e our war lending and you get a total of all loans to
belligerent Governments since the outbreak of the war that aggregate
$1,828,600,000, which is nearly one-third of the whole cost of the Civil
War. Add to this our loans of $185,000,000 to Canadian Provinces and
Cities and $8,200,000 to the City of Dublin and to the City of London
for water works improvements, a grand total of $2,075,800,000 is rolled
up. Of this sum $156,400,000 in obligations have matured and been paid
off, which leaves a net debt to us of $1,919,400,000. It divides up as
follows:

Great Britain $858,400,000
France 656,200,000
Russia 167,200,000
Italy 25,000,000
Dominion of Canada 120,000,000
Canadian Provinces and Municipalities 185,000,000
Germany 20,000,000

Having taken this financial plunge into European financial waters, Uncle
Sam has got the foreign lending habit and has loaned $117,000,000 to
Latin-America, mainly to Argentina and Chili: $39,000,000 to neutral
European nations, including Switzerland, Norway, Greece and Sweden. Not
desiring to play any race favourites, he has speeded China on her way to
enlightenment to the extent of $4,000,000.

In buying foreign war bonds--a procedure which in war time naturally
involves sentiment--it is wise for the investor to watch his step.
Patriotism is all right in its place but unless you can afford to
contribute money for purely emotional reasons, a cold business estimate
of the situation is advisable. This applies especially to the man or
woman with savings who cannot afford to take chances. He or she will
find it a good rule to stick to external bonds except under exceptional
conditions.

One objection to the average internal bond is that with the exception of
England the native money has greatly depreciated in international value.
Of course, if all these countries finally get back to their old
standards of wealth, these investments will yield a very large profit.
To reap this benefit, however, it will be necessary to hold the
securities for a considerable period because it will take the warring
countries a long time to "come back." Another fact in connection with
internal bonds well worth remembering is that while belligerent