The New York herald., 1921-02-23
The War President and the Man
Who Comes After Him.

1t is one of the commonplaces Of
American history that the war Pres
idents get the glory and the men who
follow them into the White House
pay the piper. To great extent this
has been true But there has never
been such burden left by war
President as Mr.. WILSON is leaving to
Mr.. HARDING.
General WASHINGTON had the glory
of our first war, when we had no
President at ALL and President WASH
INGToN had also the honor and the
work that came TO the first regular
Administration. From the money side
of ii there was nothing that could
perturb WASHINGTON. The Revolu-
ton had left the new republic with
national debt OF S170OO0,00O. This
I'm some respects was cause for con-
graduation rather than dismay, how
ever, for considerable part Of the
debt was owed abroad. The very fact
that the national credit of an infant
government was established cheered
WASHINGTON. He had behind him a
young and ambitious people who in
dustriously titled fertile land.
MADISON was President during the
War of 1872. an unpleasantness which
cost the United States Si2O,0OO,OO0.
This amount does not ring big in
these times, when a Shipping Board
can spend as much as that In month,
but in MADIsoN's day our population
was less than 10000, 600 and dollar
meant great deal more than 1t
means now. Yet when JAMES Mon
ROE entered on the Presidency in
1917 he found the public revenues in
such good condition that, in his first
message to Congress. he expressed no
fear that the last payments on the
Louisiana Purchase could not be
made two years later.
A different condition came after
The Mexican War. ZACHARY TAYLoR,
who succeeded the war President,
Polk, found that the war and the pur-
chase Of California and New Mexico
had caused a deficit of $4,000, ,o0o-
an amount more than the whole ma
tional debt had been before the war
started. The war itself had cost
s175. 100000 To get the treasury out
OF the hole President TAYLOR recon-
mended a higher tariff.
The Civil War cost the Gorern-
ment more than three billions. II
shot the national debt from 10000
600 in 1860 to 81. $50. 100000 in 1865.
It robbed the nation Of wealth of
human life. 1t disorganized industry.
It created false prices for labor and
goods. II left weak currency sys-
tenn. All these problems which LIN
coin might have handled as firmly
rs he handlel the rebellion, were
thrown by fate into the care of the
luckless JOHNSON. Matters might
have been worse than they were in
his term: only the great natural
wealth Of the country and the resil-
iency Of the American spirit kept af-
fairs on the mend And even then
the United States could not escape
the panic Of 1873. the seeds of which
we're sown during the war.
The war with Spain cost only a
few hundred millions In money and
there was no great IS Of life and no
industrial somersault. President
MCKINLEY. during whose term the
war was fought, remained in Office
more than two years afterward. The
cost OF the war was In large part
paid at once by the application Of
new internal revenue taxation. Presi-
dent RoosvELr had no need TO be
niggardly in the prosecution of his
great constructive policies. ike the
making OF the Panama Canal. He
was not for extravaganza but he was
for progress and he found the Ameri-
can people eager pnd willing TO go
ahead with him.
The War Of 1912 trlpled the public
debt of the United States. The war
with Mexico quadrupled II. The Civil
war increased It fourfold The war
with Spain caused only slight in
crease I'm the debt. But the World
war saw Americas debt advance from
one billion TO twenty-four billions.
We spent, or spent and lent together,
ten times as much as the Civil War
cost in money.
The new Administration comes into
Office facing m interest charge Of a
billion dollars year. This nation,
which once gasped when It discovered
that the machinery Of government
was costing billion year, now has
TO pny that amount yearly on It's debt
clone. SO long rs the foreign Powers