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

EFFECTS ON INDUSTRY

207

period of time. But in regard to the latter the only available
statistics are those of the capitals of corporation enterprises,
since the statistics even of those manufacturers who paid
national taxes fail to throw sufficient light upon the conditions of the industry throughout the country, as already indicated. Still less would the figures regarding the company
capitals alone prove useful as an index to the whole situation.
However, they may not be entirely valueless for reference
purposes. So we shall proceed with our investigation with
the scant material at our disposal.
The war absorbed large proportions of private capital and
consequently crippled the people's industry, at least for a
time. Even if it did not reduce the capital already invested, it must necessarily have absorbed a large share of the
new capital available for investment. The depression of
general industry continuing from an ante bellum year must
have accentuated the industrial inactivity caused by the war.
INDUSTRIES INCREASED OR DECREASED, DECEMBER, I90I-JUNE, 1905
Increase or decrease compared with previous term
Month end Number of Aggregated
Month end companies capital N
No. of
Cos. Aggr. cap.
December, I90I...... I2,960 1,440,682,261......
June, I902........... I2,8I O 1,521,790,089........
December, 1902...... 12,845 1,584,495,550 + 35 + 62,705,461
June, I903........... 12,915 1,814,00I,355 + 70 + 229,505,805
December, I903...... 13,226 1,448,112,192 +3 I -365,889,163
June, 1904........... 13,273 1,467,683,463 + 47 + I9,571,27I
December, I904...... 13,377 1,475,558,378 +IO4 + 7,874,915
June, 1905........... 13,422 1,495,255,III + 45 + I9,696,733
Looking into the details, this blow to popular investmenta blow which through anticipation of war made its appearance
as early as the end of 1903-bore the hardest upon manufactures, while in agriculture and commerce, and especially
in transportation, there was more or less increase in the paidup capital; but in manufactures both paid-up capital and
reserve funds decreased considerably.