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Show U. S. THE RICHEST NATION A recent publication of the United States bureau of the census gives figures fig-ures of this nation'n wealth for the year 1912. While these are obviously based largely upon estimates, the latter have been carefully and conservatively made. The conclusions are no less surprising sur-prising than gratifying. For the purposes of its investigation the bureau has classified all forms ol wealth under the two heads of (1) real property and improvements, and (2) personal and other property. Without confusing or terrifying the reader with an array of figures showing the totals in either of these classess or the numerous nu-merous sub-divisions under which the statisticians have assembled them, it will be snfficient to say that the grand total of the nation's wealth as thus esti-I esti-I mated comes just short of 18S billions of dollars. This is an increase of more than 145 billions over the figures shown by the census returns of 1880; more remarkable re-markable still, it is an increase of nearly 81 billions over the comparatively recent year of 1904. Based on these figures the wealth per capita of population in the United States was: for 1880, $870; for 1904, $1,318; and for 1912, $1,965. It was not possible for the census bureau to accompany its latest ..estimates ..esti-mates with comparisons of the wealth of other "nations, although for the year 1904 such comparisons were reasonably accurate and showed the United States to be at that time only a little less wealthy than Great Britain with a considerably con-siderably larger amount per capita. Judging from these figures of 19H4, and noting this nation's marked increase since that year, it will be evident that in any present comparison the United States would not only bulk large, but would almost certainly be found, by a comfortable margin, to be the richest nation in the world. |