The Newark journal., 1922-01-19
cNpT ight. Western Newspaper Union
III. MAGNITUDE OF BILLIONS

have been throwing the incredible hgnres at your hesd Neither yeu nor anybody else has Ihe faintest concep- ton of what one billion dollars really is. We speak familiarly of billions as commonplace. but most of us live our Hives in terms of hundreds.
 have shown you that every one of us, man, woman and child. in this eoantry, paid last year S53.77 each aoward the support of the government. Dt course, every person decs not pay exactly $53.77. A great many pay mere and some pay less; but those 'Efo pay the most try to take it out 'ht 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 1t averages out at S53.II. Some pay more than their share. others pay less. This is called an incident of taxation. The whole poin: is that VIC 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 If that enterprise to date has been $24,l00000 9o0. or. including our loans to foreign governments. which have not been repaid $33, ,455, 100000 These are official treasury figures. Do not let your eyes run over them lightly. Thirty-three billion four hundred and ffty-fiye million dollars Is an almost incomprehensihle sum. The cost of running the national government k How around SJs0o0000090 a year The experts say that for the next two or three years the cost of Che government will not descend below about S408o.- 0o0.000 q year.
 Iwant you clearly to understand the immensitY, the magnitude. the over wbelming size of such sums We chatter about billions nowadays with out In the least knowing what is billion. Let me try Go bring H home To You. IL is now. roughly speaking. 1920 years since the birth If Christ. We do not know precisely and aecu- 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 4aye record of the days since January first Of the year one. Anno Domin From the beginning of the year one 10 Jan. nary l, 1921, there elapsed about 7OI,- 26I days, CT. to reduce it further, 1G,S30,40S hours which being reduced again, means 10a9, ,S24 ,4S0 minutes.
 l will ask you 10 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 .009, ,S24 .4S0 minutes.
 Now let us suppose that with the permission of the Roman authorities the United States had established a disbursing officer al Jerusalem on the first day of the year one with instruc- tions to pay out s a minute day and night. Sundays and holidays included, right down through the centuries to New Years day, 1921.
 Suppose he had been given $5.6SG.- 005, roc to start him on his long spell of spending. That is one estimate of the sum that 1t cost to run this gov ernment in 1920. On the morning of January l, 1921, this mythical disburs- ing officer, giving money away at the rate of s a minute, would have spent only $5O49, ,l22, 400, and would still be one of the richest men in the world, for he would have left on hand $636. .SS3, ,306 of the original sum- Paying out at the rate of $5 a minute for more than 1900 years, he would not have kept pace with the cost of upkeep Of this government for the one single year 1920.
 Suppose this imaginary government spender had been authorized 10 pay out at the rate of S23 minute through the centuries. He would not have finished on January l, 1921, paying for our share of the cost of the World war by some $784 403G,9G0 He would Ihave that much left over after paying
 '' 'f-''s----tt llt NhAlNA ll>t hNN IT paving out nearly 40 cents every see ond the clock ticlied for more than f9 centuries without being able to d's- charge our share of the World war cost.
 l1o you ever bother your head about shese bushels and bushels of dollars that you contribute to the support of Ihe government? You earned them. lou kaow whether they came easily or hQf. Do You know where they go utter ney leave yon. how trey are sleh' whether wlse!y or foolishIy7 II all Near money, contributed for the proper and economic conduct of your eus'ness. There is no such thing as government money. The government never earned a cent.
 iou own the government and you support it, and 1t Is merely admins ' ".ea oy men of your selection. I ' nave always been puzzled about why !ou uo not take an active and eager nieresi in what becomes of your money one that you pay in taxes