lmost ten times over in the period of
the war, or from $3,580,000,000 to $32,450,000,000 down to June, 1918.
These figures do not include the debts of Australia, Canada, New Zealand
and South Africa, British colonies.

France's debt was quadrupled by the beginning of 1918, increasing from
$6,833,000,000 to $25,410,000,000.

Italy's debt rose from $2,929,000,000 to $6,918,000,000.

Figures for Russia were brought up only to September, 1917, but they
showed that at that time she owed $26,287,000,000, as compared with
$5,234,000,000 at the beginning of the war.

The public debt of the United States was calculated to January 1, 1918,
in order to be in line with those of other countries, increasing by that
date to over $8,000,000,000 from a pre-war figure of a billion and a
quarter. Since that time $11,500,000,000 have been subscribed to the
Liberty Loans, thus increasing the national debt about sixteen fold.

The most extraordinary increase of all was that of Germany, rising from
$1,208,000,000 to $26,332,000,000.

Austria owed $2,736,000,000 at the beginning of the war, which was
increased by June, 1917, to $11,573,000,000.

Hungary increased her debt from $1,392,000,000 to $5,910,000,000 by
December, 1917.

The neutrals, Denmark, Spain, Holland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland
together owed $2,871,000,000 when war began and increased their debts
only to $3,710,000,000.

Existing war obligations of the United States at the close of 1918
matured as follows:

First Liberty Loan, $2,000,000,000, redeemable at the option of the
Treasury after 1932 and payable not later than 1947; Second Liberty
Loan, $3,808,000,000, redeemable after 1927, payable in 1942; Third
Liberty Loan, $4,176,000,000, redeemable and payable without option in
1928; Fourth Liberty Loan, $6,989,047,000, redeemable after 1933,
payable in 1938; War Savings, $879,300,000 up to November, 1918, payable
in 1923.

With this program of maturity, the Treasury by exercising its option
could call in the nation's war debt for redemption in installments every
five years until 1947.

Secretary of the Treasury, William Gibbs McAdoo, who was also Director
General of Transportation, created a sensation when he resigned both
offices in November, 1918, the resignation to take effect January 1,
1919. Coming upon the eve of the peace conference in Paris and the
announcement that President Wilson intended to head the American
delegates to the conference, the resig