The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-02-04

FEATURES OF. THE RECENT
POPULAR LOAN.
Only One Case ON Record Excelled That
of the United states-French Folk
Opened Their Cotfers to the Extent
OF Billion. s.

of Billion. 5"
In the interest concerning the war
In the field an important part of the
conhlct-the furnishing of large num-
ber of the sinews Of warts almost
forgotten. We are reminded of the
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 fact
that the government casually asked the
people for $200,0OO,OO0 and the people
offered at once six and one-half times
that amount is little thought of by the
public. 1t is taken as matter of
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, 100000
was required Of France by her con-
queror, and popular loan was opened
to pay it. It 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
were 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 were
paid their share at once, but those
who bid for more were obliged to de-
posit 2 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 .nns the shond ds.aare, ainsa large
number Of cases, not the original sub
scribers. Though there have been
many subscribers of small means, there
have not been as many as there would
have been had it not been for the fact
that a man of small means can get
from savings bank as large a per
cent and in most cases a 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 a 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
ability to sell it's bonds at a 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 a popular
. loan in the strictest sense of the term
than the French loan, but when our
loan is analyzed 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 real subscription of only 1OO, 900
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
cials 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 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 deposi-
tors, being held against their deposits.
Monuments to New York Regiments.