Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1917-09-08
SOME POLITICAL ECONOMY

The argument has been advanced
that the wealth and resources of the
United States are impaired to the
extent of all the money spent by the
government for war purposes The
argument is very unsound. There is
a sharp contrast between cost to the
government and cost to the people of
the country.
The United States has sold two
billion dollars worth of Liberty Loan
Bonds to the people of the United
States and therefore owes two billion
dollars more than ii did few months
ago. When the money lor the bonds
has been collected in full and been
expended in full the matter will stand
in this shape
The people of the United States
will have loaned to their government
two billion dollars in return for
which they win have received two
billion dollars worth of Liberty Loan
Bonds which is as valuable security
as the world affords Moreover they
will have in their pockets or theig
banks two billion dollars which they
loaned their government. The gov
eminent will have expended part of
this money itself and those European
nations engaged in war with Ger
many, whose obligations our govern
ment has purchased with part of the
money realized from the sale OF
Liberty Loan Bonds will have ex-
pended the other part, and all of 1t
will have been spent in America for
American products and in payment of
American wages.
The resources of the nation, its
capital stock so to speak. will not
have been impaired at all Our
farms, our mines, our factories, in
fact all of our fixed property and
industries will remain intact. Our
people will simply have sold some of
the annual products of the country
the products OF its farms, the pro-
ducts of its mines and products of its
factories.
Thus the government will have
value received for the money 1t bor-
rowed from the people and the people
will have value received for the
money they loaned the government
and the products they sold their
government and the European ma
tions engaged in war with Germany.
AS Secretary of the Treasury McAdoo
has expressed it-"All OF this financ-
ing Is largely merely matter of
shifting credits All of the money
will remain in this country and will
not involve any loss of gold o. any
loss of values"
OF course the United States is going
TO pay these bonds at maturity and
10 SoAho w pay lItSiSoL Oh lHSlH Ill
he meanwhile. 1t is going to pay
part of 1t with the money It will later
collect from our debtor European
governments engaged in war with
Germany; il is going to pay part with
money raised By taxation. 1t is GO
MS to pay them out Of the capital
" the United States or out of the I
apital of the people of the United
states The money is to come from
he annual income and production of
he country which now amount to
fly billion The yearly agricultural
reduction of the United States is
lore than ten billion dollars and the S
mineral production three bolton. q
he profits of converting raw ma |
erial into finished products amount =
to ten billion dollars These :
re just some of our main sources of
1nual income
The raising of money by the sale
bonds and the expenditure of that Q
oney for purposes of war are not +,
Ding to injure or destroy the produc- :
We capacity OF our fields, factories =
mines. There is waste in war, =
Id great deal of waste, but war is g