The Topeka state journal., 1901-05-01

tury is given may be also properly ap-
piled to the world at large. It may be
said that the growth of national wealth
has about kept pace with that Of ma
tional indebtedness, since national
wealth in the cases where it can be
measured Is today 10 times as great a.
at the beginning Of the nineteenth CEN
tury and the national Indebtedness
where 1t can be measured, is today
about ten times what it was at the be-
ginning of the century.
This enormous increase in national
indebtedness Is chiefly the result Of
wars, standing armies, and works OF
public utility To this may be added a
tendency in many cases to create an an
nual deficit by expenditures exceeding
revenues made in Difference to popular
demand, which deficits ultimately take
the form of funded or bonded indebted
ness. But the bulk Of these enormous
debts is from war and war preparations
and the construction of public works,
such as railways. canals, harbors. and
the improvement Of waterways
OF the railways of the world. whose
total cost has been estimated at 0.o0o,-
OOO, 900, about one-third are owned by ma
tionaI governments, indicating that ap-
proximately one-third of the increase IN
indebtedness has been applied to works
Of this character. But the fact that
great wars have compelled the nations
engaged in them to instantly make enor-
nous additions to their funded indebted
ness clearly Identifies this as the prin-
cipal factor in the great increase in na-
tional indebtedness which has char
acterized the history Of national hnanees
in the nineteenth century.
In 174S the debt of England was s76.-
600, 00O while the Seven Years War
brought it in 1868 to about 2133 100000
The years of peace intervening between
that date and the beginning of the
American war somewhat reduced the
debt. but at the termination OF the war
with the American colonies in 1884 the
debt of England was 2273. 600 600. A
reduction followed during the ten years
Of peace, but the q years of war from
1874 to 1915 left the total debt at 6902,-
D00 900, the highest point which it has
ever reached. The 80 years Of peace
which followed reduced it to $500. .00o,-
)00 but the Crimean war which lasted
two years again increased it to 9SS4,000,-
700, while the South African war at the
close Of the century recorded another in
crease of e30,000,000 of funded indebted
ness, besides a considerable increase by
exchequer bonds. to which may still be
added the recent loan OF s60.000,O00 just
Turning to France the evidence of in
,reased. indebtedness by war is equally !
apparent. Her national debts at the be-
ginning of the Second Empire are esti-
mated by Baxter at 2245. 900. 900 and by |
he expenses of the Crimean, italian, |
chinese. Cochin China, Mexican and Ger |
nan wars. had. according to the same |
authority, reached $3.50 000.0 900 by 1871. !
while the issuance of securities |
mounting to 2.27z million frances in /
ST. testifies to the cost of her war with /
Germany.
In our history the increase Of the in
crest bearing debt from S657 900, 900 in /
$50 to 81, 3Sl. .0O0. 900 in 1865, and from |
s47 600 in 1898 to 81 046. 600, 900 in 1899.
urther evidences the relation of war to |
he growth Of national indebtedness.