The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1918-08-30
THE COMING CRISIS
Continued from page one)


nation they have since become. If
they had levied heavy taxes in the
attempt to pay off all the war debt
in short time to stop the interest
it would have brought on stagnation
by making it impossible to carry on
ordinary enterprises, and the mo-
ment stagnation begins and the peo-
pie at large begin to lose their time
become unproductive-,the great
est possible losses are ushered in.
When the mass of the people lose
their time-when they change from
productive to unproductive days,
they lose not only what they have,
but what there was in prospect for
them. If nation is in debt so deep
| that to liquidate at once or in short
! period would bankrupt them and de-
stroy all enterprise, it is better to
spread such payments over a period
of fifty years and get the benefit of
the increased wealth. Gladstone
made a great speech on this subject
about fifty years after the close of
Napoleon's wars, and he said the ma
terial wealth Of England had in
creased more in fifty years under the
great war debt than it had in 500.
years before that. 1t shows what
united nation can do when they
are working, and working to a pur-
pose.
have personally seen and studied
all the panics since 10 II, and know,
or at least l am fully convinced that
any great shrinking of the money of
a nation brings on panic. Any
great draught on the money stream,
anything that diverts a great amount
of capital from the channels of trade
or from the channels of legitimate
enterprise, is likely to bring on
panic. Suppose this nation shall be
in debt hundred billion dollars at
the close of this war, and we should
levy heavily on all the incomes and
tax the millionaires and multimil-
lionaires in great lump sums to pay
off the national debt, it would para
lyze industry; one enterprise after
another would come to a standstill;
other enterprises would be deprived
of their circulating medium, and a
panic would probably follow Peo-
pie would not only lose the expected
profits of business, but they would
lose all, and would lose the product
of their own labor besides, and that |
Is the greatest calamity of all, for |
when people quit working and pro-
ducing, the great loss and suffering
follows.
But on the other hand, if at the
close Of the war, provision is made
to keep business going and let the
debts stand, merely paying the in
terest and perhaps paying off one
fiftieth part of the principal each
year, the constant production of
wealth thru industry-the increased
wealth of the nation will pay off the
debt and We shall hardly feel it.
Where used to live in Iowa our lit
tie county got in debt 100000, and
things looked so desperate it seemed
as if we could never pay it off, but
we arranged to distribute the pay
ments over a long period of time and
we paid it and never felt it. We
were astonished at the results; the
wealth of the county,
coupled with seady prosprity and
unfolding of every enterprise in a
good healthy condition wiped out the
1ebt almost unobserved.
Governor Gooding speaks of con-
litions in Australia, with wheat piled
high along the open country by the t
abroad tracks. other countries are t
starving for wheat and Australia {
,anicky because they have too much
wheat. Argentine is in the same /
condition and they are burning corn s
or fuel, unable to sell grain or ship ]
n COAL Their livestock has doubled c
n numbers during the war and {
,ther countries are starving for meat {
PRODUCTS, When the war is over and t
hipping is released so that vessels &
an go to those countries and bring a
heir surplus stocks and pour them G
INTO the markets of the world, some q
hing is going to happen. 1t will dis t
urb our own farmers and farm t
'rices, and it will be time when we 7
hall need the greatest minds in our
legislative halls to met the greatest t
the world has ever known. r
We shall need to keep enterprises /
IS nearly balanced as possible, dis il
urb the flow of money as little as a
ossible, and make carful adjustment a
O the times of peace and unre- t
tricted trade. v
II remember very we'll when the
,rimean war was on. We had not f
cen shipping so much of our farm r
roducts to Europe then, and Russia v
'as feeding more of the European t.
ountries. During the war the ports a
f the Black sea were blocked, and fl
.ussia piled her wheat up and Ii
Europe bought from their countries. V
was living in Canada and wheat s
rent up to $500. Just at the time b
ne war came to an end Unexpectedly, Il
ne price Of wheat droppd to $500 "
lille our wagon was on the way [
, Quebec and we suffered the loss 7
half our wheat at one stroke. G.
here was no attempt at legislation g
, protect people against such calam- r,
y, but the credit of a great govern fl
lent could avert such losses and IL
anics that are the outgrowth Of such 81
nstable conditions of the markets. b
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