The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-09-23
THE WORLD BANKRUPT.
The Largo Amount Owed by Governments.

Ahr huEEe hHuuht WV" ~
An ingenious statistician, who had
been losing sleep in the pursuits Of
science, has added up the nations of the
world, and is distressed to find out that
this poor old world is really bankrupt;
that it owes more than it can pay, and
that, as the process Of dcbt-making is
continually going on, the inevitable end
will be universal smash. The gloomy
view Of the situation is supported by the
magnitude of the fgures-total amount
webelieveis some $40, 000, 600, 000or $780,
000, 900, 000--and it is plainly true that,
with the exception of the United States,
the civilized governments of the world are
rapidly increasing their indebtedness.
But we believe that this immense aggre-
gate of debt is an evidence rather of sol
vency than of bankruptcy; Il proof, not
that the world is SO poor as to be insol-
vent, but that it is so rich that no extrava-
gance can ruin it All tho great public
debts of the world are the creation of the
present century, and many of them of
the past twenty or thirty years. AT the
beginning of the century France had no
debt at all and England only n tritling
one. Italy, which is quite active as a
debtor, did not exist as nation thirty
years ago and the United States had no
public or local debt of any amount twenty
years ago.
If, in the course of eighty years, the
nations Of the world have succeeded in
loading themselves up with burden of
debt to the whole of the estimated wealth
of this country at the Inst census, it is II
proof that their material prosperity and
accumulated resources have reached pro-
portions which would have been cOnsid-
cred Impossible and mythical in any
previous era Of history. France, which
now thrives and prospers under an enor-
nous debt Of s., 700, OOO, OOO on which it
pays IN annual interest Of SOB, 900, 900,
would have found it impossible 100 years
ago to borrow the amount which is an.
nually paid for interest England owes
q debt of some 81 600, 000,O 900, the foun
datious of which were laid in the attempt
to prevent the French from being ruined
by u sovereign of their own choosing.
But if England had had any idea at the
outbreak of the Napoleonic wars OF the
outlay which would he incurred we may
be sure the ablcst tianciers would have
said that there was no credit OF COVER
ment on power Of authority which would
suffice to carry SO large debt Now,
triumphant Germany asks France for Il
trihe OF 81 600, GOO, 600 as coolly MS if it
were bottle of wine, and totally mort
cages the resources of nation before n
nation is established Was the world
any richer 100 years ago, when its lack
of credit prevented its borrowing money?
Is itany poorer now, when 1t has bor
rowed SO much that II demand for pay
ment would bankrupt it?
A very simple answer to the question
may be had by merely considering where
all the money came from which is now
invested in the Grand Liyre OF ledger Of
France, the consols Of England, and the
bonds of other countries. Before the
country could borrow there must have
been capitalists who had the money to
lend-andto spare. The nations could not
have borrowed unless the people were
able to lend, andif the world isablcto lend
$50, 000,000 900 or $40, 600, 600, 900 it can
hardly be in danger of immediate bank
ruptcy. In fact, the debts of the nations
are merely the surplus of the people,
small part of the accumulations which
have been made i'll century of industry
and of progress. Steam, electricity, and
patent inventions have accumulated i'll
the world such mass of wealth as the old
world never dreamed Of; and, as the pro-
cess of accumulation is going on faster
than the process OF borrowing, the world
is growing richer every day, richer in
spite of wars and armies and kings and
tariffs and tax-eatcrs, and other obstacles,
and there is no call for any learned statis-
tician to sit up of nights in despair over
the future of an insolvent world