The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1917-06-08
A BIG SUM OF MONEY.

Very few people realize what a stu
pendous sum of money $7,000,O 900,
the war budget recently voted by con-
gress, is. G. ID. Hamilton, of st. Louis,
writing in st. Louis paper, attempt
ing to give some idea of how much
it is.
The interest on the United States
war budget at 31s per cent amounts
to almost $500 minute, according to
Mr. c. ID. Hamilton, who is vice pres
ident of the International Shoe COM
pany, who has figured out number
of comparisons to show just what ST.
low:
"There are almost exactly as many
dollar in 7,000,0O0,00O as there are
seconds in III years. Since the De
claration of independence, July d.
1176, to date, there are less than A.
500,000,0 100000 seconds.
"Seven billions in gold coin is 49,
440 tons and would load nearly 1,2O0
cars, each with 2,400 pounds, and
make a solid train thirteen miles long.
"Seven millions of silver dollars
stacked in a pile would go toward the
stars to distance of 1,736 miles. And
it would take the United States mint,
working day and night, 224 years to
coin the dollars.
"At an acre, this vast sum would
pay for every acre of land in the con-
tinental United States.
"Seven billions of dollars in dollar
'greenbacks,' end to end, will 20
around the earth at the equator nearly
thirty-four times. And it would take
an express train running forty miles
an hour, day and night, continuously,
for two and one-half years, to cover
that distance.
"Let us look at it in time, or in dis
tance.
Seven billion minutes is 1888
years, 8 hours and SO minutes!
Imagine seven billions of miles! A
rifle bullet has a speed of about half
mile second, yet at this great We
locity it would require almost 444
years to cover the distance!
"Had an express train started at
the dawn of the Christian era, going
at the rate of a mile minute, it
would today, nineteen centuries after
Christ was born, figuratively speak
ing, hardly have gotten out Of the
train sheds, for it would have gone
only one-seventh of the distance. And
would now, 1917 have II, 400 years to
run to complete the journey of 7,000,-
100000 miles!
"Count it-ridiculous! Imagine an
expert counter of money counting this
in 81 bills and expert enough to count
one a second. Then suppose he be-
longed to the union and worked days
excluded. Then imagine him eight
hours day. Sunday and holidays ex-
cluded. Then imagine him working on
the job for fifty years-dying of old
age-the work taken up by another.
The first man would have been dead
700 years when the fifteenth man .qIsit
the task-each of the fifteen having
worked for fifty years, and there
would still be uncounted enough to
give each man, woman and child in
st. Louis $500, and leave $120,OOO, 900
untouched.
"Let us look at $1,000, ,OOO,O in
this way: Suppose a man had this
sum in bank-not interest bearing
and every day of the year he drew his
check for $1,O0,0OO, he would after %
years have $36,OOO,00o in the bank!
Suppose again that it was invest
ed, paying 6 per cent interest, and
the mans expenses were 100000 a
day. He would, after seventy years
spending million day-find that
he had IA billion left, twice as much
as at the beginning, and might want
to kick himself for pinching down to a
beggardly million day!
"This loan bears interest of 3h per
cent and the interest is $245, 100000
year, nearly $500 minute-just the
interestw