Mr. Blithers was very close to the truth when he said (to himself, if
you remember) that the financial situation in the far-off
principality was not all that could be desired. It is true that
Graustark was in Russia's debt to the extent of some twenty million
gavvos,--about thirty millions of dollars, in other words,--and that
the day of reckoning was very near at hand. The loan was for a period
of twelve years, and had been arranged contrary to the advice of John
Tullis, an American financier who long had been interested in the
welfare of the principality through friendship for the lamented
Prince Consort, Lorry. He had been farsighted enough to realise that
Russia would prove a hard creditor, even though she may have been
sincere in her protestations of friendship for the modest borrower.
A stubborn element in the cabinet overcame his opposition, however,
and the debt was contracted, taxation increased by popular vote and a
period of governmental thriftiness inaugurated. Railroads, highways,
bridges and aqueducts were built, owned and controlled by the state,
and the city of Edelweiss rebuilt after the devastation created
during the revolt of Count Marlanx and his minions.
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