Page:Walter Renton Ingalls - Wealth and Income of the American People (1924).pdf/186



As soon as it was seen that the war was destined to be prolonged it was recognized that its economic consequences would be profound. The accuracy of that forecast has already been proved, but not yet—three years after the armistice—are we able to perceive all of them or to measure closely those that we can see. We can, however, see clearly enough the fundamentals, and these are that the world, especially Europe, suffered enormously in three ways, viz., humanly, morally, and materially. Even the United States, although quite free from military invasion and raids, suffered materially, as is clear from the inventories of its wealth before and after the war.

Such inventories as I have made in the preceding chapters ought not to be viewed as anything more than intelligent approximations. They are analogous to what an engineer characterizes as a horse-back survey, meaning a rough reconnaissance. But with all the faults and errors that they may have they enable a comparative view of situations at two times to be obtained that is fairly accurate and permits certain deductions to be drawn that are positive. It is to be regretted that we do not possess corresponding figures for 1914, for this study should properly cover two periods, viz., 1914–1916 when Europe was at war without

the United States, and 1917-1920 when the United States