The Washington herald., 1917-11-12
FARMERS SWELL
WAR LOAN LIST
Holland Tells of Northwest's S
Liberality in Liberty
Bond Buying.

nave DeeQ EtCclNCa a. ALo - Co~- - 49,
serve Bank in New York City refer
ring 10 the Second Liberty Loan cam
paizn, tells a somewhat remarkable
story which relates the success Of the
very efficient selling campaign organ
ixation in the Northwest. For q few
days after the subscriptions to the
Second Liberty Loan were closed,
some doubt prevailed about the re-
suits In the great wheat and other
xrain growing sections of the North
west, Of which Minneapolis Ii the
commercial center.
When the first liberty loan was
offered for sale to the inhabitants OF
that district, the volunteers who were
serving as salesmen for the govern
ment met with much difficulty, not
only in persuading the farmers whom
they were able to meet to subscribe
to the loan. but also in reaching all
the farmers. The district as a whole
is OF such enormous area and the
farms in so many cases are so tso-
lated that there was entailed a great
deal Of travel by automobile or by
carriage, sometimes over difficult
roads. in order to reach the farmers
Furthermore the organization was
delayed about ten days in getting to
work by reason OF confusing and
sometimes contradictory dispatches or
instructions from Washington.
The experience gained in the cam
paign In May and June of this year
was of much help in enabling the vol
untary workers to proceed into the
great wheat sections, the corn belts,
and other Agricultural regions OF the
Northwest. fully competent to reach
the farmers and to persuade them to
invest some Of their savings in Liberty
bonds.
AS a result Of this campaign, re-
ports now come from Minneapolis that
the total subscriptions received in this
great agricultural section will aggre-
gate at least s130. 0.000. 900. and may pos
sibly be considerably greater.
The well-perfected organization of
voluntary workers, made up OF busi-
ness men, bankers, manufacturers,
and, IN some cases, women, looked
upon their service as associated with
the most important service the North
western States have ever been called
upon to perform for their govern
ment It was In that spirit that the
farmers as a whole met the bond
statesmen and subscribed literally; for
the minimum allotment of one hun
dred and five million dollars was well
oversubscribed.
In comparison with the results Sc
cured in New York City, the Ninth
Federal Reserve District has done
substantially as well as New York
for $50, 100000 which the farmers and
others in that district have subscribed
Is relatively speaking as large a sub
scription as the s.. l.JO0, 90, 900 which was
made in the Second Federal Reserve
District OF which New York Is the
center.
In reporting to friends In New York
the result OF the campaign carried on
in the great agricultural section of
the Northwest, John H. Rich. Fed
eral Reserve Agent OF the Ninth Dis
trict, spoke especially of a most sig
nificant feature OF the campaign. That
was the Unexpectedly liberal and large
buying of bonds OF farmers. There
was a very greatly increased number
of individual subscriptions, in COM
parison with those made at the time
OF the first loan
Many school children purchased
bonds and the sales in the remotest
farming districts were on a far great
er scale than those which were made
at the time of the floating of the
first liberty bond Even in districts
where the 1917 crop was not very good,
some OF the harvests being very poor,
especially In North Dakota and Mon
tana, the statesmen found no difficulty
in obtaining subscriptions.
Just after the subscriptions to the
Second Liberty Loan were completed.
II was observed. not only in the ninth
Federal reserve district, but in others
in the West and South, that there
was q strong tendency to make free
use Of the ample facilities furnished
by the reserve banks. The rediscounts
are, however. regarded as reflecting
the added burdens placed upon all
commercial banks through the float
ing Of the Second Liberty Loan and
are not due to any special commercial
conditions.
The success Of the loan subscrip-
tons was all the more remarkable
because the idea commonly prevailed
that the government was seeking a
loan OF 5000. 10000. whereas it was
necessary often to explain to the far
mers that Secretary McAdoo fixed the
amount called for at S, ,0O0, 900 900, say
ing also that II there were opersub-
scriptions he would accept a certain
proportionable part of them until the
aggregate amount was S,O0o,Oo0,Do
more.
This week there begins the period
for the partial payments on account
of subscriptions and this undoubtedly
will impose a severe burden upon the
banks and a considerable drain upon
their deposits. The deposit list prob
ably will show, at least in some OF the
Federal reserve districts, material de-
creases on account of the large
amounts Of money that have been
subscribed, for which payments must
be made. However, 1t Is the common
opinion that the effect of the govern
ment war loans will not be such as
permanently to decrease deposits.
The impression in Washington and
in New York City Is that, on the
whole, the subscribers to the Second
Liberty Loan contemplated making
payments out of current income, either
by the employment of funds that have
been saved or through discounting
anticipated savings by the aid of the
banks. Gradually, as the details of
the subscriptions to the Second Lib
erty Loan are being made known to
the authorities In Washington, there
is greater and greater confidence that
the great body of wage-earners and
farmers of the United States have
more than fulfilled the expectation
and hope Of Secretary McAdoo that
they would constitute in numbers at
least the chief supporters Of this
Second Loan. HOLLAND.
nInUTn Inn VIyTnnVKIC