alth of the principal belligerent nations, in terms of property,
goods and appraisable resources of all kinds, is estimated as follows:

National National Percent
Wealth Debt

United States.............$260,000,000,000 $18,000,000,000 6.

Great Britain.............. 90,000,000,000 36,675,000,000 40.

France..................... 65,000,000,000 23,000,000,000 35.

Russia..................... 40,000,000,000 25,400,000,000 63.

Italy...................... 25,000,000,000 7,000,000,000 28.

Japan...................... 28,000,000,000 1,300,000,000 4.

Germany.................... 80,000,000,000 33,000,000,000 38.

Austria-Hungary............ 25,000,000,000 20,000,000,000 80.

It is worth noting in this connection that the fourth liberty bond issue
of six billions was oversubscribed to extent $866,416,300--almost an
extra billion. There were over 21,000,000 individual subscribers.

The war bills of the United States between April 6, 1917, and October
31st, 1918, as officially reported at Washington November 2, 1918,
amounted to twenty billions, five hundred and sixty-one million dollars
($20,561,000,000). Of this sum, seven billions and seventeen millions
($7,017,000,000) have been loaned to the allies and will be repaid.

Only a little more than one-fourth of the expense had up to the date
of the report been raised by taxation. Most of the remainder had been
raised by bond issues practically all of which were subscribed by our
own people, so that the debt is owing not to foreign creditors, but to
ourselves.

The same report shows that on November 1st, 1918, the treasury's working
balance stood at one billion, eight hundred and forty-five millions,
seven hundred and thirty-nine thousand dollars ($1,845,739,000) the
largest sum ever available at any one time in the history of the
nation--with continuing receipts of instalment payments on the fourth
liberty loan coming in at the rate of two billions per month, and
preparations for the fifth loan well under way.

FIGURES THAT ARE DIFFICULT TO COMPREHEND.

The direct cost of the war for all belligerent nations to May 1, 1918,
was reported at about $175,000,000,000 by the Federal Reserve board
bulletin, issued November 18. It was estimated that the cost would
amount to nearly $200,000,000,000 before the end of the y