The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-01-07

The Journal was one of the first pa
pers in the country to advocate a popu-
lar loan. Nearly year ago, recognizing
that further loans would have to be
made. it urged the administration TO cut
loose from bank syndicates and appeal
to the people. Facts were presented CIV
ing an approximate idea of the accumu-
lated wealth of the country, and reasons
were given for believing that popu-
lar loan. IL rightly managed, would be
successful in a financial point of view
and beneficial otherwise. The Journal
has not changed its opinion. 1t still be-
lieves that popular loan properly man.
aged would be highly successful, but it
fears the present bungling attempt in
that direction will not be.
The most obvious criticism Of the meas
ure is that it lacks the essential ele-
ments of popular loan. A popular loan
should be a direct appeal to the people,
the machinery for placing 1T should be
such as to make it easily accessible to
all classes, and the terms of sale should
be definite. All these conditions are
lacking in Secretary Carlisle's call. How
can that be termed an appeal to the
people which only calls for sealed pro-
posals to be addressed to the Secretary
of the Treasury? That rs an appeal to
banks, bankers, moneyed institutions
and capitalists, but not to the people.
Thousands of persons who have few
hundreds or thousands of dollars to in
vest know nothing about making out
bids and would shrink from opening
correspondence with the Secretary Of the
Treasury. These bonds are to be issued
in sums of $50 and multiples thereof.
1t is absurd to invite man to forward
to Washington a sealed bid for fifty
dollar bond. The terms of the call
handicap the loan from the beginning.
Instead of inviting sealed bids the bonds
should have been offered at an upset or
minimum price. say los. which is about
what the bank syndicate paid for the
last issue of fours, or they should have
been placed on sale at nearly the present
price of those bonds. In either case the
government should have received bids or
subscriptions at all the subtreasuries, at
every presidential postoffice and every
designated national bank depository.
This could have been done with very lit
tie expense. The machinery is already
in existence, and needed only to be
utilized. In this way vastly greater
number of investors would have been
reached and the bonds would have been
far more easily obtained. If this had
been done person desiring to invest
what he had to pay, and, with the money
IN his pocket, could have gone to the
nearest postoffice or national bank de-
pository and obtained them. Now he
must make up his mind what they are
probably worth or what he is willing to
pay, must make out a bid, formulate an
offer. send it to the Secretary of the
Treasury and await the opening, classifi-
cation, tabulation and awarding Of the
bids before he can know whether his
| bid is accepted. The call says ''all bids
must state what denominations of bonds
are desired, and whether coupon or regis
| tered, and at what place they will be
paid for" A bid failing in any of these
| particulars will be rejected for infor-
mality. In short. the machinery for OBJ
tanning the bonds is so complicated and
the conditions of bidding so numerous
| that the average citizen will feel that
he ought to employ a lawyer to make
| out a bid.
| II is a misnomer to call this popular
| loan. 1t is not so by the terms of the
call nor in the manner Of its presenta-
ton, and the Journal fears 1t will not
| be so in fact Instead of being brought
near the people 1t is put about as far
away from them and made as difficult
| of access as possible.