The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1901-10-25
0uR NATION.

OUR FAVORED NATION.
Philadelphia Public Ledger. Daring
the first nine months of. this year. as
appears from a statement. lust issued
by the Federal bureau Of Statistics.
the United States exported do
nestle products to the value of s602-
035,745. The value of our. exnorts for
the corresponding period. of 1896 was
S599. 63,357. The months Of October
November and December have been
IN recent years our best months fo,.
expectations: In 1900 their value for
the last quarter greatly exceeded that
OF any other three months of the wear
Unless the heavy export trade us,,auv
reported for the winter months de-
canes, the vast total 1850 re-
ported for 1905 will be exceeded. in
domestic products abroad, to an IN
p~fecedented extent and are struggling
not with a treasury deficit, but with a
surplus, three great nations OH the
continent of Europe are facing grave
national problems, financial, industrial
or otherwise. Another European
country, England, is still conducting a
war which has cost double the amount
directly expended by the United
States in the Spanish-American con-
hlct and in the Philippine. operations.
n Frankfurter Zeitung reported
at the close of last week that in in
dustry and elsewhere universal des-
~pondency' was increasing in Ger
many. In the iron trade. the '.kev
INDUSTRY the crisis of dependency
has not been reached. Recent con-
sular reports from Germany show
n all business is greatly depressed.
France is confronting a deficit. The
Paris correspondent of the New York
Tribune, presenting the situation at
the close of last week, says shat the
government finances are going from
bad to worse. The revenue on Oct.
(for nine months of 19O1) is $685.
0O0, 600 below the receipts for the cor
responding period of last year. The
correspondent pessimistically OBJ
serves that the French national debt
is the greatest lever incurred by any
nation in the world The conserva-
tive Temps is quoted. That journal
significantly warns France that the
Immediate cause of the downfall of
the monarchy under Louis XVI was a
similar deficit in the budget And
this in time of peace. The cores
pondent adds:
1T is almost appalling te think. how
desperate the national financial sit
uation would be in the event of war;"
The French people themselves are
economical and thrifty, but these
traits are not represented apparently
in the French government, where the
most wasteful and reckless prodigal-
ity in public expenditures rules.
Famine threatens Russia. The lat
est information from the country is
that the struggle to save the peasant
population from starvation will be
harder than has been known since
1912, and will probably obscure the
memory of that terrible year" 1t is
devoutly to be hoped that the distress
ing outlook is overdrawn. In 1892,
the memorable famine years, over 3d.
O0O, 900 Russians were more or less
affected by the scarcity of food and
over $3.50, 100000 was expended for
their relief. Referring to the late
visit of the czar to France and the
placing of the Russian loan in that
country, the Statist said that only a
comparatively small part of the en-
pire yields a surplus revenue. A fam
inc, if it should reach the proportions
of that of 1892 would be a heavy
drain upon Russian resources.
The United States cannot rejoice
in the immediate or prospective
troubles Of other nations. Our peo-
pie would be swift to lend a hand il
famine or other dire peril should men,
ace them. We have nothing to gain
. E-1