The Jennings daily record., 1902-06-25
Debts Of the World.

The recent announcement of a new
British loan of $3e0, ,OOO, 900 lends in
terest to a statement just issued by
the treasury bureau of statistics re-
garding the national debts Of the
world. This statement shows in brief
that the national debts of the world
aggregated more than $50, 900, 900 900 at
the close of the nineteenth century, or
ten times as much as In the closing
years OF the eighteenth century.
In 1898, at the beginning of the Ma
poleonic wars, the national debts OF
the world amounted to approximately
two and a half billion dollars; in 1900
they were, according to the best in
formation obtainabie, thirty-one bill
lion dollars. In general terms it may
be said that the worlds national in
debtedness in 1900 aggregated ten times
what it did at the beginning of the
nineteenth century. Meantime popu-
lation has increased $50 per cent, and
gold and silver, which form the basis
OF the money with which debt pay
ments are made 800 per cent. though
the proportion of the existing gold and
silver which is turned into coin is now
much greater than at the beginning of
the nineteenth century, while the utili-
cation of the various forms of credit
as currency may have increased the
worlds circulating medium quite in
proportion to the increase in it's ma
tional debts.
Whether national wealth has in
creased as rapidly as national indebt-
edness is equally difficult to determine,
since official estimates of national
wealth were made at the beginning of
the century in the case of only a few
nations. The wealth of the United
Kingdom, France, Spain and the Unit
ed States in 1900 is estimated at $40
244 $40 900, while Mulhall in 1896 esti-
mated their wealth at S195,75 ,s29 600,
or practically ten times that at the
beginning of the century. The debts
of these four nations in 1898 aggre
gated but 81 $50, ,279 900, and in 1900
We're S11, 7G4 600. 900 or seven times as
much as in 1898.
This enormous increase in national
Indebtedness is chiefly The result of
wars, standing armies, and works of
public utility. To this may be added
tendency in many cases to create an
annual deficit by expenditures exceed
ing revenues made in Difference TO
popular demand, which deficits ulti-
mately take the form of funded or
bonded Indebtedness. But the bulk OF
these enormous ueUts 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 ,.ncr Iaeu
mated at 10000 600, 900. about one
third are owned by national govern
ments, indicating that approximately
one-third OF the increase in indebted
ness has been applied 10 the works of
this character. But the fact that great
wars have compelled the nations en-
gagged in them to instantly make
enormous additions to tn heir funded in
debtedness clearly identifies this as the
principal factor in the great increase
in national Indebtedness which has
characterized the history of national
finances in the nineteenth century. In
174S the debt of England was G76 ,00o,-
600, while the Seven Years War
brought it in 1853 to about 3135, ,000,-
900. 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 G273, 900, 600.
a reduction followed during the ten
years of peace, but the twenty-one
years of war from 1894 to 1915 left
the total debt at &S02 100000, the
highest point which it has ever reach
ed. The thirty-nine years OF peace
which followed reduced it to Soo,-
100000, but the Crimean war, which
lasted two years, again increased it TO
1884, 600, ,000. while the South African
war at the close of the century record
ed another increase of 6 100000 OF
funded Indebtedness, besides a consid-
cradle increase by eXchequer bonds, to
which may still be added the recent
loan of G6O.0O 900 just announced.
"wn 1t Pay?"