The Evening Star FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1917.

Evening Star, Issue 16350, 16 February 1917, Page 4

The Evening Star FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1917.

It is wholly in harmony with all that wo know of the unparalleled The Cost in crisis through which the Money. world is passing that the

cost in money should he upon a like unprecedented scale. If the human tribute that has been so lavishly laid upon the altar of liberty is vast beyond the limit of intelligent comprehension, so, too, is tho lesser sacrifice that lias Leon, and must continue to ho, made of the world's stores of accumulated wealth. But in neither is it possible oitho- accurately to estimate the cost or to state such cost in terms that can be readily grasped by tho average individual. The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr Bcmir Law), early in the week, told the House, of Commons that the National (or War) Debt at the end of tlw financial year (March 51) would amount to nearly £4,900,000,000. How few, however, pause to think what these figures mean.; and how even fewer regard them as having any bearing upon their own personal status ns citizens. The, average, mind revolts against tables of printed figures, and lias accustomed itself to regard them as something that may concern Government officials, but hare 710 veal boaring upon Hie, everyday amenities and necessities of life. To the majority, possibly, there is little or no clear distinction between two and a-lialf thousand millions and five thousand millions. Neither the one nor the other conveys any veiv definite meaning, nor presents something that enables ns to realise its gravity. Yet it remains true that it is tlie figures with which statesmen deal that represent the, last official expression of even so ghastly and appalling a tragedy as that which for more than two years and a-half has shamed and mocked mankind. It is when w« try to restate these, same facts in mere familiar form that we better begin to understand their bearing upon our own national life. Had Mr Botm- Law laid the House of Commons that the National Debt, which stood at £662.000.000 on March 51, 1914, would total nearly £5,000,000,000 on March 51, 1917, he would have said that which, hr the very sharpness of the contrast presented, would hare made plain to the most indifferent, and set thinking ever, these who " can't W bothered with figures." an aspect of the great war that may not hitherto have come home to them. It is possible that au ardent social reformer has only a vague conception of what a war delrt of five thousand millions sterling means, but be. will instantaneously understand its effect upon the cause ho has a.t heart when he is told that the Interest and sinking fund on the war debt alone will in future call for more than the total national revenue of any single rear prior to the war. At the same time, tremendous and atfirst, sight seemingly hiumiprchensiblc as these figures are, there is no hint of doubt that the Empire will not be able to be,tithe burden, and, in the Chancellor's own words, ‘'wipe it out in time." Bui his faith and his promise are subject to conditions. Nor would we have it otherwise, knowing that these are such as no loyal citizen need fear to face. There is nothing new about them. They have mere than once been spoken by the Rriine Minister, by Mir William Robertson, by' Mir John Jeiiicoe, and by others who have the light to advise—viz., individual self-sacrifice, courage, and c-unfidenuy. Possessing these, says Mr Bonar Law, we can endure until the nation, the Empire, and its Allies have attained the goal of their intent.

There are genuine grounds for satisfaction in tlie realm of finance- as in that of actual war when we compare British methods with those of the enemy. In the first place, it is worthy of note that there is absolutely no attempt at concealment by the British authorities of the actual financial position of the 1 nation. Budgets have been drawn up, submitted to the House of Commons, and published as frankly and openly as they were before the war. All the world knows how much, the war is costing Britain; how much slie has borrowed ; her total revenue receipts and the total expenditure. Tho world also knows that fresh taxation to an unprecedented amount has been levied upon the people; that it has been itiet; that for the current year this new taxation alone will yield" £500,000,000 over and above the previous record pre-war return of £200.000,000; and that the fabulous sums required for interest and sinking fund have been and will continue to be paid out of revenue. Last, but not least—though the above by no means exhaust the tale of those things that in this respect redound to our honor and constitute the most effective, though possibly least used, weapons wherewith to answer oar detractors—Britain is tho only belligerent country throughout the war in which its note issues have been redeemable iu gold on presentation at tlie. bank counter. Comparisons aro oft times odious, but they arc frequently necessary if tho object be to cheer the timid and strengthen the feeble.

A comparison of British financial methods with those of Germany is as legitimate a procedure as its results a-r-e satisfactory. No adequate comparison, however, is jiossihle, for the simple reason that tin; two methods are as distinct from each other as darkness from light. The object of British Chancellors is to let the nation know how it stands; that ot German Treasurers to conceal the truth from both Parliament and people, Khoru of its arrogance and boastings. Dr Helfferich's Fin-aucial Statement- of ia.st March was a tissue of deception, braggadocio, and hiding of the real facts. Tho then Treasurer confessed hj« was not giviim reliable estimates of income and expenditure; he omitted altogether the expenditure on tlie army and navy: a-rid, in a burst- of confidence, he admitted that he was doing what he wns doing because the Constitution required a Budget of some kind. “ Look here upon this picture and on this.” In Germany all notes mv inconvertible: her Joans arc paper loans; her gold is collected and held, or, as in the case of Belgium, seized by tho rbdit of the sword on behalf of the Government. Germany has not dared to attempt to raise more than a comparatively inappreciable sum by way of new taxation towards tire tost of the war; and not even the most rabid of pan-Germanists, nv National Liberals, or frenzied professors now talk ot collecting a- war indemnity from their crashed and shattered enemies. Germany is as financially as she is morally bankrupt. She- stands to-day at bav before an angry world, still vaunting, still threatening. But the sands are running low, and tho nations are justified in believing that the day is not far distant when the authors of the crimes which have so long cursed the race will cease to vex mankind.