"The public spirit manifested at present is much more admirable than that displayed in the '60s, as shown by the following first-hand description of life in those days, as compared with what we see on every hand today. Said the New York Independent of June 25, 1864:
"'Who at the North would ever think of war if he had not a friend in the army or did not read the newspapers? Go into Broadway and we will show you what is meant by the word "extravagance." Ask Stewart about the demand for camel's-hair shawls and he will say "monstrous." Ask Tiffany what kind of diamonds and pearls are called for. He will answer "the prodigious, as near hen's-egg size as possible, price no object." What kind of carpetings are now wanted? None but "extra." Brussels and velvets are now used from basement to garret. Ingrains and three-plys won't do at all.
"'Call a moment at a carriage repository. In reply to your first question you will be told, "Never such a demand before, sir." And as for horses, the medium-priced $500 kind are all out of the market. A good pair of fast ones, "all right," will go for $1,000 sooner than a basket of strawberries will sell for four cents. Those a "little extra" will bring $1,500 to $2,000, while the "superb" 2.40 sort will bring any price among the high numbers.'"
GREAT BRITAIN'S PRODUCTIVE POWER
To appreciate what industrial mobilization meant in England the best method is to start with the figures on national production taken from the British census of 1907, the last accesible accessible for the peace period:
| In 1907 the British people are estimated to have produced goods to the total amount of, roughly | $10,000,000,000 |
| The nation consumed during that year in personal consumption | 7,050,000,000 |
| It spent on capital purposes at home: | |
| (a) On betterment of its national plant | 950,000,000 |
| (b) On maintenance of its national plant | 900,000,000 |
| It used up goods to the value of (in keeping up and probably increasing its stocks of material on hand) | 325,000,000 |
| It exported goods in the form of loans to foreign countries of about | 500,000,000 |
By 1914 the British Empire had probably advanced its income to at least $12,500,000,000; and the surplus of goods which it had to export as loans to foreign countries seems to have increased from about $500,000,000 to $1,000,000,000. What happened in war-time? First of all there was an unprecedented manufacture of munitions and war supplies. This production was needed not only for Great Britain, but also for her Allies. Seven-tenths of what was produced in Great Britain in the year 1907 was immediately used up in the form of personal consumption by its population; accordingly war industrial activities meant either that British production must be increased or British comsumpton consumption reduced, or that more goods must be bought from foreign countries through the sale of British liquid capital assets.
First of all, consumption was cut down; in detail, this was accomplished in the following ways: 1. By cutting down all normal additions to England's national plant, i. e., by building no more houses, factories, railways, roads, etc., except for purely war purposes. This expenditure in 1907 amounted to about $950,000,000. 2. By cutting down and ceasing as far as possible to spend money on the maintenance of this national plant, except the minimum required to keep it running. This expenditure in 1907 amounted to $900,000,000. 3. Most important of all, by cutting down civil personal expenditure. This was so far the largest item of consumption that it was here that the most important savings were made.
A WHOLE POPULATION AT WORK
In England the total number of "occupied males" between the ages of 18 and 44, i. e., roughly, the conscription age was, in 1911, 7,200,000. The number of men from the United Kingdom in the Army and Navy amounted to over 5,000,000; therefore, out of every seven of these men, on the average five were soldiers or sailors. These men were lost from the productive capacity of the nation. It is obvious that if English production remained the same, or increased, it must have been the result of extraordinary efforts on the part of the small percentage of occupied males of fighting age left, on the part of all the other males occupied or formerly occupied, and on the part of all females.