German Taxes And German Finance.

New York Times 100 years ago today, April 9, 1913:
    It is worth remarking that the extraordinary German levy for military purposes is less alarming to Germany than to other nations. The reason is that German wealth is not altogether appreciated, and the terms of the tax have not been correctly understood. A billion marks, a quarter of a billion dollars, at one stroke is a large sum, but after all it is only two-fifths or three-fifths of 1 per cent. And it is to be taken in three installments, not all at once, as has been indicated in the dispatches describing the tax as a one-time tax; that is, one which will not recur.
    The tax may well be worth what it costs if it shall serve its purpose of convincing all concerned that in the present mixed state of European politics one nation at least knows its mind, and gives a hostage against paltering with the great issues now up for determination. The grasp on the German pocketbook is no firmer than the grasp on the political situation. A policy of drift is more dangerous than a policy of decision. So far as Germany is concerned other nations know what they have to reckon with.