With the war underway and Canadian enlistment ever increasing, the Waterloo Region’s newspapers became concerned over a variety of issues such as foodstuffs and financial burdens. One of the troubles was the financial strain of fielding an army. A Berlin Daily Telegraph article suggested it cost roughly $100 to equip each soldier. The article further explained that this total did not take into account the cost of training, transport, rations, and other challenges of preparing the nation for war. This was a great burden for the Canadian government that wished to deploy over 100,000 fully trained soldiers. This article emphasized why support from localities was so important to the Canadian War effort.
(Photo is a button manufactured by the Toronto Patriotic Fund. Courtesy of Canadian War Museum, “The Cost of War,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, 13 October 1914)
