German republic as now constituted was formed on the ruins of the empire of 1871 at the close of the Great War of 1914-18, hence the cadastral data relating to previous periods is more or less proleptical and inharmonious, not only as to computations of wealth, but even as to population. After a careful comparison of numerous conflicting au thorities, the following statistics have been adopted as apparently the most authentic. The data since 1870 arc based on official returns.
German national wealth appears to have in creased during the decade 1850-60 to the extent of 15 per cent; 1860-70, 10 per cent; 1870-80, IS per cent; 1880-90, 10 per cent; and during the four years following, 7 per cent. After ward, in the five years ending 1914 the increase rose to 31 per cent. figures are very in structive, and taken n connection with those relating to Great Britain and France, they throw no little light upon the great events through which the world is now passing.
The United This is the one coun try in which contemporaneous computations have been made at regular intervals concern ing the progress of national wealth. As such they afford a means of measuring that progress with some degree of exactitude and of observ ing its correspondence with the profits derived from the discovery and utilization of natural resources, agriculture, cattle-raising, fisheries, mining, manufactures, shipping, the extension and profits of trade and the rate of interest which capital commands for its employment in these industries. Computations of the national wealth began with Seybert in 1791 and extend at intervals of 10 years down to the present time. Until 1850 they were made by various unconnected authorities, most of them. however, by officers of the government, and one at least by formal order and under the supervision of the Treasury. In 1850 and de cennially since that date they have been made officially by the Census Bureau; while taken together they are all deserving of the highest credit.
Remind of Wealth of World.— The fol lowing table of national capital embraces the !Alta t computations available before the break ing out of the Great War. It was coupled with an estimate of national and corporate indebt edness, represented by consols, rents, bonds and other "'securities" amounting to $150,000,000, equal to 25 per cent compared with the aggre gate capital of the countries represented.
- After the declaration of war, when new loans demanded more recent and thorough esti mates of national resources, the wealth of Great Britain and her colonies and dependencies was computed at $110,000,000,000; France and her colonies, $90,000,000,000; Russia and her de pendencies, $90,000,000,000; Italy and her colo nies, P0,000,000,000; and the two German em pires together, $150,000,000,000. This brought the ggrraannd total of national wealth in the states to about a707,000,000,000.
As a rule the computations which have been made of the wealth of nations are based upon tax returns. Taxes being usually levied upon productive resources, such computations, whether estimates of economists or returns of census marshals, embrace not the entire wealth, tut rather the more effective capital or repro ductive wealth of nations. Its rate of growth from time to time, therefore, affords inductions of a highly important and valuable character; loch as the relation of money to capital, the bases of taxation, the safe limits of the financial significance of an impartial administration of justice and the probable fu ture net rate of interest on permanent in-: vestments.
Relation of Wealth to Population.—Al though this table is in effect the balance sheet of a mittens, one that covers over a century of discovery, conquest, industry and savings, it does not on its face disclose the progress of indi vidual wealth. Because, for example, it shows that in 18(13 the wealth per capita was $200 and in 1912 $1,938, it does not follow that the a weahh has increased nine or 10 times.
The r of !KO and the dollar of 1912, though they may have contained substantially 'be same quantity of metal, were of widely