BURDEN OF THE WAR

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 894, 11 February 1930, Page 11

BURDEN OF THE WAR

BRITAIN PAYS £I,OOO EVERY MINUTE SNOWDEN TELLS AMERICA LONDON, Sunday. The whole-time labour of 2,000,000 British workers all the year would be required to produce the annual cost of Britain’s war debt service alone. Yet at the present rate bf repayment 140 years would be required to liquidate it. This statement was made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Philip Snowden, in a “secret” broadcast to America to which people in Britain had no opportunity of listening. In emphasising the colossal burden of armaments and war debts, which, he said, was not sufficiently realised by those who were bearing them. Mr. Snowden recalled the fact that Britain had spent £10,000,000,000 on the Great War apart from the loss of her wealth-producing capacity and the fact that millions had been withdrawn front useful employment. The four years’ war had left Britain in debt to the extent of £7,000,000,000. This necessitated her raising every year from taxation £350,000,000 for debt service. For that the taxpayers were paying £1,000,000 a day, or £40,000 an hour, which was more than £6OO a minute. In addition a sum of £115,000,000 was spent annually on the fighting services and £56,000,000 on war pensions.

This means a total of £520,000,000 a year, equalling £I,OOO a minute. Therefore, three-quarters of the taxation in Britain went to pay for the past war and prepare for future wars. The average national local taxation worked out at £IOO a year for each family. It said much for Britain’s financial and industrial power that more people were employed now than before the war.