Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1901-08-15
NATIONAL DEBTS.

o. p. Austin, chief of the Unitecs
States bureau of statistics. has been
studying the rational 1eots az the
world, and in the August North Ameri-
can Review he presents a mass OF facts
concerning them. To the average per
son pages filled with figures and de-
auctions are dry reading but what Re
presents is full OF interest.
According to Mr.. Austin's figures the
national debts OF the great civilized
nations aggregate nearly thirty-tvp
thousand million dollars, or to put il
more briefly thirty-two billion dollars
In figures, ii is $3l 500 900 900.
The Austrian debt which at the milo
die of the century was 5000 600 600, "
now 81 200. 100000; that of Germany
exclusive of the state debts has i'll
creased from Sll59iS, 600 in 1870 10
s557 600 900 in 1900; that OF Italy from
81 400 600, 900 In 1869 to $25SS 000 00G
in 1900: that Of Russia. from 5000 Geo
goo in 1853 TO more than So 900 600 0ef.4
in 1900. and that of France. from a hit
tie over billion dollars in 1852 &c /,
S.. 500 600 600 in 1900
The English speaking nations. the
United Kingdom and the United States
-omittng the English-s epakiug col
onies for the moment-are the only
ones which have shown, during the pc
riod under consideration. disposition
to decrease rather than increase their
national debts.
The British debt in 1857 was over
81 600 600 900 and by 900 had been re
duced to about $4,000 900 600. though
the United Kingdom has since March,
, 1900, increased her debt by nearly sA50.-
600 600, rhe debt of the United States
reached is highest figure IN 1865, when
it stood at $2,756. 43l, 75i, out by 1900 il
had been reduced To 81 ,l07 III ,257. the
figures in each case representing the
total debt less cash in the treasury
In the period from 1870 to 1900, II
| may be said, in general terms, that the
debts of the Latin American nations
have increased during that period 30
per cent, those of Europe exclusive Of
the United Kingdom. 100 per cent.
those OF the Asiatic nations, whose
debt statistics are avilable, zoe pee
| cent: those OF the British colonies. ex~
elusive of India. from three to four
| hundred per cent, while the United
| Kingdom, meantime, reduced her dehf
| rs per cent and the United States re-
duced hers so per cent,
The interest charges on these debts
amount annually to about 81 800 ,0Oo.-
| 900 or something more than per cent
| on the whole amount, Such nations ms
| the United States and Great Britain
| have been able to borrow money Mt
from 2 to per cent while other ma
tons paid higher rates.
IL may be set down that some al
these debts Will never be paid. At some
| time. possibly not very far in the fn-
| ture. there will be great wars and rev.
olutions in Europe and on other CONT
which have gone farthest on the road
| to decay and have least ability to en-
| dure the stress OF a great general strug
| gle The debts of such nations viii
be extinguished by the loss OF indie
pendence and separate national exist
| ence. In such wars there will nece<-
sarily be enormous destruction of prop
erty But for that the conquest OF L.
nation would not destroy it's assets.
| although, of course. all the inflated
values would be greatly reduced Bue
for the immense destruction OF wealth
| In war. the fall OF nation would moi
be different from that OF an individual