The Alaska citizen., 1915-10-25
Phone 262 Phone
WAR BILLS WE WILL HAVE TO
 PAY

The European war will probably cost the people of the United Stat" several hundred millions of dollars We shall pay the bills. as it were unconsciously. And We cannot evade the cost by keeping out of the con flict
 The first year of the war is now ended. and Europe has spent in d. rect war costs about twenty billior dollars. Add to this sum the many other billions that have been d. stroyed or lost through slackened production and you get sum great CT than any man ever dreamed could be destroyed in so short a time
 The belligerent nations are rais- ing the funds necessary to prose cute the war through increased taxes and through enormous public loans With their productive agencies crip pied. they have not been able to realize much from taxation. The loans have been made for the most part in two ways-by inflating the paper money in circulation and by selling bonds or short time trea- sury notes Some of the great cen tral banks of Europe have more than doubled their paper circula- tion.
 During the last three months Eng land alone floated a three billion dollar loan. Russia, Germany and France have been plunging into debt on the same scale Before the war is over and paid for there will be i'm posed upon the shoulders of each man. woman and child living in hclligerent countries a debt of fro'r fifty to three hundred and fifty dollars At the same tim"
 factories and barns will be burned. their hest artisans killed. and their fields and vineyards torn with ruts and trenches.
 It is clear that they cannot buy from us as much as they have in the past, and that they cannot sell and produce to us 80 cheaply as be fore the things we have been accus- toned to buy from them.
 Furthermore. Europe will not be able to provide us with capital for the development of our industries to the same extent as before the war In fact, she may quit sending us new capital and actually demand that We pay back what We owe, or even ask us 10 begin lending to her.
 Our present debt to Europe has been estimated at five to six bil- lions. Will Europeans want us to pay that back when 1t falls due, or will they prefer to retain thei, claims against a people that will in all probability, be more prosper ous than any other?
 The governments of Europe are bidding high to attract that capital away from us, and they will b'd higher still as the war goes on. The last allies loan of $400,000, ,0o1 was sold to yield four and one half per cent to the investor Other na- tions are paying as much, and of them are sound beyond debt, As cold business proposition on both sides it will be hard for oui railroads and industrial corporations to compete with such an interest rate as that, especially when they have to fear government prosecu- tion at home. But it is not cold business proposition. The nations of Europe will add to the attractive rate of their loans an appeal to the patriotism and pride of their people.
 It is believed they will be able to secure a large proportion of the available capital in Europe, and that they will pull away from us large part of what we have bor- rowed unless we are willing to pay a much higher rate of interest than in the past when the renewal date comes
 If these things take place-and it Is feared they will, because capital inevitably goes to the highest bid der if he is safe-some of our own capital needs may have to go un- satisfied.
 Some of those needs will be press ing This year at least half bill lion dollars of railway securities are maturing in this country. The railways in the United States, Mexi- co and Canada will need at least one billion of new capital during the next five years. How much will be needed for industrial corpo- rations cannot, of course, be estimat- ed, for their needs will depend upon market conditions which cannot now be foreseen.
 The new federal reserve system may revitalize our credit so that we can meet the situation. More important than this, the American