Page:Walter Renton Ingalls - Wealth and Income of the American People (1924).pdf/193

Rh purchase of materials and supplies (inventories) and houses, automobiles, etc. by the corporations, business men, farmers and workers who saved it. In fact the apparent gain has disappeared through the shrinkage of inventories and the uselessness of much of the plant into which the money was put. The position may be summarized as follows:

NATIONAL BALANCE SHEET, 1917-1920

Debit

Cost of war... 0... cece cence een eees $30,200,000,000

Gain in physical inventory....................0005 4,400,000,000

Foreign balance*..........0.0..00.. 000. cece e eens 17,800,000,000

To be written off. ......0..0 0... e cece ee ee eee 14,100,000,000 06) 2 $66,500,000,000


 * Partially, probably largely, of doubtful value.

property of no further usefulness; also the writing down of property pre- served but built at inflated costs; also farmer's accumulations over- estimated.
 * Includes shrinkage in value of stocks of goods and writing off of physical

Credils Net earnings Tm 1917. cece ccc ett eeeenees $18,000,000,000 DIB... ccc ccc cence eee enes 22,000,000,000 WD19. ccc cee cece teen ee ne en cteeeee 15,000,000,000 gO | :.... 11,500,000,000 0+) 7) $66,500,000,000

In brief, the whole supposition about the United States becoming rich out of the war was founded upon the writing up of annual profits in terms of steadily rising prices and subsequently neglecting to offset them by the shrinkages on a falling market and failing to take into account the cost of the war itself and the consequential losses that ensued. If from Friday’s estimated savings of 66.5 billion dollars in 1917–1920 we deduct something considerable for farmer’s accumu-