Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1921-12-29
By EDWARD G. LOWRY
Copyright. Western Newspaper Union
III.
MAGNITUDE OF BILLIONS

L nave been throwing the 1ncreulDle
igures at your head. Neither you nor
anybody else has the faintest cOncep-
ton of what one billion dollars really
| Is. We speak Familiarity of billions as
commonplace, but most of us live
Dur lives in terms of hundreds.
l 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 $5377 A great many pay
more and some pay less; but those
who pay the most try to take it 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
| S53.77. 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
S24, 100000, or, including our loans
to foreign governments, which have
not been repaid, 500, 455, 100000. These
are official treasury figures. Do not
let your eyes run over them lightly.
| Thirty-three billion four hundred and
| ffty-five million dollars is an almost
| ncOmprehenSible sum. The cost of
running the national government is
now around $4,000, 100000 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
cut in the least knowing what Is a
| 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-
ratey at what hour and on what day
| Christ was born. But under the Gre
g6rian 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
nary l. 1921, there elapsed about 701,-
2G7 days, or, to reduce it further,
1880, 40S hours, which being reduced
again, means 1,009,S244SO minutes.
I 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 1909, 1924, $50
minutes.
Now let us suppose that with the
permission Of the Roman authorities
the United States had established q
disbursing officer at Jerusalem on the
first day of the year one with instruc-
tons to pay out S. minute day and
night, Sundays and holidays included,
riSht down through the centuries to
New. Years day, 1921. ..
Suppose he had been given $685.
0d5,706 to start him on his long spell
Of spending. That is one estimate of
tie sum that 1t cost to run this gov
eminent in 1920. On the morning of
J;thuary l, 1921, this mythical disburs.
Ing officer, giving money away at the
rate of s. minute would have spent
only $5,G40, 100, 400, and would still
be one of the richest men In the
| world for he would have left on
! hand 1896, 8S3,306 of the original sum
I Paying out at the rate Of SIS minute
for more than 1900 years, he would
( hatthave kept pace with the cost OF
4 ;upkesp Of this government for the one
--singfe. year 1920. ,..-s ,.
\ = Suppose this. imaginary government
spencer chad been authorized to pay
out at the rate of 500 a minute through
1.-The. centuries. He would not have
| finished, on January 1, 1921. paying
for our share of the cost of the World
''war by some '$7S4036,96Q. He woufd
fave~that much left oven after paying
out.$2s, 2a5, a63, 040. He weullthave beer
+.tsahsa out nearly 40 cents every see
Eopd the. CLOCK, tickedsfor more than Is
:. centuries without being able to, dis
charge our share Of the World wal
cost. -,
| Do you ever bother your head about
these bushels and bushels Of, dollars
: l'that you contribute to the support OF
the government? You earned them
!: You know whether they came easily OF
mot. -, Do you know where they &C
after they leave you. how they are
4 spent, whether wisely or foolishlyi
It's aI'your money, contributed for the
proper and economic conduct of your
business. There Is no such thing as
government money. The government
never earned cent.
You own the government and you
support it, and 1t Is merely admins
tered by men of your selection.
have always been puzzled about why
you do not take an active and eager
interest," in what becomes of your
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