The Washington herald., 1918-10-16
OUR NATIONAL
WEALTH BULKY
Could Sustain War Ten to
Fifteen Years, Says
Holland.

made by one OF the leading banking
authorities of the United States that
our national wealth would be ap-
praised by skilIful actuaTies at not
less than 800. .OOo. .COO. .OO0 Is an estimate.
although II Is probably not very far
out OF the way. The banker was
using these hgures so that he might
impress upon the country the fact
that notwithstanding expenditures
which are reaching high into the BILL
lions OcCaSiOned by the war. and the
further fact that the United states
may owe To the people perhaps as
much as thirty billion dollars. repre-
sented hy liberty bonds. and more
than that should the war continue a
few Years longer: and furthermore
in spite OF revenue bills which pro-
vide for taxation which will cause
eight billion dollars in single pay
mCnt to flow into the Treasury; new
sytheIess we have abundance OF nat
ara resources which We may rely
upOn as a security which stands be-
hind our obligations.
Financing War Easy.
In the darkest davs of the civil
war David \ Wells prepared a
pamphlet. which contained statis-
ties and reasoning that astonished
not only the people in the North. but
also Great Britain. Holland and
France. Mr.. Wells demonstrated
that in spite OF what were. for the
time. enormous expenditures. and in
spite Of the fact that II was with
difficulty that the government was
able to market its bonds neverthe-
loss the resources OF the United
states were sufficient. IL utilized. to
meet all the expenses Of the war,
and to leave capital in abundance
sEsn though the war were continued
for ten or fifteen years longer.
When Nj. Wells thus wrote we
had no Pacific railroad. The Union
Pacific Railroad Company and the
central Pacific. under the leadership
Of g L. Huntington. were just be-
ginning construction. Not much OF
tn" great area west Of the Missis-
sirpi River was under cultivation
and the people Of that time were
still accustomed to SPEAK OF the
great American desert. and the Ne
braska territory which have since
than been developed into very flour
ishinE communities. yielding each
year hundreds OF millions OF new
wealth to the United States.
Resources Await Development.
There are abundant natural re-
sources not yet highly developed,
many Of them not developed at all.
which nevertheless constitute some
part uf the wealth OF the United
States. now estimated at three hun
drCd billion dollars. Our wealth in
railroads will undoubtedly be con-
siderably increased since the new
I. ~.
AdOo 10 the leader is demonstrating
to the people that II there be wise
governmental control and reasonable
our railroads Will expand and new
railroads will be built in the far
West.
Orr MIncraI Wealth.
our wealth in minerals which only
watts development is enormous. No
other country. except possibly Rus
s.a and China. possesses mineral
wealth i'm amount equal to that OF
the United States. We have every
Z kind OF mineral excepting tin. Our
resources in coal are enormous. At
the present rate OF consumption OF
our anthracite coal deposits it will
he two hundred years at least be
fore our deposits Of bitumin0us coal
are used up.
There remains abundance of iron
ore. some Of il not yet developed.
The government authorities have
demonstrated that considerably be-
meath the surface OF part Of New
York state and Pennsylvania there
are enormous deposits OF iron ore
not yet worked. because the work
2 BILE mines throughout the country
now lie so near the surface No
body can tell what our wealth in
oil and natural gas may be found
70 he We have enormous wealth
in timber although at one time there
was some danger that wholesale
cutting Of timber might impair this
resource
SnIeudid as is our agricultural pro-
duCtiou nevertheless it H. far below
the possibilities. James J. Hin esti'
mated a few years before his death
that at the present time farm labor
should Weld yearly. exclusive Of cot
ton. new wealth aEgregating fifteen
billion dollars Many believe that the
dav is not distant when our farmers
will he harvesting two billion bushels
nF wneat each year. The wonderful
>
called. is simply utilizing natural re-
sources whose wealth producing Capa-
city the public had little idea OF in
the early years OF the present century
There are enormous stores OF wealth
in our water powers. and these are
sure TO he developed. some Of them
speedily. after the war is ended.
shIpbuiIdInE Increases.
Then too there is the amazing
growth Of the United States as a ship
building nation. No one who is quail
red TO speak now doubts that at the
end OF the war the United States will
roasess the greatest merchant marine
that ever navigated the seas under the
flag Of a single nation These ships
will greatly facilitate the growth OF
our international commerce. and the
feeling is general that with ships in
abundance and with the recent estab-
Iishment of the remarkable increasing
trade relations with South America.
we are TO have. each year after the
war an international trade with the
countries south OF us which will sur
pass any trade we may have with
Great Britain and the rest of Europe.
OF course our natural resources
must be developed II we are to see
visible demonstration OF the fact that
the aggregate amount OF our resources
- in money value three hundred bill
lion dollars. The late Abram s.
Hewitt. who was one OF the ablest
statistiCians and business men Of his
time, a very able manufacturer. and
a profound thinker. said in 1892 that
the resources of the United States
were not scratched. and IL they were
developed as Belgium and Holland
k--n anrnInnaa their resnnrces the q q