The twice-a-week Twin Falls times. (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1916-1918, 1917-10-25
AN ARRAY OF
GREAT TRUTHS
PLAINLY SHOWN
PATRIOTIC ECONOMY HAS
BECOME A PRESENT
NECESSITY
What War Means to Us
Financially
A Comprehensive and Practical
Statement of Responsibilities
Assumed and Duty Dictated
When U. S. Entered the War.
(Rv Everett Mossl

The necessity for patriotic economy
will be evident if we think of finance
in terms of labor instead of in dollars.
We have natural resources and we
have capital invested in the tools OF
production, but even with these Ia
cilities our productive capacity is linn
tied by the supply of labor. BY labor
we mean the personal service, wheth-
er of brain or of Drawn, of the forty
million of us who are engaged in
gainful occupation.
To carry on the war we shall spend
at least twelve billion dollars per year,
CT thirty-three million dollars per day.
This is as much as Great Britain is
spending and fifty per cent more than
Germany is spending, and the figures
are so huge that few of us appreciate
what they really mean.
Europe is already so deeply in debt
that she may never be able to pay
and we are on the road to the same
condition. Balance of trade statistics
indicate that we have made an extra
profit from foreign business since
1914 of five billion dollars, or about
two billion dollars per year. The ef-
feet of this in enriching the country
is suggestive of the result of three
years of impoverishment at the rate
of eight billion dollars.
Our normal annual savings are
about four billion dollars. and not
only will our war expenditure absorb
all of these savings, but we must find
eight billion dollars in addition. Dur
ing the past three years our present
allies have obtained much assistance
from us but as there is no country to
whom we can turn, we must carry
our burden alone.
Our savings go into public and priv
ate improvements. including the eX-
tension of business enterprises. These
savings will not be available for war
until we stop federal, state, municipal
and private improvements; until we
forbid all issue of securities except
under federal license. following the
example whereby England reduced
the issue of industrial securities from
S46S. 600, 900 in the first half of 1914
to S11 100000 in the same period OF
1917.
The danger of a food famine has
been brought home TO us and we are
making a real effort to reduce con
sumption, though our efforts to in
crease production are being seriously
handicapped by the high price of la
Dor.
Immediately after war was declar-
ed the president warned the country
that everyone should produce more
and consume less. The idea that bus
mess was to be suddenly reduced by
business men and the cry business
a wave of economy was a shock 10
as usual" was spread over the coun-
try and caused the presidents appeal
to be forgotten. Not only are people
spending as usual. but many conscien
tiously believe it their duty so to do.
Every dollar spent means the con
sumption of labor. We shall not be
far wrong if we say that every four
dollars spent consumes days la
Dor. and that every twelve hundred
dollars spent consumes a years Ia
bor. A war expenditure of twelve bill
lion dollars will consume the labor oil
ten million people; twenty-five per
cent of our total labor supply. This
added demand comes during the great