The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-07-02
WAR CREDITS
 AND WAR WASTE
Interesting Study of War Conditions
 in England.

B.
 fNeW York Journal of Commeree.1
 The war credit of S1,50o, ,060,00e just voted by the British House of Commons brings the total increase of the national debt up to the aStound- ng sum of S4,6o0, eco, eco. As the debt last August stood ait s8, ,560. 0.66e,- 066, the end of the first year of the war will find it's amount more than doubled. That this is a. sum greatly in excess of all the estimates made early In the struggle is perhaps less reTnarkable than that it should be faced today with comparative calm ness. After the first three months the cost of the war to the British taxpay- erfer the year was estimated at S2;- 25a, ,666, ,666. Even two months ago it looked as if Great Britain would be able te Ie@ep her war expenditure for 066, 666; While it need not be as sJTaed that the new war credit just voted will be exhausted by August, it is sufficiently plain that at the now established rate of war expenditure of SIS, 100000 a day, which does not other credit will have to be asked for before the end of the calender year. In estimating the effect on the pro duetive capacity of the nation of this enormous destruction of wealth it must be remembered that not in one but in every year of peace the British people have been accustomed to spend $6, 96a, 699 a day on these four items ef luxury: Alcoholic drink, nom alcoholic drink. tobacco and motor cars, and these are very far from ex- haustfng the British expenditure on all forms of luxury. It has further been argued that heavy war expendi- ture does not necessarily diminish to anything like it's full extent the na- tionaI income. because if the war 1oa 5ao
 siderable part of them would not have become part of the income of British workingmen- In recent years Great Britain has been investing large sums abroad by the simple process, not of exporting goods, but of leaving abreaa accrued interest Upon such investments the British worker only secures a. gain when the interest comes home to create additional en- pigment. But during the progress of the war the immediate effect is all for the benefit of the workers, and a, very large proportIon of them are earning such wages as, they never earned before.
 Tn ordinary times the annual na- ttonal income of the United Kingdom ma+ed net prpducfiqn. fnrtuding agri- cIltnre and fisheries. a Ittle over $5.- 1 0o9. .9Oe .00o. Under the single head of interest on foreign investments Great BE1IaAn receives apOur $1,e90, 0,D99, 900 Q year, Which comes almost en-
 tire1y in the shape of foodstuffs and
 raw material. The fact that in a
 single year British Colonial and for 1 eign investments have reached the
 amount of $s5S.0oo.ppo gives some
 hint of the fund that may be drawn
 upon in crisis like the present. But
 in cutting off her investments abroad 1 Great Britain neccgsari1y renders
 less productive the source from which
 she draws so much of her trade, and
 the after effects of the war expendi-
 ture on the undeveloped countri es
 constitute one of the most interest ing problems rased by the unex- I ampted conditions which the world l is now facing. For it must be re- l meTnbered that British investments abroad are supplemented by at least 1 SS,oo0.oo0, ,0o0 Of French, 5000, 900 = I 900 of German and $2,ooo,O0o, ,o0o ot | Belgian money. In other words these four countries have total for