Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1907-02-23
VAST WEALTH OURS
UNITED STATES RICHEST couN-
TRY ON EARTH.
outstrirping Anything That Ever Has
Been Known In History Is the
Measure of Uncle Sans
Affiuence.

span of its young life this infant ma
ton of ours has broken all records re-
Iating to the accumulation of riches,
and we are beginning to think of bill
lions instead of millions. Take it any
way you like, and the measure of our
af1uence outstrips anything that has
ever been known before, says the New
York Sun
Our country has more actual money,
more gold, larger volume of exports,
greater banking facilities, richer
farms, more productive mines, more
miilionaires, more well-to-do trades
men, rsore independent farmers, more
highly paid laborers and greater dis
tribution Of the luxuries which riches
bring than any other nation has ever
enjoyed since time began.
One day last October Uncle Sam
had gathered into his money store
house in Washington the greatest
amount of gold ever collected at one
place in the history of the world
gold representing 1911 1893, S99. This
was indeed high-water mark. We
had there in one little room more gold
than was in circulation in Great Bril-
tain.
The largest receipt ever given, the
greatest money trust ever undertaken
in history was when the present treas
nrer of the United States, Charles H.
Treat, went into Office. He receipts to
Ellis H. Roberts, the retiring treas
rer, for all the money and securities
in the vaults of the treasury, total
of S1,259, 59S ,2TS.5S. 1t required from
July L to September 5 to count the
money. and at the completion of the
task the accounts balanced to a frac-
ton.
The costliest governmental estab-
lishment in the world is the British
navy, upon which a billion and half
has been expended within the last ten
years. Yet three individual Ameri-
cans-Rockefel1er, Carnegie and Clark
could have paid the whole bill and
still have some pocket money left
The United States is now spending
about hundred millions year on its
navy, and we are new at this kind of
expenditure. That we are not invest
| ing more than we can afford is shown
| by the fact that our display-loving
| women spent $100,000,000 for dia-
monds purchased in foreign lands dur
ng the last two years. In fact, we
| are so rich that the sales of produce
and manufactured articles that we are
sending abroad each year is equal to
| a sum sufficient to support all the
navies in the world.
When it comes in individual wealth
we have a dozen citizens who are
worth more than all the kings and
rulers of the world, taken collectively
| Or severally. The car of Russia is
reputed to have a greater income than
| 1T
fortune is so mixed up with the gov.
ernmental revenues that it is impossi
| bic to separate them. If distinction
could undoubtedly make comparison
with the weak-spined Nicholas, and
show the biggest pile. The Russian
! of an empire, centuries old in the max.
! ing, while the Ohio oil magnate can
remember when he had nothing.
! To say that the total valuation OF
| the wealth of the-United States is
is1O7 600, 0OO, 900 is not understandable
| IA hundred billion dollars is such a
pile of money that the simple mind
| cannot grasp it's meaning on the in,
slant. 1t is more than twice the total
amount of the wealth of the United
Kingdom, of France, or of Germany
and over three times that of Russia
or of Austria-Hungary. Probably the
best way of Illustrating the actual ex
tent of Uncle Sans riches is to state
| that if he could convert all his assets
into money he would have nearly four
times as much as would be required
| Ito pay of the entire national debt OF
all the governments in the world. In
lcluding his own
| Cost 81 400 to Collect 81.