young men who have reached military age during the same period. From this statement it would appear that from the point of man power Germany is no worse off today than when she started the war. The weakening of the German forces is represented, however, by the lack of nourishment for her workers, her women and children, and the discharges which must necessarily follow the reaching of advanced age by the old men called to the colors, both of which will be felt more keenly as time goes on, as well as the disease which must necessarily accompany conditions such as the war has produced. America will not begin to discharge her men on account of advanced age for twenty years. In other words, the man power of America will get stronger and the man power of the enemy must get weaker for the next twenty years, if, by any chance, the war should last that long. We have nothing to fear from this source.