Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-04-18
CHANCE FOR SMALL INVESTORS If
CONFLICT COMES.
BONDS TO BE SOLD AT PAR.
SMALL BIDDERS ARE TO HAVE THE
PREFERENCE.
Country Never Before in Such Favor
able Condition Now for the
SucccxsfuI Floating of
Popular Loan Any
Money Good Now.

number of ''bondhOiderS IN the thite"
States is likely TO be largely increased very
soon. In case a war loan becomes neces-
gary the people will be given the widest op-
portunity to subscribe. While congress has
not yet placed upon the statute books any
act authorizing an issue of bonds IN any
form il is known that the plans are TO
make the proposed bond issue popular
loan in the widest and fullest sense OF
the term.
Congress has of course. given US no
authority in the matter of a war loan, saiu
Assistant Secretary Vanderlip. talking upon
this subject but you can safely say thas
the intention everywhere is, IN case a ioah
becomes necessary. to give the greatest
possible facility for the masses TO become
holders of these bonds. The bonds Will
presumably be in sums of so and multiples
and will be available to any ana all VINO
may choose to send checks. drafts. money
orders or any other device for transmitting
money, who may prefer to deposit the
money with their banker or subtfeasufer
in their vicinity The bonds undoubtedly
will be offered at par in sizes ana qulHli-
ties to suit all bidders. and every citizen
who desires to assist the government IN
raising money or who desires to invest MS
money and become a bondholder will have
full opportunity.
But suppose the subscriptions exceed the
amount of bonds offered?'
Then the small bidders will have the
preference. Our desire, and in this am
su,re that everybody in authority joins. is
that bids of 81 0S0 and under shall be given
the preference 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 possibie
opportunity to subscribe TO any bonds
which it may become necessary to issue
and especially to those who desire TO SUD-
scribe in small sums. thus making the Is
sue in the broadest sense popular loan
The conditions which now exist in regard
to the finances of the United States render
a popular loan more available and likely to
be more successful than on any former
occa asion The first of these is that there
is mere money in circulation than ever pc
fore, as was pointed out in this CORE
spondence last week in statement "hlch
showed that the money in circulation hild
increased S246. ,ct0 since the date OF ihe
Chicago convention of 1856; the second Is
the fact that all classes of money now IN
circulation are equally good,and that.there-
fore il will rot be necessary, as on lormer
occasions TO discriminate with reference
| to the kind of money which shall be offered
| for them. while 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 order
| offices at which postal orders may be Oh
tanned, has been greatly increased since
| the earlier bond issues which were offered
| to the public.
1T has always been the practice OF the
| United States,' said Mr.. A. T. Huntington.
| chief of the currency and loans division or
| the treasury department. talking upon the
| subject Ito give the general public an op-
| portunity to subscribe TO its loans. Gong
| back to 1861, the first war loan, which was
| $O73OOO0, 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 subscriptions to the same
fund. the understanding being that the
| money received from the people should be
| reimbursed to the banks on account OF
| their advances. Every war loan and every
| subsequent loan negotiated by the Uhlteo
| States down to the present day. with the
| exception of an issue of s62 10000 OF pei
| cen. bonds by the last administration, was
| offered to the public: that is. any person
| having funds to invest could go to bank
| obtain coin, deposit the coin at the treas
! ury or with some assistant treasurer. or, II
certain instances, with designated nationa
banks and in that way subscribe 10 the
| current loan. The financial conditions Of
the country and the necessities of the gov
ernment have heretofore obliged the de-
partmeut to exact coin in exchange for al
bonds which it has sold since the close o
the war so that that specific form of money
has made it not altogether easy for tht
| average citizen to make subscription. Still
the department has always done the bes
it could to give everybody an equal chance
Now owing to the present conditions. 1t /:
not going to be difficult for the government
to accept any form of money on account o
subscriptions, therefore bank checks ant
money orders as we'll as different kinds o
money will be equally available. and in tina
way the people will have facilities for sub
scribing that they have not heretofore
had