Then in her desperation Paris closed her doors to all foreign loans. The Viviani Ministry practically duplicated the plan of its predecessor in proposing an issue of $360,000,000 3-1/2 per cent bonds, which were redeemable in 25 years.
One year previously to this financial struggle the Belgian Government had started to raise $62,800,000 in order that the people of this country might prevent its being used as the battleground for the world war which they had seen away off in the future. This money was raised for the purpose of making Antwerp an impregnable fortress.
IMMENSE SUM FOR ARMY AND NAVY.
Russia had taken steps to raise $3,700,000,000 which the Russian Minister of Finance had informed the Budget Committee must be spent in the next five years on the army and navy. During the first year of the war there was $500,000,000 spent by this country in military and naval defence. This does not include the cost of those strategic railroads of which so many were constructed by the Russian Government, and which cost so many hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Previous to the time Great Britain declared war on Germany the House of Commons had voted $525,000,000 for Emergency purposes, and within a couple of days of this appropriation an additional $500,000,000 was granted by the British Parliament.
One of the things accomplished by war was to bring out the fact that the resources of individuals are far greater than is ordinarily suspected. In 1870 Bismarck imposed an indemnity of $1,000,000,000 on France, never believing that country could meet the great debt, but with the help of all the inhabitants the debt was lifted within a few months.
When countries are at war the cost of continuing fighting does not stop with those actually engaged. The trade of the world is affected, and this means loss in all quarters of the globe. Of the import trade of the United States more than $500,000,000 was directly with those nations engaged in the war at the opening of hostilities. This was out of a total of $1,850,000,000. A great part of this commerce is classed as among that which yields the greatest import tax, which means that internal taxes must be imposed on the people to make up for the money necessary to meet with the yearly loss occasioned during the continuance of the war.
ANNUAL NATIONAL INCOME.
In the United States there is an annual national income of $50,000,000,000, the total bank resources being $35,000,000,000, the individual deposits being $24,000,000,000, with cash held by the banks totaling $2,500,000,000, total gold stock in the country being $3,000,000,000, and available additional commercial credits on the basis of cash holdings totaling $6,000,000,000.
The borrowing power of the American Government does not total less than $40,000,000,000, from domestic sources, and this does not disturb the ordinary financial and economical affairs of the nation.