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

EFFECTS ON THE NATIONAL LIFE

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THE DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH
Setting aside the effects of war after peace was restored, in
the forms of the exaction of heavy taxes and a rise in general
prices, we must next consider the effects of the war on the
distribution of wealth. This is a question full of interest, but
lacking sufficient data we must content ourselves with a
cursory glance at the subject.
The war affected both the richest and the poorest classes
most conspicuously. The Army and Navy contractors
profited enormously through the war, while the life of the
families of disabled or killed fighters suffered the worst state
of misery. At the end of I907 there were some 93,000 families of soldiers and sailors who were receiving allowances, of
which 78,000 were due to the Russo-Japanese War, the rest
belonging to previous campaigns. In addition, there were
some 58,000 soldiers and sailors who were released with
pensions. The majority of these pensions must be regarded
as results of our conflict with Russia. It is easy to imagine
that the families of the killed or disabled soldiers and sailors
were reduced to extreme poverty, a large majority of them
having no property to fall back upon.
According to the investigations of the Women's Patriotic
Association, there were in 1912 some 83,000 families of killed
or disabled soldiers and sailors who were so destitute as to
need relief. Thus the war gave rise to a new class of needy
people, together with another class which enriched itself
suddenly. It is said that the Army and Navy contractors
did not get as great profits through the war with Russia as in
the war with China, but the Mitsui Bussan Kaisha, the Mitsu
Bishi Goshi Kaisha, the Fujita-Gumi, the Okura firm of
canned goods contractors, and the Takata Shokai (supplying
the Navy with goods) were reported to have headed the list
of those who made stupendous fortunes through the war.
Those engaged in coal-mining, shipping and sea transportation also amassed large sums of money.
How was the constitution of classes affected by the war?