Last Saturday the new German Army Bill and the proposals
for extraordinary taxation to meet the huge increase of expenditure were laid before the Reichstag. The addition to the numbers of the army, and the various changes involved, will cost between now and the end of 1915 from £60,000,000 to £65,000,000. Of this enormous sum it is proposed, according to the summary of the proposals sent by the Times correspondent, to raise about £50,000,000 by a levy on capital and on large incomes. The rest will be obtained from new taxes, which will remain in force after 1915. About 63,000 recruits are to be taken annually in future, over and above the present number, in order to swell the army. The total . increase aimed at is 4,000 officers, 15,000 non-com- missioned officers, and about 117,000 corporals and privates. By the law of 1912 the peace strength of the army was 544,211; in future it is to be 661,176. In the explanatory statement no use is made of the mischievous excuse adopted by the North German Gazette lately, that the increase is due to provocations from France. The reason is quite truthfully and simply stated to be that events in the Balkans have upset the balance of power.
