The Washington times., 1922-10-08
BY ROBERT i. BELL
n SI9s VefHaN ENgHsh CorFesPondeH AZ P1ss1 III
hteralied Debts and French Finance Suggests England Can
Gel Debt Owed Great Britain b France Four Important Conditions
Points Out That French Are Now More L Taxed Than English
French Farmers Made Wealth After War Claim s s
Veteran EHCIish CorrespoSdent At Pris)

ths popaiatiop IN Frsncs bsfors
the war. but the total revenue
from all sources IN 1913 was iss
frTncs Per head ofthe popplatioar--
the sxperdituTe being iss francs.
Ths.totsl ..corrscted'.. revenue In
i911,was ls7.4o francs lS7T;sp paper
francs). only ss.7 psr cent more
than In 1915. The relative In.
,crsase In taxation rss probably
shout the Same. In. the ,ynitSd
lrihsdopy on the other hand, the
taxation Per head oflths pSpuiation
wAs u poupds ~ shiIlinss In 1921
v-ats, '.correctsd'. value being II
pounds and the total teysnus was
% pounds ? shillinss -.corrsctsd''
value 1s pounds. 'g.Ss
u IN 1919 the total British revenue
xas Z bounds 10 shiiiings per head
Of the population, %: Il. had In.
creased 1855 per cent In 1891. No
doubt the Increase In ,taxstton was
IN much the same proportion. :
That is TO say. the British tax
payer was paying. In 1871 three and
. half times - much a. before the
wsr' and the French, taxpayer not
quite q third a. much again. And
the British taxpayer was paying
more than twice ~ much as the
Frenoa-117.s par cent more. ..,
Whether the burden Of tax,tion
be heavy or not depends. bow.
sver. on its relation to. income.
Before the war the British national
income per head Of the population
was SIS per cent higher than the
French, and there II no reason to
suppose that their relation to each
other has altered.
II It has not. French taxation
would have to be tncreased S5.2
per cent to make It even relatively
a high a. British. Let us, how.
ever, take the quite gratuitous
hypothesis that the real value Of
Nthe British national income has
remained the came. while thar Of
the French has declined In the
same proportion as tie estimated
decline In the real value Of the
national wealth. '...sJ
On that hypothesis. the Britich
national income per hsad Of the
population In 1891 would have been
90 pounds 10 shillinss, and tho
French 1859 francs-in paper
money-so that the ''corfected"
value Of the British national in.
come would have been ss.s per cent
more than that Of the French.
Even on this somewhat ex.
travasant hypothesis we get the
following comparisons: The total
French rsvenus from all sources
per head Of the population was Ia
per cent Of the national income In
1919 and s2Z per cent In 1891.
The total British revenue per
heaa Of the population was . per
cent Of the national income in 1913
and 1SS per cent Of the national
Income In France and ~ per cent
In the United Kingdom.
MORE LIGHTLY TAXED.
Thus, on the most favorable
hypothesis possible to France
almost certainly more favorable
than the actual .facts--the French
are much more lightly taxed than
the English. apart from the fact
that taxes In England are really
paid. The French have no heavier
a financial burden to bear than we.
and are quite a. well able to bear It.
1t h not the cost Of reconstruc-
ton that has thrown the French
national finances into chaos. One
Of the principal causes 10 the re-
fusal Of the wealthy bourgeoisie
and the farmers to contribute their
Just share of taxation, or any
thing like It. .'..
It 10 q little difficult to ask
British taxpayers to present 572,-
ooo. .oos pounds to prosperous and
wealthy country whore. although
the poorer part Of the urban popu.
lation In crushed under the load
Of indirect taxation, tho agricul-
turists and the wealthy classes
pay nothing like what they pay
IN England. = 80
The only thing that could make
It worth while for the British
taxpayers to consent to such a
sacrifice would be the assurance
that they would thereby secure
the peace Of Europe. That In.
wolves certain conditions. II
would not be enough merely to re-
duce tie French claim on Ger.
many and enable Germany to pay
by an international loan.
The occupation Of German ter.
ritory and the oppressive regime
&. existing in the saar Valley are
insurmountablso obstacles to rec.