The San Juan County index. (Aztec, N.M.) 1890-19??, 1900-07-20
MONEY AND WARFARE
NATIONS sTRENoTH MEAS
UREp BY THE FORMER.


tioHs OF the Ear,h-our own Hertz
g
Money Is an essential to the con
duct OF Before a government
can go TO war, soldiers must be en-
gagged and trained, fed and clothed,
armed and transported to the scene
Of action. Men must be paid to enroll
and drill the troops; butchers, bakers
and grocers, tailors, shoemakers and
hatmakers. gunmakers and the manu-
f~acturers Of shot and shell must all
be paid for the work they do, OF the
goods they furnish; laborers must be
hired to handle stores and supplies,
wagons and drivers to transport them,
railroad and steamship companies DO
not work for nothing, and thus At
every point, a government that would
60 to war is compelled to spend
money in enormous amounts. for
whatever is needed must be had at
once, and the government is often
forced to pay exorbitant prices for the
advantage taken Of It's necessity By
NA0ND WIZ MANH a0AADNAAMh W SELL
The debt OF France, for instance,
last year amounted to S6,446. 79S, 1898,
the most s%tupendous national obliga-
ton In the history Of finance. This
sum, lnconceivable in It's magnitude,
a mountain load which will burden
the French people for generations to
come, was incurred by n short war.
The Franco-Prussia conflict lasted
only a few short months, and II not
only decided the place Of France in
the family OF Europe, but II saddled
the nation with a debt which In all
probability will never be paid. No
such indemnity as that demanded by
Germany from France was ever asked
by any nation; the fact that II was
paid with marvellous promptness is
the strongest tribute that can be Of
fered, not only to the commercial and
industrial prosperity, but to the pa
triotic zeal of the French.
The debt Of Russia is mostly the
result Of the giant military establish
ment by which the Iron Empire is
maintained in its integrity. During
the past few years considerable addi-
tions to the Russian debt have been
caused by the extension Of the en-
plre's railroad systems along the
southern and western frontiers, but
more especially in Siberia. The rail-
road debt Of Russia, however, is but
a trihe compared with the army debt,
and when 1t is remembered that the
Russian army on a peace footing num-
hers over 100000 men, no surprise
need be felt at the statement that the
Russian debt is over three and a half
billions.
While France, Russia and Great
Britain have the heaviest burdens Oh
debt and taxation, there are other ma
lions AFFLICTED with obligations not Sc
large in amount, but even heavier
when compared with the national
ability to pay. The debt Of italy, for
instance, is 50, 1924, 1926, 1929, and that Of
Austria S2.S66, Ss9, 5S9, but in each case
the resources of the country are more
severely taxed TO meet this smaller
obligation than are those Of the three
largor states (which nav a muCf
heavier debt, and in each case the
obligation was incurred either by wal
or by preparations for warlike con
t~ingencies that might arise. Leaving
out Of the calculation the ~second-ratt
powers, the people Of the leading
states Of Europe are now paying in.
terest on the stupendous sum of $22,
1876, OOO, 900. the greater portion Of
which was expended either in war OIL
on armies and navies.
We ourselves have had an expert
ence of the cost Of war. Our debt a
present is a little more han two
billions, a mere trife when compared
with the wealth and resources OF thii
great country, but the debt itself, lik'
that Of every ether nation, Is, in thu
main, the heritage Of war. Our ma
tional obligations were heavy imme
diately after the close of the revolu
ton, but were rapidly undergoing
liquidation when the second war witt
I Great Britain came on. The variou
Indian wars, the war with Mexico
the civil war, and the recent conhic
with Spain are all accurately note
in the movement of the public debt.