The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-06-12

withdrawn. If the war should be pro- longed and if we should not ourselves be- come embroiled with Austria and Ger many, these deposits will draw cons'dera- ble sums in the form of interest.
 These illustrate some of the triiing in- cidents of a financial kind associated with the war There begin, however, to be ev- idences of far more important financing. | important in the sense that it will 1T ac- | complished facilitate the payment Tor pur- l chases of American commodities and also l of consequence because of the magnitude | of the proposed financing. The heavy im- ports of gold-more than $50,00000o having come into this country since the first of
 the year from Canada-refect exclusively l certain kinds of financing by means of | which American manufacturers are being | paid for the commodities they have sold
 to Great Britain or to the allies.
 Paid With Our Securities
 1 It has been for sometime suspected tha,
 ultimately and perhaps speedily no small part of the American securities now held ] for investment in England and in France will be utilized as to aid In the pay | ments for commodities we sell 10 those countries. The subject has been earnest I ly and constantly discussed in the o1tices ! of international bankers chiefly because there appear to be almost insurmount- | l these American securities so that they l may be used to pay some of the obliga- | lions of England and France to the Onlteo States. Much the larger part Of the Amer I ican securities held in England IS pre- sun,ed to be in private hands Last winter 1 1t was sometimes said that possibly they
 may be forced out through the imposition | of A tax To take concrete example
 of the difficulty France might meet wltf in obtaining American securities held II France there is the case or the Ne" Haven railroads marketing some years ago of nearly 30,000,000 of bonds in Paris President Mellen of the New Haven rali road was compelled to cause to De pre- pared special plates by one of the bani note engraving companies. France woui' not make the negotiation unless the ell eraved plate set forth the denomination in terms of francs and in small denomi | nations There were various other ue tails which it was necessary To compi,
 with before these bonds would be regard
 ed as good delivery. Both France an'
 the New Haven Railroad company ha' specially appointed representatives Il whose care the bonds were placed whii' fthey were on the steamship, and until the. were delivered to the French bankers.
 Having obtained these bonds tn'
 French bankers subscribed to the neces earv forrnalities by which they were con
 stituted by France trustees of the bonds
 Then they were prepared to issue certi
 ficates for which these bonds were th'
 security and behind which stood the faiti
 and integrity of France herself. Speed
 ily the peasants took from their hoard
 fra rancs-sometimes no more than the equiV
 alent of S5 in American money-and wltl
 these savings bought certificates, primer
 pal and interest being guaranteed by tn
 banks. until at last the whole amour was thus absorbed and the New Havel railroads $30 O0O,000 of securities are nov really in the possession, for the most part of the peasantry and the middle classe in France. How then, is France to optall control of these bonds so they may De utii ized in establishing credit or In faclntat ing payments due to American manuiae turers. for it would seem to be almost I'm possible to call in all of the certificate and impracticable to substitute for tn New Haven railroad bonds any other SC curities.
 Yet it is apparent that if the marke were free and open, American stocks an bonds held for investment on the ocse side can be absorbed here in almost a1f quantity This is a very important an l somewhat complicated feature of the situ atlon. The United States owes to Englan and Europe possibly as much as $5,OO0,0OA GOO which are represented by Amerlca securities held abroad, and if we wer | able in 1900 to absorb 000 or ou / securities without disturbing the none | ma rket we should be able to absorb thre times al much now if the securities wer I offered to us Could this be done would be relatively easy to establis credit facilities whereby with our ow debts we are paid what is owed to us b foreign nations.