Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1921-12-23
MAGNITUDE OF BILLIONS


6gures mt your head. Neither you ne
anybody else has the faintest concel
tbon OF what one billion dollars reall
- We speak familiarity OF billions q
= commonplace. but most of us liy
eur lives in terms of hundreds.
l hsve shown you that every on
- us. man, woman and child, In thl
country. paid last year $53.77 eacl
coward the support of the government
Or course, every person does not pa.
exactly S53.77. A great many pa,
more and some pay less; but those
who pay the nr,st try to take II out
II those who pay the least by increas
ing the prices of what they have to
sell. or OF services rendered or work
performed. so that II averages out AT
SSiT. Some pay more than their
share. others pay less. This is called
an incident of taxation. The whole
point is that we all pay; that we pay
now more than we ever paid before !;
and there is no present prospect of our
paying less for some years.
IA " " way We hd all Duiu our
share in the World war The net cost
az that enterprise TO date has been
<24.l00.O00.0O0. or, including our loans
10 foreign governments. which have
NOT been repaid $33, 455, 100000. These
are official treasury figures. Do not
let your eyes run over them lightly.
Thirfy-three billion four hundred and
hfty-fye million dollars is an almost
incomprehensible sum. The cost of
running the national government is
now around $5,0O0.000,000 year. The
experts say that for the next two or
three years the cost of the government
win not descend below about $4,000
100000 year.
want you clearly to understand the
hnDensity, the magnitude, the over
wheiming size Of such sums. We
chatter nbout billions nowadays with
out In the least knowing what Is
billion. Let me try to bring 1t home
10 you 1t Is now, roughly speaking.
1920 years since the birth of Christ.
We do not know precisely and accu-
raieiy nj what hour and on what day
Christ was born. But under the Gre
goriun calendar, according to which
we row reckon time, we have a
record of the days since january first
Of the year one. Ammo Duriini. From
The bsginning of the year one to jan
nary I. 1921, there ELAPSED about T0l,- |
ga days, or to reduce It further. |
l6.S'0. f0S hours, which beng reduced |
again. means 1909, 1924. 4S0 minutes.
viii ask you to remember that the
~ho9e history Of the modern world
rom the first second of the year one
% the fast second of the year 1920
ms been compressed iIto ZOOS. S24.4
minutes.
Now let us suppose that with the
serrnission of the Roman authorities
he United States had established a
Iisbursing officer at Jerusalem on the
irxt Gny of the year one with instruc-
ions 20 pay eut So minute day and
light. Sundays and holidays included, !
&hi down through the centuries to
few Years day. 1921.
Suppose he had been given $685.
o6.7W to start him on his long spell
Z spending. That Is one estimate OF
he sum that 1t cost to run this gov
znment in 1920. on the morning OF
anuary 1. 1921. this mythical disburs-
is oficer, giving money away at the :
ate Of 81 a minute. would have spent I
aly 5000. 10. 400. and would still
c one of the richest men In the {
Grid for he would have left on |
and $3.50. SS3, 306 of the original sum. I
nJing out at the rate OF So minute b
= more than 1900 years, he would
,f have kept pace with the cost Of
pkeep Of this government for the one i,
nxie rear 1920. =
Suppose this imaginary government v
'cnder had been authorized TO pay II
Il Mt the rate OF S23 minute through II
e centuries. He would not have n
'sshed. on January /. 1921, paying a
= our share OF the cost OF the World N
sr by some s78I.0:3960. He would II
We that much left over after paying ii
4 81. 2215. 1863 go. lie would have been
ying out nearly 40 cents every sec "a
d the clock licked for more than 10 A
zsaries without being able 10 DIS
ssge our share OF the World war
a
~ you ever bother your head about o..
~ bushels aud bushels Of dollars i,
& y0u contribute 10 The support Of u.
government You earned them.
) anow whether fho1 came aslly or =
DO you know whore fuey go a.
n ihey lelge fou bow they are en
'A whether Wisely Or fo0llshlyf MI
al your mo- ~. contributed for lie IA.
49, and economic conJu9 0f your \
aess There Is 40 such thing as IN.
gpmeni money 1be government u.
y esfned p fepf al,
~ oifn ulf govern peni apd y9p se,
ss1 "a AND u A. merely admlnls Nn
~ ufu ~ t0ul fe'eeiiNn. Nll
elHelf hfep ppTflod pbppi w Nf
~ nel fsle nv aeliYe apd eager ~
ST. W HAuf hseQmes ~ YOU ppl
" ltef }ep pay " ipf's il'