Since we are indulging in these comparisons, it may be interesting to consider how our American Allies are showing in this matter of war finance.  The Times, in its “City Notes” of April 15th, observed, in connection with the unexpectedly small amount of the third Liberty Loan, that the reason why the smaller figure was adopted for the issue was that it seems quite certain now that the original estimate for the expenditure in the fiscal year ending June 30th next was much too high.  This estimate was 18,775 million dollars.  The Times stated that the realised amount is likely to be hardly more than 12,000 million dollars, of which about 4500 million dollars will represent loans to Allies, and that the estimate for the year’s largely increased tax revenue was 3886 million dollars, which now seems likely to be exceeded by the receipts.  If this be so, out of a total expenditure of L2400 millions, of which L900 millions will be lent to the Allies, the Americans are apparently raising nearly L800 millions out of revenue.  Therefore if we deduct from both sides of the account the pre-war expenditure of about L215 millions and deduct also the loans to Allies from the expenditure, it leaves the cost of the war to America L1285 millions for this year and the war revenue L562 millions.  If these figures are correct it would thus appear that America is raising nearly half its actual war cost out of revenue as the war goes on.

On the other hand, in the New York Commercial Chronicle of April 6th the total estimated disbursements for the year are still stated at over 16,000 million dollars, that is to say, L3200 millions roughly, so that there seems to be considerable uncertainty as to what the actual amount of the expenditure of the United States will be during the year ending on June 30th.  In any case, there can be no question that if the very high proportion of war cost paid out of revenue shown by the Times figures proves to be correct, it will be largely owing to accident or misfortune; if America’s war expenditure has not proceeded nearly as fast as was expected, it will be, no doubt, owing not to economies but to shortcomings in the matter of delivery of war goods which the Government had expected to pay for in the course of the fiscal year.  It certainly would have been expected that the Americans would in this matter of war finance be in a position to set a very much higher standard than any of the European belligerents owing to the enormous wealth that the country has acquired during the two and a half years in which it, in the position of a neutral, was able to sell its produce at highly satisfactory prices to the warring Powers without itself having to incur any of the expenses of war.  On the other hand, its great distance from the actual seat of operations will naturally make it difficult for the American Government to impose taxation as freely as might have been done in the case of peoples which are actually on the scene of warfare; so that