Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-01-05
ISSUE OF TWO PER CENTS
LIMIT WILL PROBABLY FALL WITHIN
S445.OOO.OOO.
Expert Opinion Prevailing at the
Treasury Department-Awaiti
Mail From Distant Places.

The limit of the issues Of gold per cent
bonds under the refunding law will proba-
bly, fall just within the sum of $445. 900.
This was the best expert opinion prevailing
today at the Treasury Department, from
the data at hand. The old bonds offered
for exchange which have been actually
sorted and disposed of amount to S435. d.
100. About 900 more were in hand to-
day, which had not been fully classified. 1t
remains to add to these amounts the bonds
which were mailed in various parts of the
country up to midnight Monday. which have
not yet reached the treasury. 1t is not ex-
pected that these amounts will be large, be-
cause the New York mail of Monday was
received yesterday, and most of the large
applications for exchange have come from
New York. A few more cases from Boston
and Chicago and scattering amounts from
more distant points are expected to add a
few millions to the total of the old bonds in
hand for which the owners wish to receive
the new gold = per cents. 1t will be a week
or more before it will be possible to make
an exact and final statement of the amount
refunded. 1t might even be possible that
several weeks will elapSe l. bonds were re-
ceived which were mailed in Europe or AS a
on Monday last. but the present holdings
of United States bonds outside the United
States are not large and it is not expected
that many such cases, if any, will arise.
Classes of Bonds.
The net effect of the exchanges upon the
public debt will be to raise the volume of
the new per cent bonds to within about
| $40, 100000 of the amount of other classes
| outstanding. The total amount Of the pub
lie debt is 81 OO1, 400 80. If about $445 900.
| 600 of this amount is in the new per cents,
about $5j6 100000 will be in other classes
! of bonds. The bulk of the remaining bonds
| will be in two classes of per cents-the
| long tours, amounting to S1e2,315, 400 and
| the tours maturing in 1907, amounting to
about $275,00O,000. The threes will be re-
| duced to something like $4,000 600, and the
| 5 per cents, which mature in 1904. will be
almost wiped out. The new twos. there
fore, will form the largest single loan out
standing.
Saving of $11,OOO,OOO.
The amounts which have been paid from
the treasury as differences between the
present worth and par value Of the old
bonds will reach about $44 OOO, 600, or about
10 per cent of the face value of the bonds
exchanged. The savings of the treasury
up to the maturity of the old bonds will
reach about s11 ,0OG 600. without taking into
account the loss of revenue caused by that
feature of the gold standard law. which
reduced the tax upon bank note circula ton
when secured by the new bonds. The con-
siderable increase in bond-secured circula-
ton, which mas amounted to more than
SlOO,OO0,00O during the past year, has done
much to offset the loss to the treasury by
the reduction of the tax.
The question what proportion of the new
bonds has fallen into the hands of the ma
tional banks will not be solved for week
or more, after those exchanged nominally
on private account have been deposited in
the treasury as security for bank circula-
ton or deposits of public money in the
banks. The new bonds held by the banks
on Monday were $361 300, 009, Of which $685.
5SS, 100 was to secure circulation and $685.
725, $50 was to secure public deposits. This
would leave about $50. 900. 900 outside the
national banks, but this amount will be
considerably reduced within a week. Sew
eral millions of the cases not yet classified
represent bonds actually owned by national
banks and several millions more probably
represent bonds which have been acquired
by the banks and will soon be deposited as
part of their guarantee to the treasury.
Private Holdings Small.
1t would not be surprising if the private
holdings were reduced within a month to
about $60.0OO,0OO. The bonds Of all classes
row pledged for circulation are $312 S78, $50.
Only about $17. 290.O 900 Of the guarantee for
circulation. therefore, is In bonds of other
| classes. The sum of $12 49,. 100 Is repre-
scented by bonds of the three classes which
might have been refunded, but which had
not been up to Monday. This amount will
be reduced somewhat by the final figures,
but apparently about 100000 600 of the old
bonds have been retained by the banks as
| the basis of circulation which might have
been converted into the new gold 2 per
cents.