The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-09-02
GREATEST Debtor Nation
AMERICA LEADS THEM ALL, EVEN
THOUGH THE BALANCE AGAINST
HER IS UNKNOWN
MAY BECOME A CREDITOR
1t VIII Take Her Twenty-Five Years
at Least TO Place Her
I'm That Posi-
tiOn.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 1-(Special)-
Since the placing of a large part of the
recent English loan in New York there
has been much talk in financial circles
of Americas becoming a creditor nation
SO far as this talk would create the i'm
preston that America has already be-
come creditor nation it is misleading.
AS a prediction for the future, however,
II is safely within the bounds of prob
ability
At present ours is the greatest debtor
nation in the world: but what of it?
The fact that it is only shows thar our
country offers greater inducements for
the investment of capital than any other.
1t is no badge of poverty. It only means
that in spite of the fact that America is
the richest nation in the world, she Of
fers opportunities for the proGta Die in
yestment of more wealth than she pos
sesses. If America should become a cred
4tor nation, II would show that money
was being withdrawn from the United
States TO be invested elsewhere; and the
presumption would be that other coun-
tries were able to offer superior induce
ments to investors
Still the position of debtor, whether
held by a nation or an individual. is not
an entirely safe one. The threat of q
demand for payment casts shadow
over all endeavor, and the demand is
more apt to be made when payment
would be most difficult than at any other
time. The money of debtor country
is held only at the sufferance Of it's
creditors, and, in time of panic, condi-
lions, bad the world over, are made
worse IN the country that owes most
because of the claims that it's creditors
are forced by their needs to make on it.
AS already stated, America is the
greatest debtor nation on the globe This
statement is safe in spite of the fact that
the balance against her is net known
Some financiers estimate 1t as low as
$40 OOJO, 600, while others think it Is four
times that amount. When the dispute
over the boundary between Venezuela
and British Guiana threatened to involve
the United States in a war with England,
Moreton Frewin, the great British hnan-
cier, said that England could not af-
ford to fight the United States, because
she would have to bear too great a pro-
portion of the loss she might inflict, as
well as all she might sustain. He said
that British holdings in the United
States amounted at that time to not less
than five billion dollars. AS Germans
Dutch, French and Belgians have also
extensive interests in this country. it
is safe to say that if Mr. Frewin was
correct, Americas Indebtedness To for
!, eigners amounted to not less than eight
billion dollars.
The Monthly Summary of Commerce
and Finance for June. and for twelve
months ending with June, which has been
published within the last two weeks,
contains statement of the exports from
and imports into the United States, of
merchandise, gold and silver for each
year, beginning with 1879 and ending with
1900 This table furnishes the best data
that can be obtained for a calculation of
the balance of debt against America.
When total imports-money as well as
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT total exports, the