If that bank becomes
bankrupt through repudiation of the war loan, you then have the
country in a position where the able-bodied are all working to
pay what they can towards the interest of the government loan,
after earning enough to keep themselves and their families alive;
and the old and the young, without support and deprived of their
savings, become mere poor-house burdens on the community.
Already the mere interest of the war loan of Germany amounts to
four billions of marks a year; to this must be added, of course,
the interest of the previous indebtedness of the country and
of each political subdivision thereof, including cities, all
of which have added to their before-the-war debt, by incurring
great debts to help the destitute in this war; and, of course,
to all this must be added the expenses of the administration
of the government and the maintenance of the army and navy.
It is the contemplation of this state of affairs, when he is
convinced that indemnities are not to be exacted from other
countries, that will do most to persuade the average intelligent
German business man that peace must be had at any cost.
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