The Morgan City daily review. (Morgan City, La.) 1916-1920, 1917-06-09
THE LIBERTY LOAN OF THE
AMERICAN REVOLUTION

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One of the most important strue
giles of the American Revolution di
not take place on the American con
tinent.
1t was fought out between the di
plomatic agents of the newly form
ed commonwealth and the banker
Of France and Holland.
It was comparatively easy to &c
men who were willing and able t.
carry arms in the fight for liberty
But is was very difficult to make tn
European bankers see the grea
need of financial aid Of those en-
gagged upon the hopeless task of de
feating the mighty British Empire.
Conditions in the year 1871 wer,
not difficult from those in the veal
1917. Napoleon remarked that wa
was a .question of money, money
and more money" That was true
when Washington guided his mer
against Yorktown. It is still true
when the Allied Powers are tying tc
defeat the Prussian idea of world
dominion. The golden bullets OF
America will demolish the linden.
burg line and will ultimately defeat
the submarine. Shrapnel and dyna-
mite and bombs will play their part
but they would be useless without
the economic driving power which
the riches and the credit of the
American nation have placed at the
disposal of the Allies.
Money talks. And money also
carries trenches.
There are five American patriots
whose lives and letters make inter-
cstlng reading these days of the
Liberty Loan. They are Franklin,
Adams, Lee, Morris and Livingstone
who fought the war for Americas
independence on European soil.
They were brave fighters, thse five.
Often they did not have enough
cash in their pockets to pay their
cwn BOARD bill. But they kept fight
'iy ND they finally obtained the
foreign loans which carried the
american Revolution to successful
end and put the weak colonies firm
ly upon their feat as an Independent
and sovereign nation.
It was John Adams in ITO, who
began the negotiations for the first
great Dutch loan, At that time Con-
gress was so hard up for ready cash
that it had begun to draw bills of
exchange for money which had not
yet been obtained. It was left to
their commissioners in Europe to
find the necessary funds. The trea-
son of Arnold and the capture of
the latest Congressional missionary
together with the discovery of all
were fished out of the
ocean after he had thrown them
overboard-had made the Dutch fl
nanciers very skeptical about the
success of the colonial up-
rising. The surrender Of CORVALLIS
in October of the next year, how
ever, offset these fears of ultimate
defeats, and q combination Of Dutch
firms ventured to invest five million |
suilders in Congressional loan. In |
September of 1772 Congress affirm
I'd this loan and at once received al
million and three hundred thousand
yuilders, more money in actual cash
nan had been seen on the American
'hores since the beginning of the
Revolution. The interest on this loan
vas five per cent, which was very
ow considering that France, Eng
and, and Russia were offering
Dutch bankers double that amount,
The investment, moreover, was still
# highly precautions nature, for
congress, being hopelessly pressed
or funds, drew against this sum
nth such rapidity that the entire
i've millions were spent before the
asst installment had reached the
United States.
During the following years other
butch loans followed each other ,
'ithout interruption. In 1884, when !,
ne American Congress was willing
pay almost any premium to
laintain the credit Of the new ma
on, another loan of two million /,
uilders at six per cent. was placed
18th several Amsterdam banking
rms. In 1887 the third loan fol- /,
wed. Then in rapid succession 8
me the loans of 1888, 1890, Mach !
sptember, and December of the /.
'ar 1884, the loans Of 1892, 1898, )
ID 1894. These loans, indeed, be- J
me an annual expense Of the new .
ID unstable Congressional govern :
ent was paid for with Dutch