Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1919-04-04
BRITAIN FEARS FINANCE
WALL MAY CRuMPLE UP
"usihcss Men Ask II Nation Is on
Road to Real Bank
ruptcy.
is FACING ENORMOUS DEBTS
itockcfcllcr's Entire Fortune Would
not Pay One-Fifticth OF Interest
charges on English for One Year.
Spending Goes On.
ny RoBEnr wELLEs u1TCHrE.

'oNDON, Epr.l 3.-Is Great Britain
On The road to bankruptcy?
,,ra amis is no rhetorical question
nam,, or designed TO catch the eye OF
neopie who might imagine gain would
c cD',e 10 them through Britain's grave
~ dssfnent. 1t is not even original
iWlh the writer. One only echoes the
mh hsteh IL query being voiced every.
OF hnhnce-the pillars of Britain's
"mee Iockltke financial structure. The
h hnns"on touches upon what is per-
England and the empire at large have
II is a complicated issue. this nnan
innumeraalc. After many interviews
WIN men whose words have weight
n,aariiament, particularly of the Treas
nffys white paper giving particulars
G eav the sums necessary to support the
aNcmpt to present the outstanding
acts Of Great Britain's financial crisis
:" INC WORDS OF one syllable. as IL were.
spends Millions DnIIy.
though tho war is counted over. ,,le
SoyernIncn, is still spending $500, 900
a day on war alonc--and that figure il
o h9n1di s,eriing remember.
Today at t7.i5o.00000o, or s37.a5o.ooo.
0oo. as against "A pre-war deb, Of tG53.-
1920, "T. TIE interest upon this debt
900 a year.
A,eeord.nsto r; J: Barrett. editor of
entirely unl!kely-any appreciabie
part OF sums loaned 10 the allies dur
70 face deb. OF $500, 600. 600 Tor ~ many many
ears 10 come. This IL Just ten times
ne pre- war liability.
instead OF the vast bulk OF this
debt being in IL per cent consols,
UPWARDS OF 5000. 100000 pounds car.
,,en interest at per cent. and the
iund TO handle this great dcfcit in
ne coming financial year alone will
DC greater than the entire expense Of
before the war.
hensures Size of Debt.
To the average reader those vast
A.hs; With their marching rear guard
80 ciphcrs. convey absolute no adc-
,Hethod OF comparison can be found
Lei US try 10 Tx A scale whereby tho
resent British debt can be measured
According 10 ''Whitaker's Almanac"
or ~, INC debt OF tho United States
IN nc gear before NC entered tho war
nave no idea. But, taking that figure
Tor basis. We SEQ that Great Bri-
am dsoi AS Il stands today is thirty
Ior lol6, the debt Of the United States
IN 1916. The interest on this deb,
"!onc amounts 10 almost a third Of the
rrnime'pai OF ours three years ago.
rehSrkab bic freak Of Psychology John
-, rockefeller should decide to give
hri,n nin h aoe Gould pen" OF :.s
oil her interest bin for one year
Must Wait for Loans.
There, you have. perhaps in com
Prehcnhiblc terms. the staggering total
OF overhead" tho war has icft on
Bri,ain's shoulders, Grant that ever"
penny advanced 10 the allies during
ihe war comes back--and one doubts
grant that Great Britain succeeds in
Getting its demand OF large "repara-
ion from Gcrmany-cqually pro-
hicmatical-how in tho meantime will
the nation fund itself?
have said ,ha, each day tha; passes
war purposes alone. Tho White Paper.
Ghsm6eriSan, chaneeiof Of ~ the eui Es,
appropriation OF 1885 ,6$i 900 70 run the
government for the coming fiscal year.
There, remain 10 be taken eeF,ain
niuons and ordnance factories which
Viii increase This staggering budget.
IN hrtet Great britain. emerging
sic of the great war, finds she cannot
rcvcrt 10 "A peace basis OF expenditure.
nu, must continue lavishing huge sums
- meet the consequences of that war.
SpIashiu= In Millions.
We're splashing in miilions-de-
lriousiy splashing in millions" were
the words used to describe the govern
nent financial policy by Lord Inch
cape. when | asked him TO give me
an opinion on present financial condi-
ions. Perhaps there Is no greater au-
tiiority OH things OF finance and trade
than Lord lnchcape. who is a director
Of the SucL Canal Company, and of a
dozen OF London's largest business con-
Germs.
The government has got the habit
OF Juggling millions during the war
and does not know how or when TO
stop. Nothing short of disaster can
follow continuation Of this mad
Now consider the sources out of
which Britain,s overwhelming debt
must be carried
Thc tax revenue of the United King
dom for l9lS-l3ls is estimated at
and The nontax revenue at f56,t5o.00o
or s2Sc,o50.000. The total is s3.s7l,-
$50 600 OF the tax revenue no less
than f3oo.ooo,ooo is contributed from
excess profits tax on industries, and
therein lies the root of one OF the most
serious menaccs Of the United King
dom's business.
Hear VIVA, r. J. Barrett, OF the