The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1944-06-02

From the Congressional Record
OF May 10. | take these figures on
the national debt from George
Washington to Franklin D. Roose-
welt. And It shows some astonish-
ing relationships between war and
debt.
We came out OF the Revolution
airy War with a huge debt for a
small country, $75,sS0,000 which
meant a per capita of 1882. FIT
ty years later, that is by the year
1870. the national debt had been
reduced to $3,573,00O with a per
capita Of 81 cents. Practically
speaking the debt was nothing
and its cost to the individual was
equal to four nickel cigars. The
Civil War shot the debt up so that
the end OF the Lincoln Administra-
ton found this country with ma.
tional debt OF $2,677 .929, 000-the
per capita was s77.07. For 20
years beginning with the Admins
tration OF President Grant and con-
tinuing through the Administra
ton of President Harrison, debt
reduction was constant until it
fell to 1851 ,431 900 in 1S93-the
per capita being $14.49. This was
an era of great prosperity. OF the
widest constructive developments
in railroads, the opening OF mines
and the establishments OF indus
| try.
Even a small war, like the Span.
ish-American, shot the debt up to
S1436,700000 with a per capita Of
1888. and following it for a pro-
longed period the debt remained
fairly stable, but as the population
increased, the per capita was re-
duced so that by 1916. it was only
S1196.
The great War I shows what wars
do to national debts. Take the
four years:
Gross National Debt Per Cap.
1917 5 2,975,618.000 1887
1918 12,2i2.62S.000 1855
1919 25.4S2,034.0 900 24O.09
1920 24,29791S,000 22s.32
We came down for a while, but
not far. The lowest point was
1880, when the debt was $16,1S5..
3OS,OO0 with a per capita OF $131.4s.
Then we began to shoot up again.
This year the debt will be s2O6 .24n..
100000 with a per capita Of ST.
$3.50. On June 30, 1915. the ma.
uonal debt Of the United States
will be at least $25S. 900, OOO. 900 with
per capita Of s1,9s4.61. Every
family OF five in this country on
that date will have a first lien of
its productivity OF $e,923.05.
These figures may bore the read.
er who dislikes such dry-as.dust
stuff, but the money comes out OF
your pocket and you might Just as
well get used TO looking at these
millions and billions with interest.
excitement, and considerable worry.
A national debt is a personal OBJ.
lisation OF every citizen. The pol
ltician who says that it does not
count because we owe 1t to our.
selves Is not telling the truth. To
say 1t in simpler language: he Is
lying. We owe it to each other
perhaps but not to ourselves. And
what we owe to each other must
be paid. The debt determines the
credit OF the country and the value
OF It's currency. A man may burn
his own bonds as a contribution to
the nations credit but he cannot
burn another persons bonds.
To meet these obligations, the
government will need between five
and six billion dollars in carrying
charges each year. which means
that that much money must be COL
lected in taxes each year to take
care Of the debt alone without re-
gard to other. costs OF government.
We shall therefore have to pay
high taxes in the future-and &c.
onomies can only be effected in
the costs Of administration. There
can and will he no economies In
the carrying charges OF the debt.
for to monkey with that would be
10 invite a wild. speculative infIa-