The Washington herald., 1917-06-10
Borrow Liberty Loan Funds
Advises Dwight w. Marrow
by FRANK WING.

time of our entrance into the war,
less than 1900, 900. 600. That debt rep
resented what remained OF the cost uf
the great civil war; 1t represented the
except what was paid for out of taxa
ton.
State Debt, $500, 900 900.
The total debt of all the States OF
the United States is about 500. 900,
or about one-fourth of the sum that
the Secretary of the Treasury has
asked the people Of the United States
to raise before June Is.
THE total debt OF all the cities OF
the United States which had a popu-
lation of more than 10000 in 1915,
was a little more than 5000. .0o0. 900.
When one thinks what city debt rep
| these vast sums mean. A city debt
stands for those permanent invest
/ ments for the public good which in
timately touch our daily life. Cen
orally speaking. that two billion dol
, lars Of debt of the 60 largest cities
! in the United States stands for those
civic improvements which men have
deemed so worth while to their chill
dren and their children's children that
| they they have felt justified in bor-
rowing the money an passing part of
the burden of those improvements on
/ to succeeding generations. That mu-
nicipal debt represents school houses
| that have been built in the 81 largest
cities of the United States; II repre-
scnts permanent street improvements.
| parks, public buildings of all kinds.
And yet, the total amount of the debt
| so accumulated in all those cities-aC-
| cumulated during the whole lives Of
the cities-is only about equal to the
sum that this nation is asked to
raise before June 15.
Vast Sum of Money.
Eyes. 100000 is a vast amount
! of money. 1t is going to be sub
scribed by the people of the United
States; It is going to be over-sub-
subscribed. not by thinking that it is
easy. but by knowing that it is hard.
1T is idle to compare our task with
! the great tasks that have been per-
formed. by the nations abroad. We
read Of the large sums of money that
have been raised in England and in
| France, but We cannot have the
slightest conception Of the sweat and
toll that have gone into the raising
of those loans by the people of those
those loans abroad have not been idle
| funds drawn from ordinary invest
ment channels. The people of those
countries have borrowed money to
the savings Of their future In order
TO secure credits which they could
transfer to their government. It has
| been estimated that the national in
come, Of Great Britain is approx
mately $4,000, 10000. But the amount
Of the last war loan taken by the peo
| pie was 5000, 10000.
This means that the families Of
England subscribed approximately 40
per cent OF their annual income to
the last loan; 1t means that they
pledged their personal credit to their
that debt by doing without things
during the next few months that
otherwise they would have had-per-
haps by doing without things that they
sorely need. If We are to raise in
not deceive ourselves into thinking
that there is 5000, 200, 900 of idle money
awaiting investment. The people Of
this country must take not only the
bonds that they are able to pay for;
and pay OF the borrowed mon a. out
Of their income of the next few
months.
Loans Increase with War.
There is one other thing that should
be borne in mind, and that is the in
creasing number of participants in
the loans taken by the people abroad,
as the rigors OF the war were press
ed in upon the people. England's first
loan, made in November, 1914, was
e350, 100000 Sterling, or about 81 ,750. .OOO,-
000 The number of subscribers to that
loan was about 10000. >England's last
lean, made in March of this year, was
approximately S, 900, 600, 600. The num-
ber Of subscribers to that loan was
about 5000, 900. At a time when almost
5000, 900 OF England's best men were
tn, fIA
people subscribing to her national loan
was approximately eighty times as
Great as the number two and one-half
Years before. Now, how had this great
change been accomplished? 1t had
been accomplished not easily but by
the unstinted eXertions of a united
people. 1t had been accomplished by
the people of England approaching
that war was at their door. 1t had
been accomplished after the best blood
of England had been spilled in France,
the blood Of their young which held
the promise of the future. Gilbert
Murray tragically expressed It in the
words of an old Greek proverb: The
spring had been taken out Of their
year, and he truly says that for a
long time to come, the years of Eng
land and France and the rest of Eu-
rope will be without a spring.
We Must Succeed.
"Now. who, pray. are we to meas
ure the ease or difficulty of our task
by the wonderful things that have
been done abroad? What do we know
Of the price they have paid; what
do we know of the FIRE they have
gone through? We know that we
will succeed. We know that we must
succeed. But does one thing stand
out most clearly? II We are to sue
ceed with this great loan and the
greater loans that are to follow, can
we bring success in any other way