Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1898-10-20

OPonou AneAr COHeFS 60 inc CACenC
t,f Billion. q,
In the interest concerning the war
In the field an important part of the,
confi1ct-the furnishing of large NUNS
Der of the sinews of warts almost
forgotten. We are reminded of thcl
stamp law almost every day when we:
forget to put stamps on checks or when
the druggist charges us two cents ex-;
ira for bottle of patent medicine, or
something of that kind. But the facY
that the government casually asked thei
people for 5000, 100000 and the people,
offered at once six and one-half times
that amount is little thought of by the;
public. 1t is taken as a matter oli
course. Yet there has been only one
other popular loan which has been so
quickly subscribed for many times.
over. Proud as we may be of the way
in which the people of the United
States opened their pocketbooks when
the nation wanted money for the war,
the subscription six and one-half times
over for the recent loan is nothing,
compared with the manner in which,!
the popular loan of French government
was taken up after the Franco-Prussian
war. An indemnity of $1,000,00O,O OV
was required of France by her CON-
queror, and popular loan was opened
TO pay 1t. 1t was subscribed for forty
times over. From Germany itself
came in bids for five times the amount
required by the French government.
1t is probable, also, that the French
loan was more nearly what it pur-'
| ported to be, a loan in which people.
OF small means invested, than the re-
cent American popular loan.' OF
this later loan it is estimated that,
considerably more than half is in the,
hands of big investors. Applications
We're put in for bonds by clerks and
other employees of big houses and by
persons who did not really want the
bonds, but desired to have them to turn
over to large investors for the sake of
making the premium. People who bid,
for $500 worth of bonds or less wer9
paid their share at once, but those
who bid for more were obliged to de-
post per cent of the amount Of their
purchase and were to be paid later
AS these people are being paid, it is
found that the present holders of the
options on the bonds are, in a large
number of cases, not the original sub,
scribers. Though there have been,
many subscribers of small means, there
nave not been as many as there would
have been had it not been for the fact
that man of small means can get
IRON savings bank as large a pen
cent, and in most cases larger one.
than is paid by government on these
bonds. 1t was the intention of the
government to make the loan a really
popular one, and it came as near being
one as is possible under existing con-
ditions of the money market. Every
safeguard was thrown around the sub
,scription list, and people of moderate
means had as good chance as any
body else to buy the bonds. One thing
was proved, anyway-the ability of the
UNITED States to borrow money at any
time to any amount desired, and the
liability to sell it's bonds at premium
to it's own people. But, then, no proof
was wanted of these facts before. On
the face of it the recent popular loan
looks as if it were more of popular
loan in the strictest sense of the term
than the French loan, but when our
loan is analysed the contrary seems to
be the case. OF the 100000 persons
who received awards of bonds it looks
now as If the loan would resolve itself
into a real subscription of only 100, OOO
holders. The thing has not been
cleared up yet, and the pessimists say
that in the hands of small subscribers
there will remain only rs per cent of
the original loan. Yet one of the Off
Gals Of the sub-treasury of the United
States in New York, mindful of the
way in which small bidders have sold
| their awards, says he would not be
surprised if the real amount held by
the small bidders-the bona fide small
bidders-would amount to nearly so
per cent. Yet he doubts if it would
| come near the percentage of the French
in this regard.
| The French are known to be the
largest individual holders of the ma
tional bonds of their country of any
| people in the world OF government
| bonds there are no "bloated bondhold-
ers"-with a few exceptions-in this
| country. The trust companies, the
! savings banks and trustees buy and
| hold most of them as security for
money and deposits, SO that the bonds
| may with truth be really said to be-
! long to the people of small means
The bonds which, for instance, a
| savings bank buys and holds against
deposits, really belong to the deposit
tors, being held against their deposits,