The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-11-30
TIE MONEY COST OF Governments.


The homey old saying to the effect that money
is required to make the mare go finds verifcation
grand scale wien applied to nations All
central powers come nigh and local rule and admin
istration is not without its costs. There is the
expenditures of the national state. city county,
township, and school which when aggregated and
combined cause the taxpayer to groan For the
entire cost Of all government is met by taxes
direct and Indirect It's the price Of protection of
nfe and property The Boston Globe in this con
nection observes that the United States is the
richest country in the world but what it costs to
maintain it. or what other nations expend. are
matters seldom explained, except during elections
when campaign speakers vehemently express their
biased opinions concerning governmental affairs
When the balance sheet is drawn at the end of
the fiscal year all msstatements fall to the ground.
The public statement is familiar but the income
and cost Of running the government is hidden IN
appropriation bills and departmental reports
A brief glance at the past is. first of ALL in
structive. In 1874 the total expenditures or the
federal government amounted to Sc 100000, III 1914
they temporarily ran up to s3470000O; in 1854,
s55.o000O0 During the civil war they mounted to
sL295OOOooo Then they declined to $23YooOoo0
in 1873 During the ensuing decade they averaged
S26O00OOOO per annum. In 1898 they were sl59.-
100000 and in 1901, s62L59S546
The total cash income of the government for
1901 was s6993l6530. Nearly onehaf of this
large sum. or $so71sO664 was derived from inter
nal taxes, mainly on liquors and tobacco The ad.
vocates Of temperance are here confronted by
fact which do not please thcm. The liquor interest
point to as an unanswerabe argument that the
government uphoiIs and protects that business be
cause it is source Of greaeproft to the country
It is also obvious that Americans like tobacco.
Judging by the revenues the amounts expended FOR
tobacco ard liquors must be enormous
The yearly income Of the United States. above
noted. is exceeded by Russia with ss6o.+l2Ss2 and
France with s7l03l4099 Great Britain's income
IS S576.556oe2 Russia and France. however do
not exceed the United States in riches.
The expenses of foreign nations are not so easily
obtarabe as our own. bat the popular writer. REM
Bache. has compiled some statistics which give
very good idea Of the present conditions abroad.
While the United States spent s62Io0oooo last
P.
France s7Io0oo09a Great Britain 8 66S0ooooo.
Austro-Eunsary $529.ooeoo0 and Italy $3.50 10000.
The cost for the maintenance Of the heads Of
nations which abroad includes The payment Of the
expense of large royal families is: Fer the Presi
dent Of the United States s2lsssl President Of
Fra1ee $4,000. King Of italy sa.is2s59 Emperor
Of Austria sa,72o2oo Emperor Of GERMANY Ses5o-
ooo. King # England $49o4ooo. and Car Of Ras-
sia7 s6o0oO0O
As TO armament. it IS now shown that Great
Britain spert FOR her supply services" which in
cluae the army. the raw and civilian employees q
the government somewhat over s5s5Qeo0al A-srro-
Hungary paii slel526-e FIR RE support Ct her
standing army. Tie standing army Of Frenea COS,
that country si2ss229o 4, and she ra.d ss5.757s1a
for her navy. Germeny's army cost s1sooo3o9
approximately. ard her navy sII74sooo. Habs
expense for war purposes was S7e46oo5o. her army
costing her s5ss75O0O and her navy the balance
The army OF Russia drew s17Loo2oo0 from her