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Show MONEY AND WARFARE NATION'S 8THBNOTH MEAS-UHED MEAS-UHED DY TUB POrtMBtt. The Ureal Itnanrlal llnrilfna rait KlrtiRlIra Hair lmpnsrl on III Nn-Hon. Nn-Hon. or Ilia Ij4clli Our (Ikii llrrll-a"" llrrll-a"" Money Is nn eeecntlnl to the conduct con-duct of vnr. Hefore n government ran go to war, soldiers must be rn-page.l rn-page.l anil trained, fed and clothed, nrmrd and trantorte tn the scenn of action. Men mint be paid to enroll and drill tho troops; butchers, bakers nnd grocers, tnllora, shoemakers nnd luitmakcnt, cunmakers nnd tho manufacturers manu-facturers of shot anil shell must nil he paid for the work they do, or tho goods they furnish; laborers must bo hi ml to handle stores and supplies, Viagonn nnd drivers to transport them, railroad and ttrnmshlp companies do not work for nothing, nnd thus nt every point, a goternment that would go to war Is compelled to spend money In enormous amounts, for whatever Is needed must be had nt once, and ho government Is often forced to pay exorbitant prices for the advantage taken of It necessity by thoM who have something to sell. The debt of Trance, " for Instance, last year amounted to $(1,440.793 398, tho most ttupciilovs national obligation obliga-tion In tho history of fluanee This sum, Incnncetvahlo In Its magnitude, n mountain loul which wilt burden the Trench peoplo for generations to come, was Incurred by ono short war Th I'rnnco-Prusalsn ronfllet lasted only n few short months, and It not only decided tho place of Tranro In the family ot Europe, but It saddled !tho nation with n debt which In nil probability will never bo paid No such Indemnity na that demanded by (lermany from Trance was ever naked by any nation; the fact that It was paid Willi marvelous promptness la i the strongest tribute that can be offered, of-fered, not only to the commercial and Inriustrlnl prosperity, but to tho patriotic pa-triotic xesl of the French. The debt of Itussln I mostly tho result of th glsnt military establishment establish-ment by which tho Iron Empire la "maintained In ltd Integrity. During the past few year considerable Additions Addi-tions to the Husslan debt havo bean caused by the cxtontloa of the era-Tire's era-Tire's railroad systems along the southern and western frontier, but mere especially In Siberia. Tha railroad rail-road debt of Ilussta, however, Is but a trifle compared with the army debt, .and when It Is remembered that the iRumlan array on a peace footing numbers num-bers over 800,000 men, no surprise .na.. bo. felt JU, the, statement. that, tie ItUMrian debt Is over three and a half billions. While France, Itussla nnd Great Hrltaln have the heuvlest burdens of debt and taxation, there are other nations na-tions afflicted with obligations not so large In amount hut even heavier when compared with the national ability to pay- The debt of Italy.Tir Instance, Is $2,324,820,329, and that of Austria $2,850,389,539, but In each enso the resources of tho country nro moro severely taxed to meet this smaller obligation than ore those of the threo larger states which hare n much heavier debt, and In each case the obligation was Incurred either by war or by preparations for warlike contingencies con-tingencies that might arise. Leaving out of tho calculation the second-rate powers, the people of tha leading states of Europe nro now paying Interest In-terest on the stupendous sum of $22,-185,000,000, $22,-185,000,000, tho greater portion ot which was expended either In war or on armies and navies. We ourselves have had an experience experi-ence of tho cost of war. Our debt at present Is n little more than two billions, a mere trifle when compared with the wraith and resources of this great country, but tho debt Itself, Ilk that of every other nation, Is, In the main, the heritage of war. Our national na-tional obligations wero heavy Immediately Imme-diately after the close ot the revolution, revolu-tion, but were rapidly undergoing liquidation when tho second war with Clreat Hrttaln cams on. Tho Tarloua Indian wars, the war with Mexico, the civil war, and tho recent conflict with Spain nro all accurately noted In tho movement of tho public debt |
