LETTER OF SUBMITTAL. The PRESIDENT: DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, December 7, 1922. In response to Senate Resolution 208 of January 16, 1922, requesting the Secretary of State, if not incompatible with the public interest, "to lay before the Senate such information regarding the revenues, expenditures, and deficits of the European States, as may be available to the Department of State, showing for the last and current fiscal years especially the annual cost of land armaments in the several States, as compared with the annual deficits of the several States (including both 'ordinary' and 'extraordinary' expenditures) and the sum of the interest annually due from the several States on account of the loans made to them by the United States," the Secretary of State has the honor to lay before the President two exhibits containing the information requested in so far as it is available, with a view to their transmittal to the Senate if his judgment approves. The data presented in these exhibits have been taken from official sources and are as complete and accurate as possible in view of the material available to the Department of State. Exhibit I contains a summary of the expenditures, revenues, deficits or surpluses, and expenditures for military purposes of the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Esthonia, Finland, France, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Rumania, and the Serb-Croat-Slovene State. Data are presented covering the last and current fiscal years, so fur as possible. A statement, based upon data furnished by the Treasury Department, of the amount of interest due annually to the Government of the United States from each of these countries on their obligations held by the United States as of March 21, 1922, is also given. Exhibit II contains more detailed figures of the expenditures and revenues of the above-mentioned countries. The figures contained in this exhibit are in general no more than details of the totals given in Exhibit I. . In connection with the attached exhibits attention is invited to the following considerations: (1) The figures given relate for the most part to estimated expenditures and revenues, since sufficiently complete statements of the actual expenditures and revenues of the several countries are not available. It is hardly necessary to point out that there may be very wide difference between estimated and actual figures. (2) A great divergence in budgetary practice exists in the several countries. There is no uniformity in the use of the terms expenditure" and "revenue." In some cases, for example, expenditures VI include capital outlay (e. g., for railway construction) or the repayment of loans, while revenues may include such exceptional items as receipts from the sale of surplus war material, revenue expected to be derived from reparation payments, or revenue from the flotation of short-time or long-time loans. The meaning of "extraordinary" and "ordinary" revenue and expenditure also varies widely. Furthermore, supplementary expenditures and revenues may be prescribed by executive or legislative action, in addition to the figures placed in the initial budgets. Some of the budgets mentioned, moreover, are proposed budgets which may have been (or may be) finally approved in modified form by the respective legislatures. Some of the countries have what may be termed "gross" budgets, i. e., including in their revenues and expenditures the gross receipts and expenditures arising from the operation of public utilities (such as railways, the postal and telegraph services, etc.), while other countries have "net budgets, including only the net revenues or deficits from these enterprises. " 2.7 (3) The resolution of the Senate calls for information in regard to 'the annual cost of land armaments in the several States." Since exact data on this point are not available, the cost of maintaining the ministry of war has been given in most instances. (4) The continual fluctuation in the value of the currencies of the several countries renders it impracticable to undertake to convert to a common monetary unit the statistics presented. The foreign exchange rates at different periods have, however, been inserted in the several tables. Respectfully submitted. CHARLES E. HUGHES. FINANCIAL AFFAIRS OF EUROPEAN STATES. EXHIBIT I. TABLE A.-AUSTRIA. [Figures in kronen. Par value, 20.26 cents. Average value, July, 1921, 0.1417 cent; July, 1922, 0.0038 cent.] Amount of interest due annually to the United States on obligations held by the United 347, 533, 413,600 209,763, 014, 300 137,770, 399, 300 4,787, 821, 500 $1,443, 342. 54 TABLE B.-BELGIUM. [Figures in francs. Par value, 19.3 cents. Average value, 1921, 7.4461 cents; July, 1922, 7.8068 cents.] $18,878, 214.94 Amount of interest due annually to the United States on obligations held by the United TABLE C.-CZECHOSLOVAKIA. [Figures in Czecho-Slovak crowns. Par value former Austrian crown, 20.26 cents. Average value, July, 1921, 1.31248 cents; July, 1922, 2.1845 cents.] Amount of interest due annually to the United States on obligations held by the United $4,587,224. 10 1 The total expenditures above given do not include expenditures under the head of "State investments for railway and other public improvements.' These expenditures were fixed at 3,052,106,000 crowns in the budget for 1920, 3,173,502,691 crowns for 1921, and 3,263,444,750 crowns in the budget for 1922, Amount of interest due annually to the United States on obligations held by the United $699, 957. 28 [Figures in Finnish marks. Par value, 19.3 cents. Average value, July, 1921, 1.6414 cents; July, 1922, 2.1462 cents.] |