Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1917-05-30
Our National Credit
The Assets Behind
Liberty Loan Bonds
By Frank R. Wilson.
Federal Farm Loan Bureau, L. s. Treas
ury DeDartmentO


| Federal Farm Loan Bureau, L. :. Treas
ury Department.
(Written for the United Press.)
ARTICLE No. 2.
From the Liberty Loan 1917 Publicity
Bureau.
Washington. May 29-Uncle Sam
glanced at his trial balance April l,
1917, and cleaned the following brief
statement of his condition:
Assets ..... 100000, 900, ,000Nplus
Liabilities :. S ,023,357,25
In other words, the total material
wealth of the United States was in ex-
cess of two hundred billions Of dollars,
some estimates placing it as high as two
hundred and twenty-five billions 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 billion. Uncle
Sam debts as compared with his as
sets were about as one is to 300.
But the smile that decorated Uncle
Sam s 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 compari-
sons. He found that his national in
come had increased more than 33 per
cent in the last seven years. and more
than lis per cent in the last seventeen
years.
Continuing further with the inven-
tory, the old gentleman turned to the
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 distribu
tion of the world : gold supply, and dis
covered that he possessed nearly three
billions of dollars of gold, or one-third
of the worlds total. He discovered
that there were on deposit in banks and
trust companies, of his realm, approx
mately 25 billions of dollars, and that
there were borrowed from banks and
trust companies, for commercial pur
poses, about eighteen billions of dol
lars
In addition to keeping a good set of
books on his own business. Uncle Sam
also kept books on the affairs of his
He made some interesting
and discovered that the
welath of the United States
was greater than that OF any two ma
tiOns on earth. He found that it was
as great as the total combined wealth
of Great Britain. France, Russia and |
Italy. 1t was snore than double that |
of England; four times that of France
and eight times that of Italy.
His notes indicated that at the begin
ming of war the total material wealth Z
Of Germany was eighty-five billions of !
dollars, and that of Great Britain eigty |
billions. Verify this giant of the west. /
these figures, for the |
first time, really became conscious of
his greatness
Then Uncle Sam began TO investigate I
The debit accounts of his neighbors. He |
found that since the beginning Of the (
l, 1914-Great Britain
lad borrowed in excess of nineteen bill |
ions of dollars which, added TO the ma
ional debt previously existing, made
1 total Indebtedness in excess of TWEEN
y-five billion dollars, and which, by
he end of 1917 would approach thirty
billion dollars.
He discovered that since 1914 France
lad borrowed approximately eleven bill
ion dollars; that Germany had borrow
d fourteen billions. which added to its
previous debt of one billion two hun
lred million dollars, made a new total,
accrued interest. of approx
nately sixteen billion dollars.
He noted that since 1914 Russia had
about eight billion dollars;
hat Austria had borrowed in excess of
TX billions; Italy two and one-half bill
ions and Hungary almost two billion
.ollars.
He computed that by the end of 1917
treat Britain would have practically
ne-third Of her national wealth mort
aged; that France would have easily
ne-fourth; and that Germany. the chief
T the central powers, would soon have
pproximately one-fOurth Of its assets
He noted that Germany alone PAYS
n annual interest charge of approxi- !
iately SSS2.00O.000.
Then Uncle Sam realized that to date