Of the Central Powers, Germany started at once on October 1, 1914, to issue a war loan at 5 per cent., having from the outset decided to rely upon comparatively long time bonds rather than upon temporary or short time securities as was the case in England and in France. There followed in regular succession eight war loans bearing 4½ and 5½ per cent. interest. As a result, the debt of Germany, which before the war amounted to Mk. 4,732,000,000 increased on October 31, 1919, to Mk. 204,000,000,000 or $48,552,000,000; the war debt proper in Germany would therefore amount to $47,426,000,000.
TOTAL WAR DEBT, UNITED STATES
When the United States entered the war it depended, for the time being, on temporary war certificates. But at the beginning of June, 1917, Liberty Loans were issued in continually greater dimensions. In the table below the details of the four Liberty Loans and the Fifth Victory Loan are given, showing that over $20,000,000,000 were raised from bonds alone. To these is to be added the unfunded loans. It appears that the total net debt of the United States, which in April, 1917, was $1,190,000,000, increased by June 30, 1919, to $24,232,000,000, making a war debt of $23,042,000,000. Inasmuch, however, as somewhat over a billion dollars from the Victory Loan will be paid in the course of the year 1919—20, and as still more will have to be borrowed temporarily, the total war debt of the United States by the end of 1920 will amount to over $25,000,000,000, including the nine billions advanced to the Allies.
| UNITED STATES | ||
|---|---|---|
| In Millions | ||
| Debt Less Cash in Treasury | Annual Interest Charge | |
| April 5, 1917 | $1,189 | $23 |
| June 30, 1917 | 1,909 | 84 |
| June 30, 1918 | 10,924 | 466 |
| June 30, 1919 | 24,233 | 619 |
| DEBT ON JUNE 30, 1919 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonds | ||||
| Pre-war bonds | 833 | |||
| War loans | ||||
| First Liberty Loan | $1,985 | |||
| Second Liberty Loan | 3,566 | |||
| Third Liberty Loan | 3,959 | |||
| Fourth Liberty Loan | 6,795 | |||
| Victory Loan (notes) | 3,468 | 20,455 | ||
| Treasury Certificates | 3,634 | |||
| Old debt on which interest increased | 2 | |||
| Non-interest bearing debt | 236 | |||
| ——— | ||||
| Total gross debt | 25,485 | |||
| Cash on hand | 1,252 | |||
| ——— | ||||
| Net debt | (In Millions) $24,233 | |||
The other belligerents need not be treated separately. The total pre-war debt, including Japan, whose debt was increased only by the money raised to loan to Great Britain and France, amounted to almost $28,000,000,000. The debt at the close of the war amounted to over $224,000,000,000, making the net war debt somewhat over $196,000,000,000. When we compare this with the total cost of the war, which, as we have seen, will amount to about $210,000,000,000, it appears that almost the entire cost of the war will have been defrayed from loans, the difference of well-nigh $15,000,000,000 derived from taxation being due almost entirely to the efforts of Great Britain and the United States respectively.
| PUBLIC DEBT OF THE BELLIGERENTS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 000,000 omitted | |||||
| Before the war | After the war | War debt | |||
| Great Britain | Aug. 4, 1914 | £650 = $3,165 | Mar. 31, 1919 | £7,643[21]= $37,221 | $34,056 |
| Australia | Aug. 4, 1914 | 97 = 472 | Jan. 31, 1919 | [22]336 = 1,634 | 1,162 |
| Canada. | Aug. 4, 1914 | 332 | Mar. 31, 1919 | 1,584 | 1,250 |
| New Zealand | Aug. 4, 1914 | 100 = 487 | Mar. 31, 1919 | 170 = 828 | 341 |
| South Africa | Aug. 4, 1914 | 126 = 614 | Mar. 31, 1919 | 175 = 846 | 332 |
| British Empire | $5,070 | $42,213 | $37,143 | ||
| France | July Empire | fr. 32,594 = $6,291 | Dec. 31, 1918 | fr. 167,459 = 32,322 | 26,031 |
| Russia | July 1914 | ru. 8,800 = 4,623 | Jan. 1, 1918 | ru. 49,288 = 25,383 | 20,760 |
| Italy | May 1915 | li. 13,636 = 2,621 | Oct. 31, 1918 | li. 77,763 = 15,009 | 12,388 |
| Belgium | Aug. 2, 1914 | fr. 3,743 = 722 | Apr. 30, 1919 | fr. 9,787 = 1,888 | 1,166 |
| Rumania | Aug. 1916 | 292 | Oct. 31, 1918 | 1,020 | 728 |
| Serbia | July 1914 | 271 | Oct. 31, 1918 | 730 | 459 |
| Japan | July 1914 | yen 2,494 = 1,190 | July 31, 1918 | yen 2,530 = 1,265 | 18 |
| United States | Apr. 5, 1917 | 1,190 | June 30, 1919 | 24,232 | 23,042 |
| Entente Powers | $22,327 | 144,062 | 121,735 | ||
| Germany | Aug. 1, 1914 | mk. 4,732 = $1,126 | Dec. 31, 1918 | mk. 204,000 = $48,352 | 47,426 |
| Austria-Hungary | Aug. 1, 1914 | 3,726 | Oct. 31, 1918 | kr. 137,858 = 25,584 | 24,858[23] |
| Turkey | Nov. 1914 | LT 112 = 485 | Oct. 31, 1918 | LT 455 = 2,002 | 1,517 |
| Bulgaria | Oct. 4, 1915 | 219 | Oct. 31, 1918 | 974 | 755 |
| Central Powers | $5,556 | $80,112 | |||
| Total | In Millions $27,883 | In Millions $224,174 | 196,291 | ||
[21] Counting on repayments of one half of the loans to the Allies (£816 millions).
[22] Not including the debts of the separate states.
[23] Obtained by considering the debt of the new Austria as representing 70 per cent of the debt of all the states which constituted the old empire.