Expenditures of the Russo-Japanese war / by Gotaro Ogawa.

184 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR

ity. These facts are amply attested by the figures for I906
and 1907 in the foregoing table.
The general effects of the war on domestic commerce having
thus been outlined, it now remains for us to note that these
effects showed widely divergent aspects according to classes
and places of business, and that these differences in effects can
all be explained by the war.
Observations according to classes of business
The blow was particularly heavy on some classes of business
and not at all heavy on others, and there were a few businesses
that became more active through the war. Roughly speaking, the demand for luxuries greatly diminished, while that for
war supplies and daily necessaries suddenly increased, so that
a fresh turn was made in the relations of demand and supply.
This can be ascertained by a comparative study of the prices
of various commodities, but the statistics of what happened
in 1904 compiled by the Revenue Bureau more directly prove
this point.
(a) Mercantile businesses which suffered from the war were
mainly the following:
(I) Cloths of all kinds. There was more or less
demand for cotton fabrics and other cheap goods, some
of which even rose in price to a small extent, but the
demand for silk fabrics suddenly fell off and the proceeds
from their sale decreased by 24 per cent.
(2) Old clothes. The proceeds decreased by some 12
per cent.
(3) Miscellaneous goods and groceries. Although the
proceeds in Osaka increased by 20 per cent under special
circumstances, the sale in these goods throughout the
country decreased by 14 per cent.
(4) Cotton yarn. The proceeds decreased by I6 per
cent on the average.
(5) Second-hand goods. According to the only available reports made by the Marugame Revenue Superintending Office, the proceeds decreased approximately by
30 per cent in the localities under its jurisdiction.
(6) Drugs and chemicals. Though the condition of