The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-06-15
GREAT WEALTH
OF NATION IS
BEHIND BONDS
What John Moody, Head of
Big Investment Service
Thinks of Security's Value

After twenty-five years study Of in
vestment securities of every character
and quality, I have no hesitation in
saying that / consider the Liberty
Loan the prime investment of the
whole world. Nothing could be more
secure. It has back of it all the
wealth of the United States today as
well as the future wealth producing.
power of the nation. The total Wealth
of the nation today is conservatively
estimated at $240, 600, 600, 900, which
Is more than the estimated wealth
of the United Kingdom, France, Rus
sian and Italy combined. But it has
more than this back of it. 1t has the
annual wealth producing power of
the American people at its back. This
annual income of the American ma
ton is now estimated at $4,000, 000,-
900, no less than seventy-six times
the amount Of the Liberty Loan, and
even this does not tell all the story.
During the past thirty years the
wealth of the United States has in
creased from approximately $4,000
900 to the present remarkable total
of about $24O, 200. 900, 900, while the
annual income of the American peo-
pie has increased from less than ST.
000,000,000 to the present figure Of
ABOUT $5S ,OOO, OOO,0OO.
The life of the Liberty Loan is to
be thirty years. Perhaps during the
coming thirty years the wealth and
resources of the United States will
not increase nearly five fold as they
have been doing during the past tnir-
ty years, but he would be a pessimist
indeed. who would admit that they
Wills at least double in that time. But
even a more moderate growth than
this would mean that the strength
and credit of these United States
bonds would steadily grow as they
approached maturity.
From the standpoint Of temporary
investment, also, the bonds have ev-
erything in their favor. The 3 IL
per cent income yield may look small
ito some, but not so to those who rea-
lie the character of the security as
"a non-taxable investment, with a
ready market at all times, and with
the probability that they will never
tseH at discount, one could search
the world over for anything nearly as
good. Should the war be of long
Duration, these bonds will undoubt-
edly be converted into As or even
IA LIS; should the war end promptly,
and no further large loans be sold,
then this particular issue will surely
sell at a substantial premium in a
very short time thereafter.
The fact that the bonds are being
taken by the people. as a popular
loan, also adds to their strength and
value. A very widely distributed Sc
curity is always a more attractive in
ivestment than one which is not wide
1y distributed.
The suggestion that further large
war loans by the United States might
initiate against the vast credit of the
country, has no real basis in fact.
Since the European war opened the
United Kingdom with its national
wealth of but $4,000, 900, 900, has
borrowed approximately SIS, ,00o,-
600 up to the present time, and is
abupdantly able to float still further
large loans among its people. We,
with our national wealth three times
as great and our annual income near
ly four times as large, would, on the
same ratio, be able to borrow some
thing like $50, 900, 100000 If neces-
6ary. OF course, it is extremely i'm
probable that we will have to borrow
even as much as the United Kingdom
already has unless the war should be
protracted for several years. But
even assuming that, within the next
three years. we should borrow as
much as $4,000, 100000, the increase
in our national wealth in that time
amount to still greater sum-
Thus while, the Liberty Loan is by
far the best investment in the world
today, ten years hence it will be re-