Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1922-04-28

! AnOtner way 10 visualize the amount
Is to recall that the largest private
loan ever floated in the United States
was the Anglo French loan in 1915
for $500, 100000, or just about half the
amount this government paid out in
interest charges last year.
There is another class OF loans
which call for interest payments just
about double the amount paid out by
the government. These are the loans
and discounts Of the banks of the
country. A composite, statement Of
the national, state and private banks
and trust companies OF the United
States, comprising 30,100 institutions,
as Of June 1920. shows total loans. and
discounts of $31,25s147,000 These
are the loans made by the banks to
their customers and are mostly Sc
cured by real estate and farm mort
cages, or collateral Of one kind or an
other. Estimating the average in
terest rate at six per cent, 1t means
that the people Of the country must
go up to the bank counters and pay
$1,S75,S6S,S2O year for the privilege
of using the money which the deposit
tors have left with the banks.
These two items are only a small
part of the enormous sums passed
from hand to hand each year as pre-
MUM on borrowed money.
Two hundred and twenty seven
cities of 10000 or more population
had funded Indebtedness at the end
Of 1919 Of $S,455, $50, 1898 and the inter-
est on this money paid by these cities
in 1919 was s156,63O,2Os Inasmuch
as most Of the towns Of the country
under 10000 population have funded
debts, the amount mentioned above
would be greatly increased II this in
formation was available. How far
short the figures are from the real
totals may be surprised when DR.. Ed
win r. A. Soligfnan, professor Of poll
tical economy Of Columbia University,
estimates the amount of tax-exempt
securities outstanding in this country
at $3O,000,0O0,00O. OF this amount, he
says s10.000,000,000 Is composed of
municipal, county, state and school
bonds and notes. They are exempt
] from taxes, but they give no exemp-
tion of interest.
The funded debt of the 4S states Of
the Union at the end of 1919 was
S625,0sS,SS1 and the interest paid dur
ing that year for the. use of this mon
ey was s24,o1s,S0s. The funded debt
of the counties within these states at
the end of 1919 was ss2,2S6,161 ana
the interest payments during the year
amounted to $17,f17.5ss.
1. The railroads OF, the country are
borrowers of vast sums Of money.
The funded debt Of the Class A rail-
roads, those with gross increase OF
100000 year or more, was $10,0l5,-
273,670 on Dec. 81, 1920. Estimating
the average rate Of interest at four
and one-half per cent. these loans call
fer annual interest payments aggre-
gating $3.50, 0,6S7, ,315 The Class rail-
road will add approximately $780,
100000 in funded debt and $S1, 100000
a year in interest charges.
The Federal Land bank had s434,-
534,775 in bonds outstanding on De-
ccmher 81, 1921, which. call for the
payment of around s1s554,Os4 in in
terest each year.
A total Of 6.542 companies operating
central electric light and power sta
tions in the United States had fund
ed indebtedness on December 81, 1917
of s1.2s7,31s,S5s and the interest
payments for that year amounted to
s5S S,37s,393. -
One thousand three hundred and
seven electric railways on the same
date had founded debts amounting to
S3,050,179,272 which call for annual
interest payments aggregating $685.
654,327. .-... .....-..'.'.
Two thousand and two hundred
telephone systems had funded debts
Of $503,55S,971 on December 81, 1917;
on which the annual interest amounts
to s26,S6S,S61.
The. census bureau places the farm
mortgage debt Of the country In 1920
at $4,012,711,213 and the average in
terest rate at 81 per cent. which
means that the farmers have to pay
$244,775,3S3 in interest on their in
debtedness each year.
Interest earned in 1920 by 81 life in
Sui ance companies amounted to $307,-
954.929. This indicates the face value
Of the loans to be around $s,15s,OsS,-
$50. .-.~.-
The figures already given show that
the people and corporations of this
county are in debt for borrowed mon
ey to minimum amount Of $S7,562,-
133,106 and that they are paying for
the use of this money approximately
$4,447,5S4,930 a year. In order to ap-
preciate the size of this amount Of
money let us point out that 1t would
take II per cent. of all the gold and
silver coins, Federal reserve and nat
ional bank notes, treasury notes Of all
kinds and descriptions in circulation
in the United States on June 80, 1921,
/ to- loIN