V. I.   Lenin

NOTEBOOK “ε”

(“EPSILON”)


 

THE ECONOMIST AND THE DAILY TELEGRAPH ON THE WAR

TheEconomist, January 9, 1915. N.B.

Article:“The European Deadlock”....

...“Itis not surprising that under such, conditions [the “appalling conditions of modern warfare”] the soldiers should, in places where mud has made progress almost impracticable, conclude impromptu truces, such as are described by a correspondent in The Times of yesterday. These truces naturally occur only in the parts of the field where the trenches are close together, but they bring home to the imagination the cruel absurdities of the war, and suggest to some || N.B. a hope that from the soldiers in the field there might come a protest against the indefinite prolongation of its horrors” (p. 46)....


Idem, p. 54: “Industrial profits”
Net profits (after payment of debenture interest, etc.)
Reports
published
in quarter
ending:
Number of
companies
(£ millions) ± Total
capital
% of
profit on
capital
1913 1914 % 1914
March 31 301 20.5 22.1 +8.4 230.1 9.6
July 31 263 22.6 23.6 +4.2 181.9 13.0
September 30 131 10.6 9.5 –9.5 107.8 8.8
December 31 214 15.3 14.5 –5.6 116.4 12.4
__ __ __ __ __ __ __
Σ 909 69.0 69.7 +0.9 636.0 10.9
“misfortunes” of the capitalists!!!

TheEconomist, December 19, 1914. “War Supplement”, p.10; Russia’s expenditure on the army and navy:

1903 466 million rubles %
1904 491 +25 +5.3
1905 496 + 5 +1.0
1906 504 + 8 +1.6
1907 493 –11 –2.0
1908 612 +119 +24.1
1909 631 +19 +3.0
1910 648 +17 +2.7
1911 669 +21 +3.3
1912 809 +140 +20.9
1913 944 +135 +16.6

TheEconomist, December 19, 1914, p. 1059, article: “The War and Modern Business.”

...“Untilthe bloodiest storm in history burst at the end of July, it was hardly possible to tell where Krupp began or Creusot ended. War loans were inextricably mingled with peace loans, and deadweight debt with full capital issues. Whether to destroy or to construct, whether to build canals or forts, ocean liners or battleships, the whole world of business and finance seemed to have centred itself in London, Paris and Berlin. The financial houses were almost of necessity Anglo-German, Anglo-French and Anglo-American; directorships were interlaced, branches of agents existed in nearly all the cities of the Old World and of the New. Monster companies and corporations welcomed share holders of all nationalities, with very little regard for the diplomatic alliances.... It was a truism six months ago to say that nationality was no obstacle to business arrangements.... All this came to an end all of a sudden.... And yet the businessmen and the working classes are admittedly innocent. The guilt of war is everywhere traced to a few men—emperors, diplomatists, statesmen, militarists, or ‘philosophers’.... Let us hope for a swift disillusionment, a return of common sense, a revival of religion, and a reawakening of the human conscience”....

 
The Economist, 1915, No. 3724 (Jan. 9, 1915)[1] (p. 51):
N.B. “The Cost of the War to Europe”
for six months
£ millions £ millions
Army
(mill.)
__ __
Cost
of war
Loss of
produc-
tion
Value
of lost
lives
Popu-
lation
1913
(mil.)
Foreign
trade
(per
head)
Nation-
al
income
1913
(per
head)
National wealth
1913
Germany 4.35 395 830 294 68 1,063 (15.6) 2,100 (31) 16,000 (235)
Austria-Hungary 3.50 320 500 141 50 264 (5.3) ... ...
Σ 7.85 715 1,330 435 118 1,327 (11.2) ? 3,000 (25) ? 25,000 (212)
Russia 5.4 490 110 218 170 269 (1.6) ... ...
France 4.0 365 600 232 40 583 (14.6) 1,250 (31) 13,000 (325)
United Kingdom 1.0 90 100 83 46 1,344 (29.3) 2,250 (49) 18,000 (390)
Σ 10.4 945 810 533 256 2,196 (8.6) ? 5,000 (20) ? 40,000 (156)
ΣΣ 18.25 1,660 2,140 968 374 3,523 (9.4) ? 8,000 (21) ? 65,000 (174)
(α)
 
Alliance
countries
Entente
countries
Both sides
Direct (war) costs for six months 725 990 1,715 (£ mill.)
Loss by cessation of production
(Yves Guyot (α))
1,330 810 2,140
Total costs for six months 2,055 1,800 3,855
Normal national income for six
months (say)
1,500 2,500 4,000
Proportion of direct costs to national income 48% 40% 43%
Ditto ... of total costs 137% 72% 96%
National wealth 25,000 40,000 65,000
(α) The Yves Guyot source is obviously not impartial!

Ibidem(January 2, 1915), p. 12:

“Disgustat the utter barbarism and ferocity of modern warfare is reported by all who have seen it. Everywhere people are beginning to ask how long human nature itself can endure the awful anguish of this || indescribable war, how soon exhaustion and the approach of starvation will drive the peoples into || revolt. Some of the German newspapers look for a revolution in Russia. They may have to count with one at home, for nothing is more likely than that the working classes of Germany will turn savagely upon the aggressive militarism which has been their bane.”

[LEFT-BOTTOM-RIGHTBOX END:] N.B. [[ This is from an article “The Realms of the Habsburgs”, which says that in Russia the position of the population and nations is worse than in Austria. ]]

January 9, 1915, p. 57: the Rumanians in Russia are worse off than in Austria....

Ibidem,p. 66: Russia’s war expenditure (1/2 year) = 6,234 million rubles (13 million rubles per day).

p. 72, a new book: P. Vinogradoff, The Russian Problem (1 shilling)?


TheDaily Telegraph (No. 18631) Dec. 29, 1914.

TheIndependent Labour Party and the War.

“Oneof the resolutions on the final agenda for the annual conference of the Scottish Division of the Independent Labour Party to be held in Glasgow on Saturday, when Mr. Keir Hardie, M.P., is to address the delegates, asks that all members of the Independent Labour Party assisting the government in the present recruiting campaign be expelled. Another asks for an expression of regret that the National Labour Party did not call a conference at the outbreak of the war to determine the policy of the party.”


Notes

[1] Ibidem, p. 46—possibility of a protest of the soldiers when close together in the trenches. —Lenin

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