The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1917-10-11
4 LIBERTY BOND PRIMER
Facts About the Great National Loan
Made Plain for Small Investors

bond Of the United States Govern
ment.
Why is ii called a Liberty Bond
Because the proceeds Of the bond vii
help defeat the Prussian tyranny an'
insure liberty for you and your chill
dren.
Should l buy Liberty Bond?
should buy one for two reasons. 1t il
the best investment in the world. Il
is duty to lend dollar to my coun.
try if ! have a dollar and my country
needs it.
Do ! give this money to my coun-
try? No, only lend it.
Can | get my money back? Any
day want it.
Can ! be sure that | shall get il
back? Surer than | would be if ! in
vested the same dollar in any other
property in America.
Why? Because the United States
has the power to levy unlimited taxes
upon all the people, and upon all prop
erty over any number of years to pay
its debts.
Did the United States ever refuse to
pay off one of its bonds when it be-
came due? 1t never did.
Do United States bonds usually sell
for more than their face value =? After
the Civil War no United States Gov
ernment bonds ever sold for less than
par and they generally sold far above
the price paid for them originally.
Did Civil War bonds go up when the
war ended? They did.
Did other good securities like rail
road stocks go down when the Civil
War was over? They fell tremendous
ly in the two years following.
How much? In the two years after
Appomattox, United States per cent
bonds rose a points while such stocks
as Reading, Pennsylvania and Lehigh
Navigation declined in the Philadel-
phia market from $15 to $40 a share.
Can borrow money from bank on
Liberty Bond? Any bank will con-
slider Liberty Bond a sounder secur-
ity than any mortgage or any city
bond or any railroad bond.
What makes this Liberty Bond so
sound? 1t is backed by the greatest
combined wealth behind any security
in the world.
How much wealth? The country's
wealth is seventy times as great as
this total issue of $3,000,000,000 of
Liberty Bonds.
Can our country pay the bond inter-
est out of the country's income? Yes,
the total sum earned by all the people
Of the United States is $4,000 900 900
in year, which is fifteen times as
much as the bonds themselves and 375
times as much as the annual interest. |
How many days income of our
people will be needed to pay the inter-
est on all the Liberty Bonds for a
year? One day.
Could our farmers buy all the Lib
erty Bonds? I? Yes, their output in 1917
will be four times the amount.
How does corn alone compare with
these bonds? Our corn crop this year
is worth twise as much as the whole of
this second issue of Liberty Bonds.
Is there as much gold back of Unit
I'd States Government bonds as back
If England's, Frances and Germany's
bonds? Far more.
How much more? The United
States has more gold than is contained
n the Bank of England, Bank of
France and Bank of Germany combin-
ID.
How does Americas debt compare
With those Of England, France and
Germany? England's debt equals a
quarter of that country's total wealth.
iermany's debt equals quarter of its
wealth. Frances debt equals now
bird of its total wealth. But at the
nd of our first year of war next
april, our total debt will not exceed
Of our nations wealth.
Is our debt for each person smaller
han the debts of European countries
ar smaller. +,
How much smaller? Each Briton's
hare of his country's debt is now
lore than s400 Each Germans share
{ his country's national debt is $3.50. ,
,ach Frenehman's share Of his coun-
ry's debt is $780, But after we have !
old Liberty Bonds for the first year
f war or up to 500, 1000, 900 900 each
.merican's share will only be 5000.
Does America pay off its debt? 1t
aid off the debt Of the Revolution
1t paid off every dollar of '
nat Of the war of 1912. II paid off :
he Mexican War debt. 1t speedily
aid off two-thirds Of the Civil War q
,bt. {
Why did IN not nav off all the civil I