New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-09-11

U
As far as national capital at home is
concerned, England has been very chary
OF investing it permanently in war
loans. She has TO finance her indus
tries and her trade on the vastly in
creased scale of a war BOOM SO she
had to borrow money by floating loans,
IN which business men can invest CAPT
tai temporarily. Her people have been
called a nation o. shopkeepers; they
must keep their shops going in war
time. That is the inherent difficulty OF
British war finance. England has to
run her and her allies businesses and
D to finance the war at the same time
I There is not enough capital even in
wealthy England 10 do that easily
Floating loans had TO be resorted to;
the rates Of interest have been rising
continually. Even borrowing abroad
has not helped much. Her imports
from the United States alone have
risen from S6O0.OOO,OOO to $500. OOO.-
600. II all the foreign loans, contracted
by the Allies were at England's dis
posal they scarcely would be sufficient
to settle the difference between her
peace and her war imports from the
United States.
Happily for Germany, she has not
been compelled to compete with Eng
land IN foreign war finance, because
she has been partly blockaded. Most of
the huge capital used in her foreign
trade Is free. 1t can be invested in ma
tional loans and national circulation.
Tor her oversee trade has come to a
standstill. English credit and English
money have to circulate all over the
world, for England gets her supplies
from all parts of the world In Ger
many things are far more simple. The
herman government borrows few
hundred million dollars in short-term
treasury bills. The proceeds are .pent
IN giving orders and in paying wages.
If the bills fall due they are taken I'd
and paid off from the receipts Of a
funded loan. For the manufacturers
the farmers and The wage earners have
by that time received payment for their
goods. As everybody works as hard as
possible, high level of national eff
cheney has been reached, notwithstand-
ing the shortage Of men. As consump-
ton is limited by strict economy as
well as by stringent legislation, large
part Of the income Of all classes is
saved. 1t is invested in business or in
loans. The savings banks reached the
2O,OOO,0OO,OOO marks limit (about S.
OOO,OO0,0O0) last year. To-day, after two
more big loans have been paid up. they
have reached 22,5OO, 100000 marks. and
the same holds good of private banks.
The Deutsche Banks deposits have
risen from S376,00O,OOO in 1913 to $685.
100000 in 1915. All capital which is
withdrawn from peace industries. all
capital which is saved, all capital which
IS not needed, ultimately goes into the
nations great enterprise the war. The
growth OF the big cities. for example,
has come to standstll People are
leaving; the women 60 and live with
their families, while the men are fight
ing. That has no doubt affected the in
come of many house owners and depre-
ciated some capital. But it has done
away with the necessity of using a
huge capital every year for building
new dwellings for hundreds of thou
sands of people. Notwithstanding good
business, the price of capital has no..
gone up, though lately there has been
the beginning of big boom in indus
trial shares.