The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-07-12

anybody to bid for more than 500, be-
cause by doing SO he would pronablf be
thrown out altogether. In other words,
subscriptions of $500 and under are like
ly to absorb the entire loan. SO That there
Will be nothing left for the bidders OF
larger amounts.
The management of this matter IN
wolves a good deal of extra work at tho
War Loan office. A little slip memoran-
DUN Is made to represent each appnca-
ton, being N rked simply with the mum.
Der OF the application and the amount OF
the bid. The slips are printed by young
woman who sits at typewriter through
which passes "a narrow sheet of paper
hundreds of feet in length. On this sheet
she transcribes the number and amount
of each application, giving to each bid a
separate line Finally, the sheet is
clipped With scissors into slices, each of
which is one of the slips described. The
slips thus prepared are then distributed
among a lot of pasteboard boxes All of
the $50 bids go together into one box, all
the $40 bids into another box and SO on
up into the thousands of dollars.
Now, when the subscriptions are de-
clared closed, the box containing the So
bids will be emptied first, having the
right of way. Nexh thu box of $40 b ids
will be taken, and so on up until the
total of 100000 is made up.
be reached aud emptied before the
requisite total is obtained. Nobody
can tell about this-nou even the officials
themselves. Major Mellnes advice was
based upon a guess merely, but anybody
who meditates a subscription had better
adopt 1t just the same, for the major is a
veteran in the treasury, and what he does
knowing. The lists show that great
many people have subscribed for $940,
$500. $3.50 and such sums, SO as to be un-
der the $1,000 mark.
To complete the system a card index is
being prepared, the cards being arranged
in drawers according to States, and un-
der each State alphabetically, according
to names Of subscribers. Each subscriber
to the loan is represented by a card,
which tells his address, the amount of his
bid, the number of the latter, etc., giving
references TO the books Of the Treasury
wherein his claim against the govern i
ment appears. Sixty-three thousand such
cards were prepared in three days, and
now they are being kept up to- date,
sorted by States and then alphabetically
as fast as they are written. 1t is very in
teyesting to observe the record made by
various States in responding to this APP
peal by Uncle Sam for money. New
York is in the lead, as shown by her
1000 cards, each of them standing for a
bid. Massachusetts has about 12,oO0
cards, Illinois 10000, Pennsylvania 10,-
600, and so on, down to poor little Mon
Ris hoe Xh ena b bos about & ezRsrs o sm y
ginia 1000. and Kentucky 500 perhaps.
North Dakota has only two or three
dozen. These figures are only approx
mate, no opportunity for counting the
cards being afforded.
Most people who have subscribed for
the loan are wondering when they will
get their bonds, and are asking wren the
tlons may be answered in a word. About
Aug. the bonds will begin to go out
from the Treasury in 9 flood, and by
Sept the last of them will have been
mailed probably. Interest on subsorip-
lions begins ON the date when the money
is received by the Treasury. A check or
draft Is not money, but merely an order
for cash. However, as quickly as it is
collected by Uncle Sam the interest be-
gins. On or about the first day Of Au-
gust every subscriber will receive check
for the interest due him up to Aug. 1,
even if it be only few cents. From
that time on of course the interest will be
paid quarterly by treasury check.
AS may be imagined, the writing of
these checks is an enormous task. The
list of names and amounts due is pre-
foASs& Ill uA1O OLICO Va uAp IO9l5UOI VI ullO
Treasury, who sends it to the Treasurer
of the United States. The clerks in the
Treasurer's Office make out the checks,
which are signed for the Treasurer by
certain assistants assigned to that duty.
These checks for interest on bonds are
good indefinitely, and on that account
people often hoard them, putting them
away year after year instead of turning
them into cash. All checks returned
cancelled to the Treasury ara filed, so as
to be easily referred to. A man may
write to the Treasury and complain that
he has not received his interest for GER
tain quarter, and then reference has to
be made to the files to discover whether
he is correct or not. Frauds in this way
er go through. There are now on file
8, 800 600 old checks. aggregating $751, eco,
total amount paid as interest on
registered bonds up to date.
OF course the system with coupon
bonds is somewhat different. The Treas
ury usually recommen ds bidders to apply
for registered bonds, because it is easier
to keep track of them. A coupon bond is
like money, and can be converted into
currency by any thief who steals it;
registered bond, on the other hand, can
only be sold through the Treasury, and
will be replaced by Uncle Sam If lost or
destroyed. The designs for the new bonds
have been nearly completed by the Blu
reau of Engraving, and they will be very
handsome indeed. Special pains have
been taken with the design for the $500
bond, which was expected to be the pop
ular denomination; it will have pic.
ture of the battleship Maine on 1t. The
paper employed for the bonds is distinn-
tive, with single band of fibre. It is
made by firm at Dalton, Mass. under
the eye of government agent. The m a.
terial is almost wholly linen, but some
cotton is mixed In to prevent it from be-
ing too hard.
It should be understood that anybody is
at liberty to subscribe what he pleases for
each member of his family. A man, for
example, may have wife, couple Of
sisters, and half dozen children. If he
chooses to bid for $500 bond for each of
them. there will be no criticism. The
regulation provides merely that the hold
ings of single individual shall not run
up zoo high. 1t is wonderful thing to
consider that William H. Vanderbilt at
the time of his death held $48, 050, 900 in
government four per cents. Every three
months he received from Washington his
interest on this personal loan to Uncle
Sam in the shape of check for $3.50. 500.
This amounted to s6.265. IS per day. Ev-
cry hour of the day and night the treasu-
Id him H. 90 or