In defence of our great increase in the national debt it is stated that private debts have decreased. But private debts are repaid by individual or corporate debtors from earnings of the individual or of private property or from the conversion of such property into money, whereas the public debt must be repaid out of increased taxation. Moreover, the process by which the earnings from property are derived furnishes private employment. Reduction in private debts in depressed periods, accompanied by unemployment, may represent liquidations of property as well as the debts, and forced liquida-arily result in losses to the well a" the debtor.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.