How Other Wars which U.S.
Engaged in Were Financed
(By United Press)
WASHINGTON, .Tune G. — Nationa
credit depends very much upon tw<
factors, national resources and th<
strength of the government.
A nation might possess overwhelm
ing resources and still suffer fron
had credit, because the weakness 01
its government would not make ii
possible for that nation to levy upor
its resources to meet its obligations.
The American Revolution is an ex
ample of sufficient resources but in
ability to collect. Most of the func
tlons of government were possessed
by the states at the beginning of the
Revolutionary war. Each state issued
its own money and collected its own
taxes. The Continental Congress was
a voluntary advisory body, which grew
up to meet the exigency.
The story of the attempt of the thir
teen colonies to finance their rebel
lion against Great Britain is one of
the tragic chapters of all history. The
mental tortures suffered by the men
who were bearing the responsibility
of government compared with the
physical tortures endured by the pat
riots at Valley Forge. Nearly
every plan of money raising
devised by human brain was attempt
ed by the colonists nnd with only par
tial success.
There are four recognized methods
of raising money for warfare. These
are the sale of bonds, the issuance
of paper money, direct and indirect
taxation, and the confiscation of pro
perty and wealth. The colonies tried
every plan. During the first year of
the war they issued six million dollars
of paper money, asking each colony
to redeem a certain portion of this is
sue. The federal government could
not command the states to pay, it
merely requested, and some of thpm
paid and some of them did not.
Early in 1776 four million dollars of
paper money was issued and paper
money came so plentiful that it was
worth only about one-seventh of its
face value. By the end of 1776 more
than twenty millions had been issued.
In July, 1775, the colonies attempted
a live million dollar loan at 4 per cent,
failed because capitalists could get 6
per cent from private borrowers. In
1777 a big lottery was attempted, 100,
000 tickets being sold to produce gov
ernment revenue, but this did not suc
ceed as well as was expected. During
1777 thirteen million dollars more of
paper money was issued. The Conti
nental Congress, desperate, asked the
states to raise money by taxation and
lend it to the government at 6 per
cent. The property of British Loyal
ists in the colonies was confiscated,
and used to help carry on the war.
Then when the colonies were almost
at the end of their financial string,
came the French alliance, and France
bolstered up American credit a little
bit by guaranteeing the interest on
the debt. When France joined Ameri
ca fifty-five million dollars of paper
money had been issued.
By the end of 1779 the total issue
of paper money had reached $200,000,
000, and it had lost its purchasing
power. The money would not even be
accepted for furnishing supplies to
Washington’s army, so congress as
sessed a certain amount of supplies
against each of the states, Virginia
being assessed 20,000 barrels of In
dian corn.
It was Robert Morris, a Philadelphia
banker, who finally devised the fin
ancial system which saw the colonies
through. He created the Bank of
North America to redeem the notes
in specie payments. He was material
ly aided by reason of the better feel
ing which prevailed over the chance
of victory and the consequently en
hanced credit of the colonies.
American credit was desperately
low during the war of 1812. The great
financier, Albert Gallatin, was able
to sell only about one-half of the first
eleven million dollar loan at 6 per
cent. The second loan of sixteen
million dollars only produced about
five million. Finally the government
offered a premium of 13 cents on the
dollar and David Parish, Stephen Gir
ard and John Jacob Astor took the
balance of the sixteen million dollar
loan.
During the remainder of the war the
securities of the government sold for
between 85 and 95 cents on the dollar.
The Civil war, 18G1 and 1865, re
quired financing on a greater scale
than was ever known to the western
hemisphere until now. Five years of
warfare cost the United States and
the states of the north over five billion
dollars, or less than the first loan of
fered to finance the war with Ger
many. At one time during that war
the United States had 2,683,523 men
under arms.
Government credit was again at a
low ebb during the Civil war. Paper
money (legal tender notes) to the ex
tent of $443,000,000 was issued, and it
depreciated tremendously and magni
fied the cost or living. Bonds to the
extent of more than $1,000,000,000
were sold. One of the spectacular
money raising campaigns in the his
tory of the United States occurred
during the Civil war, when Jay Cooke
was employed on a commission basis
to sell a government loan of $300,
000,000. He succeeded remarkably.
At the end of the Civil war the debt
of the United States was greater than
any time in all its history, reaching
approximately $2,700,000,000. During
the eighties this debt was greatly re
duced, the government paying large
premiums to retire outstanding in
debtedness.
The war against Spain in 1898 cost
more than one and one-half billion dol
lars. A large part of it was raised
by taxation. The first war loan am
ounting to $200,000,000 at 3 per cent,
was a spectacular success, being over
subscribed more than seven times.
The history of war financing in the
United States attests the correctness
of the present government policy of
issuing bonds to meet war expenses
i and levying taxation sufficient to meet
the newly created interest charges and
an additional sum for amortization. ^
The bonds acknowledge a government ‘
obligation that will draw interest and '
will be repaid. The tax program elim- 1
inates the tendency toward harmful 1
price inflation. i
A vigorous tax policy should always I
supplement borrowing for war pur- «
poses. Taxes, except tariff taxes, are
levied against property and income.
The government which demands the
lives and services of its men at the
front surely has a better right to de
mand those lesser things — property
and Income. Paying all of a war’s ex
pense by borrowing puts off the day
of reckoning until after the war is
over, and compels the men who have
offered their lives and their labor to
pay off the debt after they go home.
The magnificent manner In which
the United States has reacted from
financial depression produced by war.
constitutes powerful proof of the ma
terial resourcefulness of its construc
tive genius. From every trial it has
emerged stronger than before. It has
been tempered in the furnace.
It is the inevitable conclusion that <
the crossing of swords with the giant 1
of Europe will furnish the insporation '
for the nation to rise proudly to its
new plane of world leadership.
TO
— BUM
(By United Press)
WITH THE BRITISH ARMIES IN
THE FIELD, May 24. — (By Mall.) —
Unless the unexpected happens few
here look for early peace. Generals
speak of plans for the sprdng and
summer of 1918, quite as if the war is
to continue for years, so out of dozens
of conversations the keynote Impres
sion is that the United States should
push her preparations with as much
dispatch as is consistent with effi
ciency.
The most recent German prisoners
offer visible and audible proof that
German troops are not to be spared
if their sacrifice can help the Hohen
zollerns.
Lean faced prisoners tell of insuf
ficient food, of brutal treatment by
their officers, of being driven to the
attack by automatic revolvers at their
backs. Usually the men accept kicks
and blows with a mere inward prom
ise to make thjelr tyrants pay in full
after the war. ' A priest in a French
village recently retaken from the Ger
mans, told me he had seen many cases
of bad treatment of men by their su
periors. One day at his house u Ger
man officer had told him, he suld, that
German soldiers had to be driven like
cattle, and just to Illustrate his point
he called an orderly to him, struck him
a powerful blow in the face, so hard
in fact that the soldier’s eye was black
for days afterwards, telling him to
fetch something from the kitchen. The
soldier’s only reply was a quick click
of the heels and a rigid salute.
“That’s the way to" keep them in
hand,” said the officer to the priest.
A prisoner just taken from a Grena
dier regiment told of being present in
a cabaret in Comines with ^0 or 30
other Saxon troops, who were singing
ribald songs, 'when six officers en
tered. As the singing kept up, one of
the officers objected, whereupon the 1
tune was changed to shouts of “ltaus
mit him!”
In the main soldiers let themselves 1
be driven without protest. The Prus
sian ruling class are daily drilling into
the masses the idea that the world 1
wishes to annihilate the German peo- i
pie. Such is the situation in the Ger
man army today, as one views it af
ter talking with German prisoners. \
On the other side of the picture one |
sees the British and French doggedly
determined to fight to a knockout if
it takes another twelve months or any
number of months.
So the war promises to be long un
less the German people suddenly see
the light. And the United States must
hold her part of the line. By the sum
mer of 1918 Uie American army should
have taken over a third of the French
front.
|x]
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& LONDON, June 6.—"Heineys" ♦
♦ Is the new name applied by the ♦
♦ Canadians to the Germans. With ♦
♦ many units It has superseded ♦
♦ Fritz, Jioehe and Hun. ♦
♦ “The preliminary barrage," ♦
♦ said a Scottlsh-Canadlan N. C. O., ♦
♦ in describing an assault, “sound- ♦
♦ ed like someone slithering his ♦
♦ hand up the notes of a piano and ♦
♦ down again. The guns must have ♦
♦ set the Heineys' teeth rattling ♦
♦ like peas in a box. ♦
♦ "Before the attack we spotted ♦
♦ a sentry in a sap, and were told ♦
♦ to get him. We went a long way ♦
♦ around, but he must have heard ♦
♦ us splashing in the mud, for he ♦
♦ beat It down a dugout. When we ♦
♦ got up to the sape we found it ♦
♦ had a little dinner bell hanging ♦
♦ to a wire. He was supposed to ♦
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♦ ho was an oldish guy with ♦
♦ glasses, and he didn't think there ♦
♦ was time to do it. There wasn’t ♦
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VERY INTERESTING
ARTICLE ON ALASKA
In a recent Issue of “The Nation's
Business," a periodical published by
the National Chamber of Commerce,
appears an article by Judge James
VVickersham, entitled, “Ten Thousand
Per Cent on Our Investment In
Alaska.”
The story tells of the purchase of
Alaska and of the total money spent
>n the territory by the federal gov
ernment and the returns from it.
-«
ALASKAN VESSELS WILL
NOT BE COMMANDEERED.
Delegate Sulzer has sent the follow
ing self-explanatory telegram to the
nayor of Fairbanks:
“Vice-chairman Brent, of the Uni
ted States shipping board, after con
ddering Alaska shipping problems,
tays that In case of the commandeer
ing by the government of ocean ves
<els for the American trade, Alaskan
traffic will not be Interrupted, and
that the needs of interior Alaska dur
ng the open season will be protected."
-♦
Printing and developing. Mrs. Paul
Jeran. Phone 73-3 rings.
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF DIAZ
IS BEING 8EARCHED FOR.
MRXIOO CITY. June fi. — Earnest
search Is being made for the autobi
ography of Porfirio Diaz, news of
which has Just come to light here. It
Is alleged that Diaz In 1S92 completed
n book covering his life experiences
nnd administrations up to that time.
This book, It Is said, he wished made
public only after his denth. Only 100
copies were struck off. The original
manuscript was destroyed by Diaz, It
is said, and the 100 copies placed In
a chest and put away. One of these
copies, according to PIaz’ directions,
wns to go to each state governor on
Diaz' death, but Diaz died In exile In
Spain and the interesting and valuable
historical document has not been dis
covered.
-L" !L.'_LJ. . . if- Jl. . » I
EXPERT
PIANO TUNER
George Anderson, piano expert and
actory representative, will be In Cor
lova this coming summer. Expert
vork In piano and or^an tuning and
epalring guaranteed. For prices on
ew and second band pianos and or
ar.a, also pianos for rental, address,
O. BOX 991, JUNEAU, ALASKA.
BATHS |
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Tub and Shower. ♦
Bath House Open Day an<l «
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First (’lass Barber Shop in ♦
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ALASKAN HOTEL *
BARBER SHOP, «
Frank Cunningham, Prop. *
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Northwest ♦
Soda Works *
Manufacturers and ♦
Bottlers *
Soda Water, all Flavors, ♦
Gingerale, *
Root Beer, ♦
Coco Cola. *
Mail Orders Given Prompt ♦
Attention. ♦
_Cordova, Alaska._*
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INSURANCE
rIRE, MARINE, LIFE and ACCIDENT
Insure your property agalDBt nre In
eliable Insurance Companies.
We represent the Niagara. London,
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ind Rutgers, and others; all strong
loard Companies.
We also represent the Maryland
Casualty Company, and Issue Fidelity
ind Surety Bonds.
Northwestern Realty & Trust Co.
Wind sor Hotel
L. Wain, Prop.
Where You Get
Comfort and Service.
And the Rates Are Right.
Cordova Alaska
: .V
: -THE- :
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PHONE 127.
Second St., opposite Postoffice.
Best of Hand Work. Give Us
a Q»U.*
F ---
--—a
When Ordering Job Work Don’t
rhink It Is Your Duty to Build Up
Concerns In the States, But Give
rhe People Who Are Paying
Wages and Spending Their Money
In Cordova a Chance to Live.
-a I
-,
THE MODERN
ELECTRIC LAMP
reduces the cost of electricity
amazingly. It may be said
that no modern home can af
ford not to have electricity
for lights and other purposes.
We shall be glad to show you
bow really economical elec
trical service Is.
Cordova Power Co.
UGHTS WATER PHONES POWER
Office: FIRST STREET
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E. A. HEGG
STATIONERY AND PHOTO SUPPLIES
Developing and Printing Phonographs
Views and Postcards « , ,, _ ,
Art Pictures, Art Supplies
Picture Frames ~ I Sheet Music
Picture Framing Candies Always Fresh
Cigars and Tobacco Toilet Articles
MAIL ORDERS GIVEN IMMEDIATE ATTENTION.
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^“l>lllMliWMBIllMOTMHMilinillllll!i!l!i!i||i!!iii;iJi!;!jiiiiij!!'|jjji];;|j|ji|;|ij|.i|;!;i ■gwfp • ,■ ^ jr* vjma
1 ' " g
I
SAFETY FIRST [j
I MODERN LAUNDRY I
i F. A. Jones, Proprietor——-Jj
I An Up To Date Steam Laundry |
9 1Experienced Capable Employes
SANITARY
j Clothes Thoroughly Washed and I
| Sterilized No Contamination 1
| SERVICE j
| Quick Work - Reliable - Courteous tl
3 Out of Town Work Given
I Careful, Prompt Attention |
I PHONE 66 jj
I WE AIM TO PLEASE 1
Hanking Service ' ^ ^
(K _ Modern banking facilities and connections with all *
* parts ot the world places this institution in a position to sp
jfl take care of the requirements of all its depositors, ;C>
whether large or small, whether they keep checking or Q
m savings accounts. ^
% M’hv not open an account and participate in these $2
Ip benefits! ' n!
| The First Bank I
of Cordova I
; |j Territorial Depositary. j$j '
n United States Depositary for Postal Savings Funds. fcg ■
p Commercial Department. Savings Department. m
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Alaskan Hotel I
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ROBERT GOTTSCHALK—Proprietors—ART CLONINGER ?:•
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“The House of Comfort." $£
THE BEST EQUIPPED HOTEL IN
ALASKA
Bar and Barber Shop in Connection. £jj
Hot and Cold Water, Electric Bells,
Electric Lights, Steam Heat, Suites
With Bath.
_
CORDOVA . ALASKA
. "" i ■— 1 - 1
—.. ..
An Alaskan Product
Real Old German Lager
A Refreshing Drink
The Valdez Brewing Co.
Under New Management
Patronize Home Industry
On Tap In Every Saloon
Cordova Mill & Lumber Co.
LONG AN1) SHORT MILL M OOD FOR SALE
Manufacturers and Dealers in Rough and
Dressed Lumber.
Also Outside Lumber
Me Have Succeeded tlie Arctic Lumber Company and
All Mail Orders Should be Addressed to Us!
Orders From up the Line Office and Mill Opposite
Promptly Attended to. Railroad Depot. Phone 5
Copper River
& Northwestern Ry.
FOUR TRAINS WEEKLY BETWEEN
CHITINA AND KENNECOTT
Leave Cordova, Second Street Depot, on Mon
days, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Leave Chitina for Cordova Sundays, Tuesdays
days, Thursdays and Fridays.
Leave Chitina for Kennecott Sundays, Tues
days and Fridays.
Leave Kennecott for Chitina Mondays, Wednes
days, Thursdays and Saturdays.
The above schedule subject to change with
out notice.
Dining Car in Connection With all Regular
Passenger Trains Between Cordova and Chitina.
Freight received and delivered at Cordova
Wharf from 9 a. in. to 5 p. m., except Sundays.
Tickets on sale at Second Street Depot
office, one hour before departure of trains.
” " "
CALEB CORSER, W. E. BROWN,
Superintendent. Agt. Cordova Wharf
R. K. BROWN, Jr., Ticket Agent.
Fine Job Printing At The Times Office