The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1910-11-24
EIGHT PAeEs-PR1cE FIVE CENTS.


ed much for its extravaganza. He
says there are few cases where any
city of standing in the United States
has repud!ated its obligations.
After a review of the finances Of
Kansas City, Philadelphia, Boston,
Chicago and Richmond. the author de-
clares the high price of American
municipal securities is due partly to
the restrictions on borrowing which
the states impose.
British Mistakes.
British credit has been injured in
recent years, according to tho author.
by a policy begun in 1882 While
with one hand the chancellor of the
exchequer was ext!nguishing consols,
with the other he was creating ter
mfnable annuities for naval works.
Before the budget Of 1889 the secre-
tary for war announced that this
policy would likewise be followed in
meeting army expenses. AS result,
the author states. consols fell from
ITO in March. April, May. 1899, to
10S In June, LOG in July, and 105 in
Angus.
The war with the Transvaal which
broke out in October, brought them
only to 1903. More immediate injury,
the author believes, was therefore
done to British credit by the financial
policy which preceded the war than
by the actual outbreak of the war.
But for the prolongation of the war
after the occupation of Bloemfontein
and Pretoria he is of the opinion that
the price of consols would have been
little affected. Mr.. Hirst holds the
belief that treaty of peace with
guarantees and indemnity, following
upon these military successes, would
have avoided the longest and most
costly period Of the war. The policy
Of annexation was adopted. however.
and British consols fell from 101 to
91&. the lowest average monthly
point touched during the war. From
635 100000 pounds in 1899, the lowest
point since the Napoleonic wars, the
debt rose to 79S.00O.O0O pounds in
1903. The national savings Of thirty
six years Of peace were swept away
by national borrowings during three
years Of war.
BY March 81. 1909. the debt had
been reduced to 754.O00.0oO pounds.
The price of consols, however, has
still gone down. Their fall is attri-
buted by Mr.. Hirst to the state Of the
international money market. the
heavy issues of colonial government
securities. and municipal stocks in
competition with consols, and the an
nual emission Of some five millions of
Irish land stocks. He has no doubt
that but for the annual appropriation
to the sinking fund the 21s per cent
consols would have fallen we'll below
eighty.
Germany's Debts.
The debt Of the German empire has
risen from 267,S0O,000 marks in 1881
to 4,253 100000 in 1908. The debt of
the various states has increased in
the meantime from 5,244,3OO,0O0 to
14,362, 100000 marks. Communities
with more than 10000 Inhabitants
have had an increase of from ILL.,
100000 to 5,295, 100000 marks. Though
most Of the local debt and a great
part Of the state debts are more or
less for reproductive purposes, the
imperial debt Is considered by the
author as, in the main, a dead
weight" debt The empire has of late
years pursued policy of issuing
treasury bills to cover its deficits.
This unfunded debt, at times very
large, has been a source Of anxiety
in German banking circles.
France has debt larger than that
of any other country. Its capital val
ue on January /, 1908, was 30,161.-
100000 francs. This is sixteen times
that Of the English debt. Alienation
may be looked for from the reversion
of the chief railway lines to the state
between 1850 and 1860. The average
price Of the French three percents
has risen from 7O.57 in 1877 to 1888
in 1897, to fall to 96.15 in 1908.
In the last part of the monograph
the author deals with the debt of the
United States, tracing it's history from
the beginning Of the nation to the
present time. The methods of re-
demption followed at different times,
the market price and net yield of the
bonds, and their use as deposit for
national bank notes issues are among
the subjects considered by the author
Trade Balance Of the United States.
In the article entitled "The Trade
Balance of the United States" an ex-
PLANTATION of the factors which go to
make up country's balance of trade
prepares the way for an analysis of
the trade balance of the United States
Mr.. Paish also reviews the country's
gold imports and exports. In his
opinion. the monetary stringency at
the time of harvest could be much
relieved by the establishment of a
central institution of the nature OF
tho pop1S of Tnolopd
The term trade balance" the au-
thor explains. is generally used to in
dicate the excess value Of country's
exports of merchandise over the val
ue of its imports of merchandise or
the excess value of country's I'M
ports of merchandise over the value
of its exports of merchandise An
excess balance of exports over inn
ports is said to be a favorable trade
balance. "In the sixteenth, seven
teenth and eighteenth centuries a IA
vorable trade balance was a matter
of great concern to statesmen and to
financiers. At that time it was sup
posed that any country which i'm
ported goods of greater value than