The twice-a-week Twin Falls times. (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1916-1918, 1917-05-29
STORY WRITTEN BY FRANK R.
WILSON OF FEDERAL FARM LOAN
BUREAU TELLS OF LIBERTY LOAN.
CREDIT OF NATION NOT IMPAIRED
TO SLIGHTEST DEGREE
Loan VIII Enable Us to Wage War
and Strengthen Resources of Nations
, at War With the Great Enemy of
America.


glanced at his trial balance April l,
1917, and CLEANED the following brief
statement of his condition:
Assets, $200,O00,0 100000 plus.
Liabilities, $1,023,3 1857, ,250.
In other words, the total material
wealth of the United States was in ex
cess of two hundred billions of dol
lars, some estimates placing it as high
as two hundred and twenty five bill
lions. The last official total was in
1912 when the figure was one hundred
eighty-seven billions. On April l. 1917
our national debt was slightly over a
billion. Uncle Sans debts as COM
pared with his assets were about as
one is to 220
But the smile that decorated Uncle |
Sans face was not inspired entirely
by the statement of his comparative
debts and credits He looked at the
record of national income and saw
that the total was forty billions of
dollars a year, or forty times his debts.
He took out his pencil and made some
comparisons. He found that his ma
tional income had increased more than
33 per cent in the last seven years,
and more than 115 per cent in the
last seventeen years.
Continuing further with the inven
| tOIY. Ile OlQ Rtnlltlldu bul lAJN " eAN
page devoted to foreign trade and dis
covered that this item for 1916 amount
ed to between seven and eight billions
of dollars, or more than double that
of the previous year. He peered over
at the page where is recorded the dis
tribution of the worlds gold supply,
and discovered that he possessed near
ly three billions of dollars of gold, or
one third of the worlds total. He dis
covered that there was on deposit IN
banks and trust companies, OF ms
realm, approximately 20 billions or
dollars, and that there was borrowed
from banks and trust companies, for
commercial purposes, about eighteen
billions of dollars.
In addition to keeping a good set of
books on his own business, Uncle
also kept books on the Affairs of his
neighbors. He made some interesting
comparisons and discovered that the
material wealth of the United States
: was greater than that of any two ma
I. tions on earth He found that it was
as great as the total combined wealth
of Great Britain, France, Russia and
- italy. 1t was more than double that
: of England; four times that OF France
= and eight times that of Italy. His notes
indicated that at the beginning OF the
war the total material wealth or Ger
Il MANY was eighty-five billions of dol
- lars. and that of Great Britain eighty
- billions Verify this giant of the west
, contemplating these figures, for the
> first time. really became conscious Of
his greatness.
! Then Uncle Sam began to investi
gate the debit accounts of his neigh
bors. He found that since the begin
!, ming of the war, August /, 1914, Grea
britain had borrowed in excess O.
nineteen billions of dollars which, ad
ded to the national debt previously ex
q listing, made a total indebtedness II
: excess of twenty-five billion dollars
= and which, by the end of 1917 woul'
approach thirty billion dollars.
He discovered that since lSl
France had borrowed approximate,
eleven billion dollars, that German.
rlhad borrowed fourteen billions, whicl
+ added to it's previous debt of one bll
L lion two hundred million dollars, mad
a new total, including accrued inter
'e est. of approximately sixteen bllllo
2" dollars.
He noted that since 1914 Russia ha
borrowed about eight billion dollars
that Austria had borrowed in eXces
3 of six billions Italy two and one nal
u billions and Hungary almost two bll
!. lion dollars.
He computed that by the end OF lsl
! Great Britain would have practlcall
D one-third of her national wealth NOR
ID gagged; that France would have easll
III one fourth; and that Germany IN
y chief of the central powers, woul
+ soon have approximately one-fourt
of its assets mortgaged
p, He noted that Germany alone pay
y an annual interest charge of approx
! mately 32,000,000.
y, Then Uncle Sam realized that
Sn date he had borrowed less than OF
y two-hundredth of his assets; that to
- into debt to the extent his Europea
Il neighbors have borrowed would r
. ouire borrowing to the entente
nearly fifty billions. This volume
money would enable him to condu
five years of warfare with an annu
expenditure equal to that which Gre
Britain is now making
So, in spite of the fact that u
Liberty Loan multiplies the nation
debt by seven, in spite of the fact tn
it is the largest loan ever offered
the worlds history. a comparison
~