New-York tribune., 1908-03-25
KETTLE AND POT Nv DEBT.

The sneer of The Bourse Gazette" of ST.
Petersburg. at Japan's "tottering finances and
low credit may not be justitable but is not
altogether void of prOvocation. We explained
yesterday the serious financial straits through
which the island empire is passing and al the
same time there came TO hand confirmation of
our views in a dispatch telling of the confessed
need Of increasing Japan's already crushing
burden of taxation. That there is, as the Rus
sian paper seemstt to suggest any relation be
tween the state of Japans finances and that
coiintry'S invitation 10 our fleet to visit her.
however. we cannot believe. nor can we suppose
that her financial integrity is really "tottering"
or in danger of impairment. She has ap-
palling task before her but she will achieve it.
There is, moreover, touch of satire in the
circumstance that The BOurse Gazette made
its fling at Japan only few hours after the
Russian Minister of Finance had made Il state
ment of Russian finances which showed that
empire to be III about the same plight Japan
He reported the public debt TO be no less than
81, 80 600 That is much more than it has
commonly been supposed 10 be. and marks it by
wide margin the second largest in the world
Indeed we might not unreasonably consider ii
the largest for while the French debt is more
than 81. .S50. .0O0. 900. it is chiefly held al home
and is not intended ever 10 he paid off, but
serves as a permanent investment for the spare
funds of ,the thrifty Jacques Bonhomme. In
lis constitution the French debt is different
from any other in the world that it may well
be left out of comparison, in which case Rus
sia's is the largest of all. Great BritainS is
So $50 900 600 that of the German Empire and
the individual states is about much, Italy's
is S25G0O0OO0O and Spain's S206l 100000
There is no other above $1,000, 100000, and
only four others-Australia's Austria Hun
gary's, Hungary's alone, and India'S-above
$1,000 100000. Nor can the Russian debt be
considered proportonately smaller than some
of these because Of the yaStnesS of her pOpula-
ton Ii is true that in proportion TO the sim
pie numbers of her people her debt is not as
large as some others But if we consider how
much poorer her people are, on the average
than those of the other lands the magnitude of
her debt is restored 10 the FIRST place.
In the face OF this staggering acknowledge
rlent of Indebtedness the Russian Finance Min
lister declared that 1t was necessary enormously
TO increase the burden. The ordinary revenues
of the empire cannot bc expected to do more
than meet the ordinary expenditures. But
for army and navy, for the relief Of perennial
famine and for building more Siberian rail
roads which return profits an extraordinary
expenditure of s7JOOooo0 Il year will be needed
for years TO come, and this will have 10 be met
with new loans That makes the outlook dark
indeed for Russian taxpayers, and it causes the
fling at Japan's fiscal straits to sound forced
and hollow. We would not say that Russias
finances are tottering that her credit is low.
She will no doubt meet her obligations and
maintain her fiscal faith, But for sither Rus