Arizona republican., 1898-04-23
PROBABLE WAR LOAN TERMS.
Bonds of Small Denomination to be
 Offered at Par.

Washington, April 22.-The number of "bondholders" in the United States is likely to be largely increased very soon. In case a war loan becomes necessary the people will be given the widest opportunity to subscribe. While congress has not yet placed upon the statute books any act authorizing an issue of bonds in any form it is known that the plans are to make the pro- posed bond issue a popular loan' in the widest and fullest sense of the term.
 Congress has, of course, given us no authority in the matter of war loan,' said Assistant Secretary Van derlip, talking upon this subject; but you can safely say that the intention everywhere is, in case loan becomes necessary, to give the greatest possl- ble facility for the masses to become holders of these bonds. The bonds will presumably be in sums of S50 and multiples, and will be available to any and all who may choose to send checks, drafts, money orders or any other device for transmitting money, or who may prefer to deposit the money with their banker or sub treasurer in their vicinity. The bonds undoubtedly will be offered at par in sizes and quantities to suit all bidders and every citizen who desires to assist the government in raising money or who desires to invest his money and become a bondholder will have full opportunity
 But suppose the subscriptions ex ceed the amount of bonds offered?'
 Then the small bidders will have the first preference. Our desire, and in this I am sure that everybody in authority joins, is that bids of $1 O00 and under shall be given the prefer ence in the distribution of the bonds, and that if it is necessary to scale down" the bids, that process will only be resorted to in the larger bids. We desire to give every citizen the fullest possible opportunity to subscribe to any bonds which it may become nee essary to issue, and especially to those who desire to subscribe in small sums, thus making the issue in the broadest snse a popular lOan.'
 Two conditions which now exist in regard to the finances of the United States render a popular lean more available and likely to be more sue cessful than on any former occasion. The first of these is that there is more money in circulation than ever before, as was pointed out in statement which showed that the money in cir culation had increased S246,000, 900 since the date of the Chicago conven- tion of 1896: the second is the fact that all classes of money now in cir culation are equally good, and that, therefore, it will not be necessary, as on former occasions, to discriminate with reference to the kind of money which shall be offered for them, while a still further convenience for making this popular" loan is found in the fact that the number of national banks through which subscriptions can be made and the number of money or der offices at which postal orders may be obtained, has been greatly in creased since the earlier bond issues which were offered to the public.
 ''It has always been the practice of the United States said MT. A. T. Huntington, chief of the currency and loans division of the treasury depart ment, talking upon the subject, ito give the general public an opportunity to subscribe to it's loans. Going back to 1861, the first loan, which was $5O,- 73O,OO0, was negotiated first with the banks, but at the same time the people were invited for a period of thirty days to give in their individual sub scriptions to the same fund, the under standing being that the money re- ceived from the people should be re- imbursed to the banks on account of their advances. Every war loan and every subsequent loan negotiated by the United States down to the present day, with the exception of an issue of s62, ,OO0, 900 of per cent bonds by the last administration, was offered to the public; that is, any person having funds to invest could go to a bank, obtain coin, deposit the coin at the treasury with some assistant treasurer, or, in certain instances, with desig- mated national banks, and in that way subscribe to the current loan. The financial conditions of the country and the necessities of the government to exact coin in exchange for all bonds which it has sold since the close Of the war; so that that specific form of money has made it not altogether easy for the average citizen to make a sub scription, still the department has al ways done the best it could to give everybody an equal chance. Now, ow- ing to the present conditions, it is not going to be difficult for the govern ment to accept any form of money on account of subscriptions; therefore, bank checks and money orders, as well as different kinds of money, will be equally available, and in that way the people will have facilities for sub scribing that they have not heretofore had"