The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-02-16
GREATEST OF WAR DEBTS.
American Civil Conflict Cost This
Country Nearly 5000, 900.

If the time ever comes when the his
tory of wars shall be written on their
financial side. it will be more clearly
understood how much armies and ma
vies. too often made the fulcrum of
every calculation. must depend upon
the energy, determination and strategy
displayed in assembling the great Sums
of money needed in modern warfare
The world has grown larger in many
ways but forty years does not make
.Jav Cookies task seem the less gigantic.
France succumbed to Prussia in 1871,
after having increased her debt about
a thousand million dollars, exclusive of
the great indemnity of one thousand
millions more which Bismarck exacted
of her and which, the French represent
atives declared at the peace negotia-
tions exceeded the total amount of
money in circulation in the entire
world. To the French. the whole cost
of the war and it's subsequent events,
with the indemnity. was about eighteen
hundred and fifty million dollars of in
debtedness-
Russia and Japan came to the end of
their recent war after Russia had added
about $500 100000 to her debt, sum
which. of course, takes no account of
her vanouished navy or of many losses
which later will be carried into the
general fund of debt. According TO the
figures supplied by the Japanese en-
bassy al washington. Japan spent
about $3.50. 100000.
These sums seem great. but the
American civil war added to the debt
of the Union nearly $500 0e0, 600, ex-
elusive of all that could be obtained by
heavy ordinary and extraordinary
taxes. We raised in FIVE years. by long
loans and virtually without foreign aid.
almost as great a sum as Great Britain
borrowed and put to her national ac-
count between The years 1893 and 1916,
the period of her prolonged struggles
with Napoleon and her second war with
the United States.
BESIDES all this. there were the debts
of the loyal states and municipalities,
as well as a great mass of obligations
which never were and never will be
maid represenJing the pecuniary sacri-
Ace of the people of the south. Indeed
the. most careful and expert of statis-
tics cannot compute the full money cost
of the civil war.
The vast expenditures of these years
could not be met by any method known
to the government of the United States.
Robert Morris was accounted to nave
achieved A great triumph when he sent
washington $4,000 for his operations
around Trenton. and borrowed $50 600
from Rochambeau to set the ragged
continental army before Yorktown.
Stenhen Cirard. another Philadelphia
hnsrcier. had assisted the government
/ during the war of 1872; and Enoeh w.
Clark and Jay Cooke, of the same city.
nroc,Ired a few millions to aid the gov
| eminent in ging its uprighteous war
upon Mexico.
Rut this was as nothing in COMPARE
son with the great five-twenty loan and
the seven-thirty loan which, in the civil
uar Law Cooke placed for Secretaries
| chase Fessenden and McCulloch, and
/ the subsidiary operations which he I'M
/ dertook for the government. He sold
/ bonds and treasury notes when the de-
partment and the sub-treasuries could
not sell them. just as he could catch
] Ash where others angled in vain. He
surpassed all other bankers and bro
kers whom the secretaries tried, and
thew were always forced to return to
him a & the one man who could draw
from the people the great sums daily
needed 10 manage the war.
The unalterable foe of the Reputation
| of any of the debt which he had been
instrumental in distributing among the
peopIe Jay Cooke was both a whole
/ some and a potent influence IN political
and financial circles after the war had
ended. He advocated the early CONVEX
sion of 6 per cent bonds into issues
hearing a lower rate of interest and
cer.ai,1lv would have effected his fund
/ inc of the debt IL he had been permit
tod tn undertake IL. What he did in
! This line under Secretary Boutwell,
through the famous syndicate Ga
word which was brought into the Ian
| euaee TO describe this operation). was
1xelI done. after envious rivals had first
been tried, and had failed to perform
the service for the treasury--The Gen.
f111-v