The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1921-08-04
HOW RICH ARE WE?

1 lie Dcucl IudC IuC OuitCu OIdLcS IL Cuc
Ichest country on earth is world wide,
and this belief is probably we'll founded.
A year ago last June a prominent Eng
lish financier, in an address read before
the Bankers Institute, London, estimat-
ed the entire wealth of this country to be
three hundred and fifty billion dollars,
and that of the British Empire was about
one-third that sum. These estimates
were based on the after war money value
of the two countries. The war inflated
values in this country and debated values
in all Europe and it is evident that the
above estimate of our wealth is too high
and that of England too low. In 1912,
the Census Bureau estimated our wealth
to be one hundred and eighty-seven bill
lion dollars, but there is very larE.
amount of Intangible wealth in this coun-
try which the census failed to discover
nd it seems safe to say that in 1912, the
mount of all the property of the United
States and its people was not less than
two hundred and twenty billions. The be-
lief prevails that the United States has
largely increased its wealth since then, but
we do not share in this belief. 1t is true
that during the period from 1912 to June
80, 1920, our exports exceeded our imports
about eighteen billion dollars, but we
had losses. Mr.. Houston, Secretary of
the Treasury during the latter part of
President Wilson's administration, said
that S24, 010, goo, 600 represented the lad
justed" expenditures of the Treasury for
the actual prosecution of the war from
April 6, 1917, to June 80, 1920 We do
not know how many war claims have
been adjusted" since then, but it is a
fact few weeks ago Mr.. Mellon, the
present Secretary of the Treasury, set
tied with Great Britain for the transport
tation of our soldiers and paid S32 900, =
900, the balance of the account due, and
we presume he has paid other large bills.
We have loaned nearly half billion dol
lars to countries which will never pay a
cent of either the principal or of the in
terest We have donated another half
billion to the famine stricken people of
other lands. The government took over
the management of the railroads and
spent billion dollars in tying to oper-
ate them. When taken over the roads
represented a property investment of
some nineteen billion dollars and today
that investment is worth not more than
eighty per cent of that sum. There have
been hundreds of other property losses,
some large, some small, but in addition
to everything else is the indisputable fact
that during the war, national advance in
the prosperous paths of peace were at the
dead point. individuals and corpora
tons, thousands of them, accumulated
wealth during the war, not so did the ma
zion. Whether we fought to ''make the
world safe for democracy" or to save our
skins is not nder discussion here. All
will admit, however, that we did not
light for more territory nor for an in
demnity, and we are not going to get any
of either. We must sta hd our losses,
and some time we must pay what we
owe. The nation, the State, the munich
pa!ities, the corporations and individuals
must pay or so into insolvency. Given
in round numbers our national debt is
$40, 900, 100000. The total debt of our
forty-eight States is 1880, 10000 The
bonded debt of our railroads is $l2, 000,-
O00, 600. Our cities having population
Of 80, 900 and upward have an aggregate
debt of 81, 600, 600, 600. We do not know
how much is owed by the smaller cities
end towns. Neither do we know the
total Indebtedness of industrial organiza-
tons, electric railroads, power compa-
MES and other corporate borrowers, nor
the dc BITS of individuals, although census
figures Just issued show that farm mort
cages amount to $4,000, 100000. The
above figures total S45, 500, 600, 900 and it
i safe to say that the debts IF the indus
trials, the electric, power and corporate
borrowers will swell the total indebted
ness of and in this country to nearly or
quite 100000, 600, 600.
MCADOO AND BAKER OUTDONE