The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1898-01-27
National Debts.

A statisticisn 10 the Pail Mall Gazette
has reckoDed In round numbers the
movement OF the debts of the chief eigh-
teen nations for the twenty years from
1876 TO 1896. With some interesting aud
| significant results. 10 the former year
the Chief debts, in order OF magnitude,
were those OF France. 1880, 600, 900 ;
Great Britain. %, 800, 900, 900; the United
states, 81, 400 DOC, 900; Italy, 81. $50. 900,
900; Austria Hungary, $l,9l0, 000. 900 ;
Spain, 81, 875 900, 900; Russia. 81, 70O.-
0O0,OO0; aud Germany, $1,000. 900 900.
Ia twenty years all except SIX of the
| fighteen-to wit: Great Britain. the
United States, spain, Germany, India,
and MexicC-iDcfeased their debts. In
1896 the order WAS considerably chang
ed. France still stood easily first with
debt twice as big as any others.
Great Britain stood second, close pressed
by Austria-Hungary. Italy was fourth,
Russia fifth, and Spain sixth. The
United States dropped from third to
seventh, and the Austraasian colonies
rose from sixteenth to eighth, while Ger
many fell from eighth to sixteenth.
Mexico fell from fifteenth to eighteenth,
and Canada rose from eighteenth TO
seventeenth. However, some other ma
tions, not In the eighteen OF 1876. have
come forward and now have larger debts
than several OF the latter. Thus the Ar
gentine Republic aud Japan should now
be ranked seventeenth and eighteenth
respectively, and Canada and Mexico
passed on to the nineteenth and tWen-
lieth places.
The greatest actual increase has been
that OF France, amounting to no less than
vi ,3OO, 0O0,000 Austria Hungary comes
next with Sl,l20, 000,0 900; Russia third
with $500 DOC, 200; and Italy fifth, with
$3.50, 200, 900. These heavy items indi-
cate what burden the military system
Is to those nations. Yet. by strange
bit Of irony, the nation chiefly RESPONSE
BILE for militarism, Germany, has de-
creased her debt by no less than S575..
100000. The fourth on the list is Aus
tralasia, with an increase of 1915, 600, 900
On the other hand, the largest decrease
is credited to the United States. $3.50
100000. the second to Great Britain
$675, 900 600; and the third to Germany
as already noted. Spain is credited Will
Sll ,OOO,OO0 decrease, but the last veal
OF war has probably reversed that show
ing. The proportion of Indebtedness Il
the population is, of course. greater il
France where the yearly charge for in
terest now amounts to about s. for eact
man, woman and child. In Italy it il
less than 81, aud the same in Austria
Hungary. In Spain il is, or was in 1896
about 1928, in Great Britain SO, in tn,
United states 43 cents, and in Germany
3 cents.
1t may not be inappropriate to TAX,
some notice of the Cuban debt. Jus
what it is cannot be exactly stated. A
year ago it was set down at $3.50, 900, 900
so that it is doubtless within hounds tt
estimate it now at $500, 100000. Unde
the scheme of "autonomy" just establish
ed the Madrid government has the RICH
to saddle the whole of this upor the ia
land. Under Weyler's savage rule full,
one-third of the people of Cuba were ex
terminated, leaving the population a
present not more than 100000. Tn,
debt will therefore amount to no les
than $500 for each iuhabitant, with s
yearly interest charge of nearly $50 each