The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-04-29

BurIenS-A Comparison of the Fig
ures at the Beginning of the Cen
fury and Those of the Present.
The recent announcement of new
British loan of 500, 900. 900 lends interest to
a statement just issued by the Treasury
Bureau of Statistics regarding the ma
tional debts of the world. This statement
shows in brief that the national debts Of
the world aggregated more than $50, eo9--
oo1,0t3 at the close Of the nineteenth cen
fury. or ten times as much as in the
closing years Of the eighteenth century
IN 1873, at the beginning of the Ma
poIeOnic wars. the national debts Of the
world amounted to approximately two
and Q half billion dollars; in 1890 they
were. according to the best information
ohtainabIe, thirty-one billion dollars. In
general terms 1t may be said that the
worlds national Indebtedness in 1900 ag-
gregated ten times what it did at the
beginning of the nineteenth century
Meantime. population has increased $50
per cent. and gold and silver, which form
the basis of the money with which debt
payments are made. 300 per cent. though
the proportion of the existing gold and
silver which is turned into coin is ROW
much greater than at the beginning of
lElt -zltl-At-t-lllil Ntlllt ttT tLAA-z<e
ton OF the various forms of credit as
! currency may have increased the worlds
! circulating medium quite in proportion to
the increase in its national debts
Whether national wealth has increased
! as rapidly as national Indebtedness IS
/ equally difficult to determine. since Of
I fetal estimates of national wealth were
made at the L thinning of the century in
{ the case of only q few nations The
/ wealth of the United Kingdom, France,
/ Spain, and the United States in 1900 IS
/ estimated at S20244640C0o while Muhall
in 1898 estimated their wealth at $50
/ rs. 81. 0oD or practically ten times that at
/ the beginning OF the century
/ The debts of these four nations in lls@
! aggregated but $3.50, 279, coo, and in 1900
/ were $11, 154 100000, OF seven times as
much as in 1888 If the rate of growth in
/ wealth which has characterized the four
! nations during the century may be also
properly applied TO the world at large. 1t
! may be said that the growth of national
/ wealth has about kept pace with that OF
national Indebtedness, Stree national
/ wealth in the cases where 1t can De
/ measured. IS today ten times as great as
! at the beginning Of the nineteenth cen
! tTrv. and the national indebtedness
/ where II can be measured, is today about
/ ten times what il was at the beginning OF
! the century.
/ This enormous Increase in rational IN
! debtednezs IS chiefly the result OF wars,
! standing armies. and works OF puDHc
utiIiry. To this may be added a tendency
/ in many. cases to create an annual deficit
bv expenditures exceeding revenues made
| in Difference to popular demand, which
/ deficits ultimately take the form Of funded
/ or bonded indebtedness. But the bulk OF
/ those enormous debts IS from war and
war Dreparations. and the construction Of
/ public works such as railways, canals,
! harBors. and the Improvement Of water
ways
OF the railways Of the world, whose
/ total cost has been estimated at $3y,g5,-
/ oug-,. about oue-third are owned by ma
rfeuaf governments. indicating that APP
/ proxinately 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 instantly to make enormous ad-
dftions to their funded indebtedness clear
" identifies this as the principal factor
in the great increase il national indebted
/ ness which has characterized the history
Of national finances in the nineteenth cen
fury.
In I748 the debt of England was e7s.0oo,-
or. while the Seven Years War brought IL
in 1862 to about c133 015.9ee The years Of
peace Intervening between that date and
;he beginning of the American war some
what reduced the debt, but at the teTmi-
nation OF the war with the American
colonies in 1854 the debt of England was
80. go. go. \ reduction followed during
the ten years OF peace. but the twenty
one years of war from 1734 to 1915 left the
Il - ? he. frr
[ which It has ever reached.
! The thirty-nine years of peace which
followed reduced II to 4S00, ,G95, hut the
g-rim-an war, which lasted two years,
/ again increased it TO GS34 10000, while ths
South African war at the close Of the cen
I try recorded another increase of Eatpy3--
( lrg Of funded Indebtedness, besides "a con
siderable increase BY eXChequer bonds. q
I which may still be added the recent loan
Z % G5g. go trJ, just announced
+ Turning to France. the evidence OF IN
( creased indebtedness b. war Is equally
/ aupareut. Her national debts at the be-
. ginning Of the Second Empire are esti-
/ mated by Baxter at &z42wivJ- and by
the EXPRESSES of the Crilaean, italian
Chinese. COchin-China, Mexican, and
German wars had. according To the same
/ authority. reached E55e yy3,0t3 by 1871
{ while the issuance Of securities amount
/ INK 70 2.Z77 gyp,yg3 francs i'm 1871, testi-
Ges 70 the cost of her war with Germany
{ In our own history the Increase Of the
Z
( 1861 To 3 Isl DJh GgJ in 1865. and from ssh
900 1898. 10 $lUi6. Oyi.JgU in 1893, further
I evidences the relation Of war TO the
I growth Of national indebtedness The re
. iatigu OF war with its ever Increasing
/ cost to national indebtedness is further
I shown by z study Of the detailed debt
Z statements Of the world at various pc
I RODS during the century presented IN
( the following table. From 1873 TO 49,
( national debts only Increased from 81
/ sS5.1t5.gGt TO IS !I9 g10.Ot1 The latter hall
[ of the century. however, has experienced
I great auo costly wars. the CTimean. The
Civ.I war IN the United States. the Franco.
! Pr-lssiau. the war between China and
. japan. and those of the closing years OF
the cauturv-aud accompanying this Pc
s. 4Ig 500 90 in 1873. 10 S5l, JgJyt1-r1 Iu 1871
/ as VIII bc seen from the table which Loi
/ lows
National indebtedness Of the world:
1888 .--....---.--.-.. s. So. 80 -
| 1870 .......... I.2gJ.35J -
iT-4s .......-...-....... S4I4.o+JpF
; 1892 .-..----- 1889 $500
1-7g .......................... - 4Iy.z52. %
1852 ------.----.-- D. % yJI 90
lg0I -.....-............... 81 8s3. - 70 90
A GRAIN EXCHANGE INSOLVEN4
Milwaukee Corporation Unable Il
Pay Its Creditors.
I y~L-T-E- VIE Nil