New Iberia enterprise and independent observer., 1918-03-09
? YfW!S.S.
WAR SAVINGS STAMPS
ISSUED BY THE
UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT
THE NEXT EFFORT.

AS the time approaches for the
soliciting Of subscriptions to the
new Liberty Loan, public attention
is being directed to the immensity
of the effort necessary to floating
the loan. This is well set forth
editorially in Munsey's Magazine
for March, and we insert the arti
Gle as follows:
SIN the Third Liberty Loan the
people of the United States face
a summons without a precedent
in history. They also face an op.
portunity without a historic
parallel. There have been great
war loans in the past, as meas
ured by the wealth and resources
of individual nations. Such was
the British Victory Loan Of year
ago; such was the Second Liberty
Loan, the first adequate recogni-
ton by Americans Of their latent
lending power; such also was the
Victory Loan of our northern
neighbors. in which one In every
eight of the men. women. and
children of Canada gave to win
the war. But our Third Liberty
Loan is an undertaking vaster
than any of these. by whatever
standard we apply. and more in
tensive, too, in that it calls for
personal sacrifice by every one Of
our hundred and more millions.
Not every one can subscribe, it
is true, but to make the loan the
success it ought to be will demand
a subscriber in every six of our
population. Consider what this
means. The average family is still
figured at five persons, and this is
probably accurate enough if the
test be earning power and joint
support, rather than the mere fact
Of housing under single roof.
Then Of every six families in the
length and breadth of the coun-
try a Third Liberty Loan subscrip-
ton must be had from all but one.
s'lAnd it must, in every case, be
the largest possible subscription.
1t must. on the average, be for no
fifty-dollar bond nor yet for q
hundred-dollar bond. but for much
nearer five hundred dollars worth
of bonds. That means the pledge
Of the saving power Of every
member Of the family. not for q
month, or two months, or three,
but for six months, q year, a year
and a half. It means a patient,
sustained, and unremitting effort
at the business Of going without
things we should perhaps like to
have, but have no actual need
for. This affects our daily life.
We shall have to wear our old
clothes little longer. We shall
have to study those economies Of
time which may economic mon
ey, and those unwonted expendi-
lures Of personal effort which may
economize money. Even our
pleasures and recreations will
have to be transformed into in
expensive diversions.
"The pinch will be felt, but
after all it is a reassuring pinch
of the kind we bestow on our
selves to convince us, and others,
that we are awake. What are
the billions we are asked to give I
No more than conservative bank
ing would warrant placing as a
mortgage upon the wealth Of the
State Of New York. calculated at
twelve billions Of dollars. The
total Of the Third Liberty Loan,
tremendous though it seems and
is, is no more to the United States
than q divisional first mortgage is
to the Pennsylvania Railroad or
the New York Central. When
we say first, +" second, and
.sthird" Liberty loans we indi-
cate their order only and not q
priority Of lien. Where the Sc
curity is two hundred and fifty
billions Of dollars, priority be-
comes meaningless. Where the
dividends to the stockholders, a.
we may regard the national In
come, are thirty-five billion an
nually. . borrowing Of two bill
lions, or i've billions, or even ten
billions. can mean nothing be-
yond temporary Inconvenience.
At the close of the Civil War
tie national expenditure had.
-. -. - 49, - ka1& &4@R