New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-01-06
TILE DERTS OF THE NATIONS.

THE DEBTS or THE NATIONS.
The efforts Of China to get loan OF SSo,oOo'-
600 in England are reminder that the Celestial
Empire Is now at last definitely deprived OF It's
ancient distinction of having no public. or Mt
least no foreign, debt. China entered the llst
Of debt -burdened nations Immediately after the
japanese War being driven thereto by the eX-
action Of the comparatively trliling indemnify
Of SS0OOO000 She raised loan III Europe
which did not suffice to rid her Of the japanese
claims, yet burdcncd her to the amount OF S2oo'-
OOOOOO. Now she seeks to increase her debt
by SSOO00,OO0 more and Will doubtless succeed
in so doing so easy is it to swell the sum on
the wrong side Of the ledger when once the
process has been begun. In that, however,
China will merely join the great majority. For
not only are ali the nations In debt, but most
Of them are steadily and even rapidly increasing
their debts Among these latter even the
United States must be classed for the last Few
years, thanks to the second Administration or
Grover Cleveland, though II we take into COM
parison n longer series Of years this Is seen TO
be in the front rank Of debt-paying nations
4 statistician in THE Pail Mall Gazette has
reckoned in round numbers the movement or
the debts Of the chief eighteen nations for the
twenty years from 1876 TO 1896, with some in
teresting and significant results In the former
year the chief debts in order OF magnitude,
were those Of France, S4,J0O,0OO,OOO; Great
Britain, $1,000 100000; the United States, s.
400, 900, 900; Italy. Sl95Oo0000o; Austria-Hun-
gary, $1.91O.OOO,0 900; Spain, S1,S75,O0O,OOO; Rus
sia. S17OO 600. 900. and Germany, S1,OOO,OOO,-
600 In twenty years all except six Of the elgh-
teen-to wit, Great Britain, the United States,
.N.I
SPAIN Germany, India and MeXico-lncreased
their debts. In 1896 the order was considerably
changed France still stood easily first with
debt twice as big as any others. Great Britain
stood second closely pressed by Austrla-Hun-
gary. Italy was fourth, Russia fifth and Spain
sixth The United States dropped from third
to seventh, and the Australasian colonies rose
from sixteenth to eighth, while Germany fell
from eighth to sixteenth. Mexico fell from nj
teenth TO eighteenth, and Canada rose from
eighteenth to seventeenth. However, some
other nations not in the eighteen Of 1876 have
come forward and now have larger debts than
several Of the latter. Thus the Argentine Re
public and Japan should now be ranked seven
tenth and eighteenth respectively, and Canada
and Mexico pushed on 10 the nineteenth and
twentieth places.
The greatest actual increase has been that of
France amounting to no less than Sl,9OOOOO-
OOO Austria-Hungary comes next, with S1,l2O-
100000; Russia third, with SS0O,0o0,OO0, and
Italy fifth with S62OOO0000 These heavy
items indicate what burden the military sys
TEN Is to those nations Yet. by strange bit
Of irony, the nation chiefly responsible for mill
tarism Germany has decreased her debt by no
less than $4,000 900 The fourth on the list
Is Australasia. with an increase of $4,000
600 on the other hand. the largest decrease is
credited TO the United States, 500 0OOOO0; the
second TO Great Britain, 500, 100000, and the
third to Germany already noted. Spain is
credited with S1lOOO0OOO decrease, but the last
year OF war has probably reversed that show
ing IL IS also TO be borne in mind that Ger
many's favorable showing is due to omission of
all mention of the debts Of the individual States.
Thus tie national debt Of Prussia alone is now
81 Cos 900 900 or nearly four times as great
that Of the whole German Empire The total Of
the debts OF the individual States Of Germany
Is more than 200, 100000. No account Is
taken, either, of the State debts Of this coun-
try. The proportion OF Indebtedness to the pop
uation IS OF course, greatest in France, where
the yearly charge for interest now amounts TO
about s. for each man, woman and child In
Italy II is less than 81, and the same In Aus
tria-IIungary. In Spain it IS, or was in 1896.
about So %, in Great Britain So, in the United
States 43 cents, and in Germany SO cents
1t may not be inappropriate to take some
notice Of the Cuban debt. Just what It IS can
not be exactly stated. A year ago it was set
down at S350,00000, SO that II is doubtless
within bounds 10 estimate 1t now at S40OOOO,
600 Under the scheme Of Autonomy" just
established the Madrid Government has the
right TO saddle the whole Of this upon the isl
and. Under Weyler's savage rule fully one
third Of the people OF Cuba We're eXterminated,
leaving the population at present not more than
1000 600 The debt will therefore amount to
no less than 800 for each inhabitant, with a
yearly interest charge Of nearly $50 each. The
enormty of this burden will be better realized
when II is remembered that the stupendous debt
of France, which all authorities declare 70 be
the largest ever incurred by any nation, amounts
TO no more than $40 head, with an interest
charge. as stated, Of only So. The autonomous
Cuhan State will therefore have to start on its
career amid the most unfavorable financial cir
cumstances of all in the world. No wonder
many think autonomy on such terms not worth
accepting and prefer to struggle on for indie
pendcnce. which will set them free from this
burden Of the Spanish debt
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The Legislature has adjourned to let Speaker
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