The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-02-13
That Is What the Interest Bearing
Debts of This Nation
Amount to.
The Yearly Interest Amounts to
S3,OOO.OOO, 900, or More Than
All Our Products.
A Resume of Bonded Debts That
Ought to Rouse Americans
to Their Senses.

The all absorbing scheme with the United
States government today is the increase of
the war power of the nation. ct now costs
$50, 7l20l4 a year to maintain it, without
counting cost of construction, $6,S31 1903
year. See page 2O4, abstract of 18th CEN
sus)
If we look at the enormous interest bear
ing debt that has been imposed on the peo-
pie of this country almost entirely under
Republican rule), we need not wonder why
1t is necessary to strengthen the war foot
ing. George Washington said: Beware of
government bolstered up with bayonets"'
Without bayonets, the American govern
ment of today would fall.
The following figures. taken from relia-
Die documents, are in many cases below
the actual debt, but in case more than
1t. The portion that doesns bear interest
is far eclipsed by the debt we are unable
to give, from undisputable authority
(Some may say, the sinking fund should be
deducted from it. We say, no; it has no
more bearing on the debt than the farm
er's unharvested wheat has on his mort
gage. The sinking fund is an asset; so
is the green wheat an asset. The interest
goes on the same as if no asset existed)
Sept. IA, 1893, Senator j. w. Daniel (Con.
Rec. vol. XIV, No 30, page 1855 said:
The private Indebtedness of the country
was $19, 100, 100000 in 1880. This does not
include railroads, telephone, telegraph
street railway, water, gas, electric and
other companies, which he said, ARE vast
beyond compute ton
Poor's Manuel for 1893, page LILO, gives
the total liabilities of the Western Union
Telegraph Company as $121, 760, S069S
statistical extract 14th, page 276 gives
the New York Mutual Telegraph Com
pany's stock at $2,5O0,G0O; the American
Rapid Telegraph Companys capital stock
at $4000,000 Although it mentions the
Northwestern Telegraph Company, it does
not give its capital stock. (The three last
named companies have leased their lines
to the Western Union Telegraph Company
The Postal Telegraph Company's capital
stock at $12,5O,0OO. On page 2H it gives
the capital stock of the American Bell Tele-
phone Company at $S0,0O0 600, and the Long
Distance Company's a $200O,000 (This does
rot include the bonded, ating, funded
and other debts of the six last named COM
panles Some may say, the capital stock
is not a debt. We say it is a debt as the
company owes that amount to the stock
holders. 1t draws interest; it must pay
salaries and dividends.
A conservative estimate of the debt of
the various street railway companies would
place it at $l,000,000 Still we will not
count it,
Statistical abstract 18th. page 81, gives
the liabilities of $50 national banks at
S,l4l 900. On page Al it gives the liabil-
tiles of 1,O11 savings banks at 81, S54, 81 O69.
cThis does not include their capital stoc.)
Census bulletin No. gives the United
States national debt (foatng and bonded)
at s1555, 63S, S7S.7S.
Senator Daniel said Congressional Record
volume XIV, No. sc, pages 117O-D: THE
debt of % states in 1899 was s4,647, ooO 900,
without counting Ohio Texas, California
and other states of lesser magnitude"
We will only count % states and forget
the other %, also all the territories.
Census bulletin IA gives the debt of S5S
municipalities at s754,949 76s. This includes
only II cities Minnesota, with a popula-
ton of 219,672 and gives the debt as 9,016, al
(see page 62). while it omts 10 cities with a
population of 242,464, amongst which is
Minneapolis, with a bonded debt, less the
sinking fund, of 1920 1863, as we find in
later bulletin issued March 10, 1892; there
fore we it does not give one-half
the municipal debt of Minnesota, and what
is true of this state is true of others. Still
we use the low figures
Census bulletin No. gives the debt of
the various counties as $145, 3,S50
An abstract of the 18th census page 199
gives the debt of the several school dis
tricts as $50, 10, 94S.
Poor's Manual for 1893 gives the debt of
the railroads as 11,443, $3.50
In the insurance pocket index printed by
the Spectator Company, New York; for
1894, we find 1877 fire insurance companies
with a cash capital (Which is a debit of
$1557, S65. This does not include the life
insurance companies.
In the investors supplement, volume 6,
pages 1873 to 152, find the debt of al
miscellaneous companies to be $1,547, 813 957.
On pages 155 to 1853 find the debt of 26
trust companies as 1888, 49,, 632.
There various other communica tons
which we must omit
ST-NTIAPV