The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1921-12-22
v.
MAGNITUDE OF BILLIONS
Copyright, Western Newspaper Union

MAGNITUDE OF BILLION.
l have been throwing the incredible
figures at your head. Neither you no
anybody else has the faintest concep
tion Of what one billion dollars reall.
is. We speak Familiarity of billions a!
commonplace, but most of us live
our lives in terms of hundreds.
I have shown you that every one
Of US, man, woman and child, in this
country, paid last year $53.77 each
toward the support of the government.
OF course, every person does not pay
exactly $537. A great many pay
more and some pay less; but those
who pay the most try to take 1t out
OF 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 it averages out at
$53.77. 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.
In this way we have all paid our
share in the World war. The net cost
OF that enterprise to date has been
$24,1OO,O0O,O 900, or, including our loans
to foreign governments, which have
not been repaid, $S3, 455, 600, 900. These
are official treasury figures. Do not
let your e.'es run over them lightly.
Thirty:three billion four hundred and
dfty-ive million dollars is an almost
incomprehensible sum. The cost of
running the national government is
now around $4,000, 0O0,OOO year. The
experts say that for the next two or
three years the cost Of the government
will not descend below about $4,000.
100000 year.
! want you clearly to understand the
immensely, the magnitude, the over
whelming size of such sums. We
chatter about billions nowadays with
out In the least knowing what is
billion. Let me try to bring It home
to you. 1t is now, roughly speaking,
1920 years since the birth of Christ.
We do not know precisely and accu-
rately at what hour and on what day
Christ was born. But under the Gre
gorian calendar, according to which
we now reckon time, we have a
record Of the days since January first
of the year one, Ammo Domini. From
the beginning Of the year one to Jan
uary l, 1921, there elapsed about 7O1,.
267 days, or, to reduce it further,
l6,S3O,4OS hours, which being reduced
again, means 1,0O9, ,4SO minutes.
l will ask you to remember that the
whole history Of the modern world
from the first second of the year one
to the last second Of the year 1920
has been compressed into 1,OO9, 1924, 4SO |
Now let us suppose that with the
permission Of the Roman authorities
the United States had established a
disbursing officer at Jerusalem on the
drst day of the year one with instruc-
tons to pay out So a minute day and
night, Sundays and holidays included,
right down through the centuries to
New Years day, 1921.
Suppose he had been given $685.
)O5,7O6 to start him on his long spell
If spending. That is one estimate of
he sum that 1t cost to run this gov
in 1920. On the morning of
January l, 1921, this mythical dsburs-
ng officer, giving money away at the
ate OF 20 minute, would have spent
only $5,049,122, 400, and would still
'e one of the richest men in the
World, for he would have left on
land $500, $3.50, 3O6 Of the original sum.
aging out at the rate Of S. minute J.
or more than 1900 years, he would
lot have kept pace with the cost of .
pkeep of this government for the one
ingle year 1920.
suppose this imaginary government
pender had been authorized to paw r
ut at the rate of $23 a minute through I
he centuries. He would not have I
nished, on January l., 1921, paying {
or our share Of the cost of the World
ar by some $7S4,036,96O. He would
ave that much left over after paying
ut $23. 1895, 1853 ,040. He would have been
aging out nearly 40 cents every sec
nd the clock licked for more than 10
enturies without being able to dis
barge our share of the World war
Dst.
Do you ever bother your head about
lese bushels and bushels Of dollars /,
lat you contribute to the support of
le government? You earned them,
on know whether they came easily or 6
It. Do you know where they 20 =
ter they leave you, how they are
ent, whether wisely or foolishly7
5 all your money, contributed for the n
cper and economic conduct of your !
siness. There is no such thing as
vernment money. The government
yer earned cent. "
You own the government and you 1,
pport It, and It is merely admins Il
ed by men of your selection. Il
1e always been puzzled about why
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