Jasper County Democrat, Volume 21, Number 53, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 October 1918 — HERE’S THE COST OF JUST A LITTLE BATTLE [ARTICLE]

HERE’S THE COST OF JUST A LITTLE BATTLE

Liberty Bonds Furnish Munitions and Supplies That Win Battles and Save Lives of Fighters. French naval statisticians have carefully figured out the cost of a modest little naval battle. The sea fight at Jutland In 1916, when the Germans thought to prove the inferiority of the British war fleet, supplies plenty of material for such computations. The battle In the Skagerak lasted 45 minutes. It cost England and Germany combined $300,000,000. Each minute of fighting cost $6,666,666.

We have some new war financing In the fourth Liberty loan. The United States wants to borrow enough money to carry on the fighting. All our preparations up to the present time have been cared for by the first, second and third loans. The fourth is the “Fighting loan.” The fourth loan may seem large when stated in terms of billions. The amount is not large when considered in terms of fighting. Just to illustrate: At the rate of expenditure shown during the naval battle of Jutland the United States wants to borrow on the fourth Liberty bonds enough to support only 16 hours and 40 minutes of fighting. The question Is, will you be one of 25,000,000 loyal Americans to “put. up” your ratable share of fighting the Germans for 16 hours and 40 minutes? Will you lend the government your trivial pro rata? It is a small thing to ask. Let’s look into the arithmetic of it. Your personal share of the national wealth $2,140.00 Your personal share in the national annual Income 740.00 That is to say, you get a “dividend" of about 35 per cent on your “pro rata” of the national wealth. You are asked to be one of 25,000,000 loyal Americans who will consent to lend about a third of that “dividend” to help fight the German for 16 hours and 40 minutes. The United States isn't “passing the hat.” The United States isn’t asking anybody for a “hand-out." No more is the government asking you to “stand for a touch.” Just the reverse of that.

The government asks to borrow onethird of the “velvet” that comes in to your bank account annually as your “dividend” from the business operations tiiat are possible only because the United States protects your life and property on land and sea. And In evidence of its borrowing the government merely takes the kind of money you have in your pocket and gives you another kind of money as security for the loan. To make it clearer: The United States issues “promises-to-pay-on-de-mand”—without Interest —and that’s the kind of money you have In your purse. When you lend that kind of money to the government you receive as security Liberty bonds, which are United States “promises-to-pay-at-ma-turity” with interest. In other words, you only swap one kind of money for another kind that is better —54.25 better on each SIOO. However, the upshot of the matter Is tfiis: We are fighting a war —and it is a real, bona fide war, without any “stage business” or imitation. It is known (on the authority of President Wilson) that the war is to a finish—no “draw,” “stalemate” or “lie-down.” It'may run into a cost as heavy as $6,666,000 a minute if it gets to the scale of the little battle of Jutland. The United States must be ready for anything and everything. . Therefore you and everybody else must lend the government every free dollar that has been saved or can be saved as we go along. We must take all the fourth Liberty bonds that we possibly can pay for.