Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1924-09-04
FIX WAR COST AT
80 BILLIONS COLD
Three Times Cost of United
States Government From
1871 to 1918.

!
Ing to calculations made by the
Bankers Trust company, In which all
expenditures We're reduced to gold
oasis. Figured In the currencies of
all the belligerent nations-currencie
anected In varying degrees by infia-
| tion caused by the issuance of paper
money and expanded bank credits In
financing the war-the cost converted
into dollars at par of the various cur
rencies was s2OS, 100000
ITO arrive at a uniform basis of
statement, we have divided the fig
ures of each nation for each year of
the war by the wholesale price index
number of that nation" says the
Bankers Trust "Thus we have OBJ
tanned a statement for each nation
In terms of 1913 prices. The sum of
these figures, sS0,6s0,000, 900, may be
called the gold cost of the war;"
The Bankers Trust company has
just published a book covering the
financing of the war, to which 1t has
given the title of "Inter-Ally Debts"
What $S0,6S0, 100000 gold really means
Is suggested by comparing the valu-
alton of $20.000,OOO. 900, roughly, put
on all the railroads of the United
States.
Eighty billion dollars would repro
duce all of the railway mileage of
the world and there would still be
over $20,000,0O0 to spare for some
other use-enough to build and equip
another railway system as great as
that of the United States.
British National Wealth.
In 1914 English economists esti-
mated the wealth of the people of
Great Britain to be about S7O,OO0,-
100000. All of the property of every
kind in England, Wales Scotland and
Ireland, the railways, the docks, the
shipping traversing every sea, the en-
tire navy, the great factories, the
coal, tin and iron mines, In short,
all tangible property of every sort
and kind, is represented by this $780,
O00,000,OO0, and yet the war cost $10,-
000,000,000 more than this, and $10,-
000,000,00O is equivalent to the entire
tangible wealth of Australia and New
Zealand.
Another comparison-the prewar
combined wealth of France and Italy
was just under $50, 900, 100000. The
war caused the Improbable consump-
ton of goods of value In gold equiv
alent to all of the property of every
kind of these two great nations of
nearly s0,000,0OO people; an amount
equivalent to the accumulations of
centuries wasted in four and One-half
years of strife.
1t Is hard to realize, but 1t Is a fact,
that SSO,0O0 100000 is so per cent more
than the total cost Of government In
Great Britain for the two and a quar-
ter centuries which elapsed from the
Revolution Of 1858 to the beginning of
the great war. 1t cost to meet the ex-
penses of Great Britain for two and
quarter centuries, in round figures,
$53, 600 100000.
Other Big Wars.
During this long period of 226 years
there were eight major wars, fought
at great expense-expense so great
that the thinking people of the times
were appalled, thereby. There were
the Wars of William III, costing around
S150,O0O,O 900; the Wars of Anne, cost
Ing over $25O.0OO,000. The Spanish
Right of Search war and the War OF
the Austrian Succession piled up an
other $500, 900, 900 or more. The Seven
Years war cost over $35O,OOOOOO.
Then came the American war, costing
over $500, 900, 900, and finally the Great
French wars, lasting from 1892 to
1915, costing around $4,000, 100000.
Later on, In the sos, the Crimean war
cost some $350,OOO,000 and finally the
Boer war, which lasted from 1899 to
1908, cost nearly s1,500,000,0OO. Be
sides these major wars there were
many costly military expeditions, fae
growing cost of civil government and
the eyer-present burden of the public
debt, and yet this total expenditure OF
this long period was only about i've
eighths of the gold cost of the great
war.
Coming home for a final comparison,
we find that the expenses OF the
United States government from its
foundation In 1901 through the year
1918. a period of century and a quar-
ter. were s24, SOC. 900, 000-less than
one-thlrd of the gold cost Of the great
war. and yet, during this long period
we fought England in 1912, Mexico In
the '4Os the very destructive Civil war
IN the 'eOs, also at various times many
Indian campaigns, to say nothing Oh
the Spanish war in the COS.
The expenses of civil government
were steadily growing. Our pension
roll called for heavy expenditures. 10
the current expenses of government
we could add the Louisiana Purchase,
the acquisition of Alaska, the purchase
of the Virgin islands, what we PAID
Spain for the Philippines and the COST
Of constructing the Panama canal ana
oven then the figure would be far I'M
dor a third of the total gold cost OF
the great war.
Oldest Juniper Tree
Logan IJtah.-A giant juniper tree