New Britain herald., 1918-08-29
Placing the Bonds.

(New York Journal of COmmerCe.)
 Let it be distinctly borne in mind that there Is a great difference be- tween ways of subscribing for and placing bonds, and that the mere sale of the securities is by no means all that is to be asked. If the bonds are to any considerable extent bought by the public with the aid of large loans secured from the banks 1t is a situation far better than would exist had the barIm Seen called upon merely to take the bonds and hold them, but it Is not satisfa ctory. The individual subscriber in that case undertakes to pay for the securities out of his savings. If these come to him and are used in settling his bond obligations before the time for the next loan, there is nothing to object to; if he, on the other hand, carries his bonds over for a long period pay ing off his loans only very slowly, or perhaps asking for renewals from time to time, the case is different. He is in that instance asking the bank to maintain him as a. subscriber to bonds by providing him with the re- sources he requires to make his pay ments. From the individual stand
 
 to in such course, but from the standpoint of the community the duty of paying for the. bonds is then
 left with the banks and must remain in their hands until the subscribers have actually and in good faith set tied for them out of current incomes. How far will the nation as a whole recognize this situation and devote itself to the bonafide purchase of the securities?
 In the third Liberty Loan there
 was a gratifying success in the dis tribution of the bonds and the use
 of bank credit in paying for them was limited in an unexpected and notable degree. The proposed fourth loan will be a much greater undertaking and the problem of getting actual buyers correspondingly more seri-
 ous. And yet this is precisely what must be accomplished. Unless the community is willing to see the i available funds of the banks tiled up", and the basis for business and for ] government operations as well cor l respOndingly reduced, it must devote 1 itself to the task of taking and pay | ing for the new securities. There is 1 only one means by which this result 1 can be accomplished and that Is the
 saving and conservation of private 1 resources in a degree that will in 1 fact suffice to furnish what the gov | ernment requires before it becomes 1 needful to float another bond issue. l Such saving means a very real re- duction of personal expenditure. Up 1 to date, it must be regretfully admit ted, the self denial of the average | lyrl I, i,rI,
 prices. has not been noteworthy He
 has in many cases continued to spend
 the higher wages he has received on about the same scale as his former
 more limited earnings. Where he , has been in receipt of a fixed salary 1 or income he has in not a few cases | had to use even a larger percentage
 than formerly for the support of him.
 self and his family because of the
 constantly advancing costs of every l thing he has had to buy. The ex- 1 tremeIy high profits of some business | men and concerns are going in an in 1 creasing measure to the government | thrOugh the medium of higher taxa | tion Although but little "pinch"
 has come to the community thus far
 the time is not far distant when, if
 the loans are to be readily sold if
 can be done only through rigid reduc- l ton of expenditures to the extent
 that is requisite to ensure the pIac- l ing of the bonds
 Here is a test of the country which l is different in it's nature from any
 that has thus far been offered, for l though much has been said of sav ing. the real success in that direction