The National tribune., 1903-08-06

had subscribed for $500 or less being nj
lotted bonds to the amount, in round num-
bers, of $1O1, ,0OO. 600. The remaining S99.-
100000 was taken by 59,626 people,
whose subscriptions ranged from $500 TO
81 500 each The line between the sue
cessful and the unsuccessful subscriber
was drawn at the latter figure, each of
those who subscribed for amounts of
S4,50O receiving only 1,3OO of the bonds.
One thing in particular operated to en-
courage people of small means TO invest
in the loan. 1t was confidently believed
that such subscriptions would by no means
take the greater part of the bonds, and
as an encouragement to the humble in
vestor the Secretary of the Treasury had
announced in his call for subscriptions
that all of $500 and less would receive
immediate allotments. This feature,
while successful beyond expectation, had
also its evil results. The discrimination
in favor of people of small means was the
invitation to many to submit fictitious sub
scriptions, or subscriptions signed by per-
sons who were to have no interest in the
bonds. Every obstacle the Department
could interpoSe was placed i'll the way of
such subscriptions.
BONDS CAREFULLY PLACED.
Many millions of dollars in suspected
cases were plain they were returned out
right, or the persons through whom they
were submitted were given an opportunity
to explain their interest. Thousands of
such subscriptions, involving millions of
dollars, We're rejected as the result of the
Departments searching investigations,
and the energetic efforts of the Depart
ment no doubt deferred others from sub
mitting so-called dummy" bids.
The loan was success from the very
moment the books were opened. 1t had
been doubted by some of the ablest finan-
ciers of the country whether the Govern
ment could float n loan in time of war at
so low rate of interest as ) per cent.
There was apparently just reason for this
misgiving. The old As and SIS were quoted
at such rates in the market rs to bring
to the holders approximately 3H per cent.
Il slightly larger rate than the Government
proposed to attach to bonds issued while
the country was at war. To those who
were fearful of failure the Secretary of
the Treasury pointed out that the bonds
of the new loan would find market
among the national banks, because, under
present conditions, they were more valua-
BILE as basis for circulation than either
the bonds of 1904 or 1925. 1t was shown
that a national bank doing business on a
capital of 100000 would, with the old
bonds as basis for circulation, make a
profit of only $65.1O, while with the new
3s Il bank doing business with the same
capital would make a profit of 81 ,437.5
in year. 1t was represented also that
the business welfare of the country re-
quired that the loan, above everything
else, should be n success. 1t was as i'm
portant in this respect as victory in the
field or on the sea, in fact more so, for
if the war loan of 1898 had failed the dis
aster would have been greater than would
have been the defeat of Gen. Skaters
army at Santiago or the American fleet
blockading that port. The result was
shown in the patriotism manifested by
groups of leading financiers in the coun-
try, some of whom submitted offers to the
Government guaranteeing to take the
whole or any part of the loan which the
people should leave unsubscribed. In
fact. one syndicate offered to take $780,
100000 of the loan at slight premium
Not many days had passed after the books
were open, therefore, when it became GER
tain that the loan would be subscribed for
many times over. Very nearly fourteen
hundred million dollars was the amount
subscribed for in all, or seven times the
total of bonds offered. The results set
forth in strong light our vast resources
in wealth, just as the patriotic rush to
arms exhibited our strength in men.