The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1874-08-13
N4TTONALDEBTS

the most hopeful ana rOsedte view OF the
future. The burdens of taxation are be-
ginning TO be seriously felt, and the high
cost of the means of living which this
taxation so largely causes, in connection
with a lessening demand for labor and
its products during the last few months,
has brought about what are known as
1hard times" in considerable portion of
the country.
It Is a good time now for people to con-
slider seriously the evils of debt and not
only Of our National debt, which is the
largest but also the State, county, mu-
nicipal and town debts, which so abound
among us and impose so serious aburden
upon the resources of all classes of the
people. There are severalways in which
The burdens of debt borne by different
peoples may be compared. In the first
place one may measure them by thegross
aggregate or capital of the debt. In this
aspect Great Britain used to be the most
heavily indebted Nation of the world,
but France, since her late war of 1901,
comes first, England second and the Uni
ted States stand third. The figures are
for the years 1874;
Aggregate e, debt P PoPgl9SP AZ 81 per s3gitS sgoS
Great Britain, S,925O00000 Sl,S57SlS 1880
United States, 2,25OOO0OO Ssl55S,Sn dW
In the second place, we may measure
the burden of public debt by the annual
interest which it imposes upon the tax
payers. This is the method of COMPARE
son most in vogue on the Continent of
Europe, and it is unquestionably tairer
way of estimating it, so far as current
burdens and resources are concerned,
than that which looks only at the aggre-
gate amount of the debt. For it must be
remembered that the rate per cent. of
interest that is paid varies very widely
in different Nations, and upon different
portions of the same Nation. While
Great Britain pays only three per cent
annual interest on her vast public debt
of four thousand millions of dollars, the
United States, on the other hand, pays
rather more than five per cent. on the
| larger share of our National debt. Be-
sides we must consider in any estimate
of this characterthat some National debts
land notably that of Great Britain) are
not expected to be paid, but to rest as a
permanent charge upon the resources OF
the country, and method of investment
for the capital and savings Of all classes.
Doubtless debt which is to be liquida-
ted so as to reduce it to nothing in GER
| tain or uncertain number Of years, should
be estimated as to its aggregate amount
rather than to its annual charge in the
shape of interest But in regard to a
debt which it is never designed to liqui-
date, but to continue paying interest on
for permanent or indefinite yeriOd, the
Interest ch@geis the, factor of most inn
portance nIdetermining its burden upon
the people, A debt of S4,0O0,0OO,O00 at
Ithree percent. is less burdensomc than
a debt of 81, jOO0OO0OO would be ., five
per cent.
A third method of estimating the bur-
den of National debts isby dividing the
annual charge Of the debt by the popula-
ton. Thus We shall arrive At the actual
annual burden to each person which is
borne BY any Nation. Ofcohrse this is
not strictly accurate for purposes Of full
comparison, since it makes no allowance
for difference in. means. In a country
like England, for example, where the av-
erage amount of property owned by each
individual is large, the burden Of even
its enormous debt divided per cdpitG
would be less than much smaller debt
is in Russia, where the amount Of wealth
per head is prodigiously less than in
Great Britain. Notwithstanding this the
per capita method is perhaps the nearest
| practical approach to q common measure.
l. Still another method Of comparison
would be to ascertain the proportion
which the annual charge of the debt
bears to the annual income of a people.
This method, were it practically feasible,
would bring us to the fairest and most
accurate measure of the proportional bur-
den of public debts Unfortunately it Is
not possible to ascertain the aggregate
income in any country much less in the
majority of countries which are burdened
with public debts In I Great Britain,
where the science of statistics has been
carried into as many channels of political
and social life as anywhere, it was est
mated that the charge of the whole debt
of the Nation in 1870, was tax of nearly
three per cent. on the estimated gross in
come of the people of 860000000 pounds
sterling. But this was mere estimate,
and it is not possible in our country, in
the absence of any returns, to arrive at
any conclusion based upon proportion
of the annual charge of the public debt
to the annual private incomes of the peo-
pie.
England stands almost alone among
the Nations for the vast amount and
probable permanency Of its public debt
Although it has sometimes stood higher
than its present aggregate, it has never
stood much higher, and the slight reduc-
tions of its volume in times of peace and
great prosperity have been generally
more than counterbalanced by the addi-
tiocs to the debt in times Of war. The
funded debt of England was commenced
as far back as the days of William III,
who. after the revolution of 1858. created
loans to meet the expenses of his wars
with France, which amounted by 100 to
thesum Of e12,600,000. 1t had grown by
successive wars and expenditures to
e133 100000 in 1853, and the eleven years
peace that followed reduced it by only
e5,0OOOO0. The American war in ten
years doubled its amount, and left in1784
at f273,000,000. Tenyears of peace again
reduced it less than 3,4O0,0 600, when the
French war succeeded, and in twenty-one
years much more than doubled the d9bt
adding the enormous amount of G62l, !
100000. The total debt in 1915 thus
amounted to G902,000,000, which is the
largest aggregate at which the British
natonial debt ever stood. The thirty
nine years peace following reduced i
Gl0O, 100000, and although the Crimear
war raised its amount in two years by
, about e34,OOO,0O0, the peace since 1851
has again reduced tito its present amoun
of R7S5,O0O,0 900, (or about $3,925, ,000) IL
1874. At the rate Of progress recent!
made in reducing the nominal capital o
England's national debt, it would requir
its final extinction. Against this rathe
l remote contingency, is to be counted tn
D fact that the additions made in years Q