Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1918-10-18

tie, and the spirit that has urged on has been
the determination be worthy of those whom
left behind when crossed the seas The news Of
America awake of the national spirit more strong,
more unified determined thrills us all.
1T is the knowledge OF that spirit which makes
certain that people at home will stand be-
hind they have from the beginning. that we
may return soon to you, the victory Buy Lib
erty bonds to your utmost and make victory sure"
The Liberty loan is a true test of loyalty.
Our investment is index of the value place
upon citizenship. Rock Island has done well,
but must yet do more; the big cities lag
ging behind; let the smaller help to the
one can possibly make in advocacy of the loan but
to the individuals who not moved by such a
noble impulse and who will simply regard it in the
nature of an investment let such not lose sight of
the that purchases of government bonds in war
times have almost invariably shown larger profits to
buyer when the country issuing the bonds is the
victor in the conflict
In 1916 about the time of the battle of Waterloo
English government per cent bonds we're selling
at 50, but by year and half thereafter they had
risen to 81. French government per cant bonds
were selling at As in 1914 bart by 1922 had risen to
95, advance Of SO points In 1S48, time Of
luton throughout Europe, English government 3 per
cent bonds selling at 78, but within four years
they rose to 102, an advance of "a points During
the period French bonds from so to 1o6.
At the time of the Crfmean war uS54) English
per bonds were S. hating just the year before
been 1O1 but they gradually after the war from
IS to &c, which figure they reached in 1857.
In the Franco-Prussian war (1S7o-7D French
government 8 per cent bonds dropped to So but
nine years later France had well recovered that
the bonds were selling at S7-a thirty-seven point
advance in nine years.
During Civil practically all OF gov
eminent loans carried per cent and were sold at
par, but because they were payable, principal and
interest, in gold are the Liberty bonds OF today
and were purchasable with deprecated currency
they yielded much than this. In 1861 they
sold low SO, but by 1854 they had advanced to
11S and to 124 by 1876. The conditioned the coun-
try today and at the time of the Civil war must be
borne in mind when look at the very high in
terest rate which the bonds then carried At that
time there was a real doubt whether the union
would survive whereas it is now only question as
to how long before Germany shall suffer complete
defeat
Carrying the history of the rise in government
bonds after to the present date we come to the
Spanish American in 1898. In that year United
States per cent O-year bonds issued in 1877 due
in 1907 sold lO7 but in 1899 the very next year.
they sold 115 IL and in 1900 when they had only
seven years to run u.s. eleven points advance in
two years The four per cent bonds issued in 1895
and due in 1925, sold in 1898 at H. but advanced
to 139 by 1901.
These older issues used to secure bank note
circulation and hence always sell at a higher price
than they otherwise would-the per cent bonds
due in 1925 today quoted at 1O7 but the point
to note is the great advance in price which they
made latter war"
Although United States bonds of any issue may
never again show the extreme advances after the
which they have in the past yet the wealth and
assured future of the United such that it is
fair to assume that in few years United States
government credit may be a 1-2 per cent basis
Judging from the very short time taken for apprec-
able advances in government bonds heretofore this
might easily occur in say three years. which would
that the IA per cent fourth Liberty loan
bond would sell at 1o7 IA
Everybody buying Liberty bonds will. therefore
not only have the satisfaction in years to come of
knowing that he has done his duty but he may we'll
feel that viewed from financial precedent he made
one his best investments when he bought govern
ment bonds in war time