The Plymouth weekly Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1860-1869, 1868-07-02


and money during the late war. In fact
the undertaking is one of no small difficult
ty, as, in majority of cases, the estimates
must be representative. There is an
enormous amount of destruction, OF which
we have the figures for ouy very small
portion. We know the amount of the
public debt, aud with tolerable degree of
certainty the number of men who have
been killed. Beyond this all is subject
only to conjecture; and outside of the pub
lie debt and of tie killed, lies the larger
share of what the war has cost us,
\ careful statistician at Washington
thus sums up the losses OF the south in
this matter of capital:
They have lost in slave property 3d.
600, 900, 600; also five crops Of cotton and
rice, O0O,OO0,0O0; banking capital,
$4,000, 900; railroads, 10 stock and des-
truction, 1924 900, 600; tobacco, grain,
stock, &c, $500, O00, O0O--so that their en-
tire loss of actual capital is 80 :500.090,-
900, larger SUN than the entire federal
debt And to this their outstanding in
debtcdness, to remain forever unpaid, of
$4,000, 000, 900, and we sec an entire
loss and Indebtedness of $4,000, 900 900,
OF the confederate states, to say nothing
of the loss Of human life"
The losses sustained by the south are
equally the losses sustained by the whole
country. When to them is added the
losses By the north, the aggregate assumes
a frishtful magnitude. The three thousand
millions Of the public debt may be charged
to the losses incurred by the north. Il is
not fair to estimate all Of this amount as
wasted, for some portion of it has been
incurred in the stimulation of Legitimate
production, and has, therefore, to limited
extent, been a benefit. But by far the
largest portion oft has been expended in
perishable materials. and this is wasted,
All this has been used in the construction
of guns, ships Of war, powder, shot,
shell, fortifcations. &C., has been just so
much taken from the capital of the coun-
try, and may therefore he set down as
dead loss.
ln addition to the amount Of actual loss
involved in the public debt, there are the
expenditures of states in the organization
OF troops. The exact amount of this we
have no mears of ascertainiug; but it is
not remote from sixty-fve to scventy-fye
millions. Large as is this sum, it falls
much below the amounts actually expend-
ed and the Indebtedness incurred By
counties and towns in the payment of
bountics to recruits, and in the support of
the families Of soldiers, and in other mu-
nIciral expenditures connected directly
with the war. 1t is a very low estimate
to place the expenditures in this direction
at three hundred millions. This estimate
is based upon the sup7osition that one
million Of soldiers and their families have
received $500 each from local organiza.
tons.
10 these expenses must BIZ added the
amounts given to sanitary fairs, christian
commissions, and other charities Colsid-
erinS tic number of charitable associa-
tions, and the liberality with which thew
have been supported, it will not be exag-
geration to estimate the an cunt expended
10 this direction at two hundred millions.
There have been many other expenses in
cident to the war which we will not emu
merate. Adding up those specially men
toned, we find that the country-that is
the United States-has given and shot
away and wasted and lost, since 1859.
very nearly ten thousand million dollars.
Immense as is this amount, it is not all :;
tor the number of killed and permanently
disabled during the war reaches close to
50O,OOO men. The loss of these men was
just so many dollars taken from the pro-
ductive industry Of the country; and the
loss of the services for four years Of the
entire number Of men employed in the
armies will add several h ludred millions
to the final total.
1t is perfectly within bounds to say that
the country has been damaged, presently
and prospectlvely, to an amount not less
than ten thousand million dollars. This
Is moastrous sum, so much so that one
cannot appreciate its dimensions 1t is a
sum equal in amount to the value of all
the improved farm lands of the states and
territories, aud all the capital invested in
manufactures, in 1860; or nearly two.
thirds OF the total valuation Of the rea! and
personal property in the states and terri
tories at the breaking out of the war. In
other words, to preserve its existence, the
nation has sropt oud ruu -, ,1olt - -.