Evening star., 1923-08-02
24,15Q,0lO,u)O CUT
NDEBT SINCE WAR
U. S. Also Aids Europe by
Gifts or Loans of $11,000,-
0C0,C00. Madden Says.
BY PAUL SCOTT MOwRER.
By Cable to The star and Chicago Daily News
Cnnrr rripht 1929

Copyright. 1929.
PARIS, August 2.-The total re-
duction in Americas public debt since
the close of the world war has been
s4.15o. 900. leaving n net public
debt as Of July II. 1923, of $4,000
OO0,0OO Representative Martin b,
Madden. chairman of the appropriations
committee. House of Representa- tives.
told the LAIlE!o-<Arne-dcan Press Associ-
a ton meeting here
Since the close of the war. he said.
private contributions have been made
bLihsfe ooufLIprnoUs pJhe peeU Iusqe
private cor4trib buttons have been made
by American citizens European
needs =tr,1s.1T1tir'== TO more than four
tended and supplies have been fur
nished to the extent Of more than six
billion dollars more, he asserted. and
food worth more than A billion dollars
has been furnished to sections of
Europe where the people were in dis
tress. The American government. he
declared. has never hesitated TO ex-
tend helping hand when able
L. =. Helps in Own Way.
1T is safe to say" he continued
that whenever the American people
can be helpful In their own way in
stabiizlng the world they will be
happy to cooperate. II IS also safe
to say that what they do must be along
lines they themselves originate and
their action must be independent of
them to action not Of their own choos-
ing
The total cost of the American gov
ernment, including all war expenses,
from 1916 to 1917. when America
entered the war. amounted to twenty
five billion dollars. he said
I'm the first six months after Amer
iCa'S entry into the war. the nation
was obligated to an expenditure of
twenty-four-and-a -a-half billion dol
lars. Fifty-one-anda a-half billion dol
lars were appropriated for the conduct
of civil and military activities of the
government during the period of the
war. All this was not expended. but
the government at the close of the
war has obligations current and fund
ed amounting to $S2.ooo,ooo.o00.
Drastic Cut in Expenses.
"1n early postwar readjustment OBJ
-
veloped to be $4,000. 100000. In 1919.
the year succeeding the war, expenses
of the government amounted to So
000.000.000. That year the govern
ment began to reduce expenses. 1t
lowered the estimates submitted by
the President by 1899. 100000, and in
the succeeding year Congress reduced
the estimated expenses of the govern
ment as submitted by the President
by approximately $500, 100000. In the
penses as proposed by the President
by $500, 100000. This made it pos
sible to reduce income taxes by $3.50
100000 a year.
THE cost of the government for
1920 had been reduced by Congress
from S9,0OO,000.o0O to S7,250,000.0 900,
and in 1921 to $500. 100000, in 1922 to
$4,000. 100000 and in 1928 to S3.400,-
100000. These figures are for the fis-
cal year which begins July l and ends
on the 1st of the succeeding July.
Huge Increase in Debt.
Before Americas entry into the
war it had a bonded debt of less than
81 ,o00, 900, 900. When the war closed
Americas bonded debt was s26.000.-
600, ,00O Before the war the annual
interest charge of the bonded debt
was s22,OO0,00O. Last year the an
nual interest charge amounted to ST.
100, 100000, and the total fixed charges
Of the government resulting from the
war aggregates annually $4,000, ,00O,-
600
"For the fiscal year 1922, which be-
gan July /. 1921, the estimated in
900 less than the estimated outgo.
But as the result of the economies in
stituted by the financial officers of
the government in cooperation with
the appropriations committee we
closed the past year with surplus
of S31S 600 0O0''