The prosperity incident to this period is reflected in the record of American exports, which rose from an average of about two billions in the years immediately preceding the war to more than six billions in 1917. In the same year the imports were just under three billions, leaving a trade balance--that is, a debt owing by foreign countries to the United States--of more than three billions for that one year. 10. _Victory_ The war had been in progress for nearly three years before the United States took her stand on the side of the Allies. At that time the flower of Europe's manhood had faced, for three winters, a fearful pressure of hardship and exposure, while millions among the non-combatants had suffered, starved, sickened and died. The nerves of Europe were worn and the belly of Europe was empty when the American soldiers entered the trenches. They were never compelled to bear the brunt of the conflict. They arrived when the Central Empires were sagging. Their mere presence was the token of victory. For the first time in history the Americans were matched against the peoples of the old world on the home ground of the old world, and under circumstances that were enormously favorable to the Americans. European capitalism had weakened itself irreparably. The United States entered the war at a juncture that enabled her to take the palm after she had already taken billions of profit without risk or loss. The gain to the United States was immense, beyond the possibility of present estimate. The rulers of the United States became, for the time being, at least, the economic dictators of the world. The Great War brought noteworthy advantages to the American plutocracy. At home its power was clinched. Among the nations, the United States was elevated by the war into a position of commanding importance. In a superficial sense, at least, the Great War "made" the plutocracy at home and "made" the United States among the nations. FOOTNOTES: [45] "The Navy League Unmasked," Speech of December 15, 1915, _Congressional Record_. [46] This campaign was conducted by H. P. Davison, one of the leading members of the firm of J. P. Morgan and Co. Later a great war-fund drive was conducted by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Cleveland H. Dodge of the Phelps-Dodge corporation was treasurer of another fund. [47] J. Maynard Keynes notes the "immense anxieties and impossible financial requirements" of the period between the Summer of 1916 and the Spring of 1917. The task would soon have become "entirely hopeless" but "from April, 1917" the problems were "of an entirely different order." "The Economic Consequences of the Peace." New York, Harcourt, Brace & Howe, 1920, p. 273. XII. THE IMPERIAL HIGHROAD 1. _A Youthful Traveler_