The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1918-04-09
BRITISH AND FRENCH HOLDING LIKE
SPARTANS AT BAY AMERICANS AIDING
f |GURES ON LOAN
WILL NOT Be GIVEN
out, IS DECISION OF
SECRETARY M'AD00

Washington, April s.-Esti-
mates of daily Liberty Loan
subscriptions will not be given
out during the campaign by ma
tional, district or local head
quarters, under instructions is
sued tonight by Secretary Nc
Adoo. Instead, the treasury
will gather from each federal
reserve bank figures on sub
scriptions actually filed with
them, together with receipts
from the initial 5 per cent pay
ment, and a tabulation of these
will be made public each day.
Local committees may compile SINH
lar reports of subscriptions turned
Unto local banks, and give out the re-
suits.
This method of supplying informa-
ton on the day by day progress Of
the loan campaign, adopted today by
the treasury after long discussion, is
intended to prevent the publication Of
inaccurate estimates which might not
be borne out by actual subscriptions.
Secretary McAdoo requested news
papers and Liberty Loan committees
to observe the new rules.
Over telephone from Richmond, Va.
where he made his first Liberty Loan
speech on southern tour. the secretary
authorized this statement:
I'm order to remove the risk Of mac
curate information and of oversanguine
and misleading estimates concerning the
amount OF subscriptions to the third Lib
erty Loan. no figures viii be given out
1 for some days and then only figures al
to the actual amount Of subscriptions
officially filed with the federal reserve
banks. The danger of relying on opti-
mistic estimates and unofficial subscrip-
tons will thus be avoided.
This information will b. made public
beginning at an early date, when the de-
partment will be prepared to give accu-
rate figures. After the plan has been
developed the federal reserve banks will
report to the treasury department the
amount OF subscriptions actually filed
and those reports will be given out daily.
The federal reserve banks will simulta-
neously announce the amount of such
subscriptions officially filed in their own
districts and will permit local committees
to announce the amounts of subscrip-
tions officially filed.
II as the cooperation OF newspapers
and Liberty Loan committees through-
out the country in the policy above in
dictated, which Is OF vital Importance to
the object we all have In mind in max
ling this liberty Loan an unqualified sue
cess"
The new arrangement renders valueIess
the system developed by the Liberty
Loan organization after weeks Of work
to gather from each city, town and
county at the close of the days soliciting,
an estimate OF subscriptions gathered
that day. Those estimates were to have
been collected by the publicity organiza-
ton in each federal reserve district and
photographed to Washington to be made
public here the following day.
During the second loan campaign these
unofficial estimates we're made public
daily. together with official reports Of
federal reserve banks, and the aggre-
gate official figures ordinarily We're
about two-thirds Of the estibates. This
4 ratio continued to the last day of the
campaign, but week after the period
clo,s.st. final official figures as annoossA--@
were approximately the same as the ear
lier estimates.
| II official reports are made at tho
same rate this time the treasurys an
nouncements will be from to 10 days
later than the days work they represent.
| Officials explained that the danger OF
duplication, or watering in estimates
even il carefully made. arises from the
fact thas campaign workers report SUD
scriptions which may be made payapis
through = bank This bank in turn SUD-
scripcs a lump sum to cover all the SUP
i scriptions II handles. Thus a pledge
i might be counted twice. and the assre-
gate Of these Implications might refuit
in a misleading showing. FOR tne ma
ton to believe that its loan SUBSCRIPTIONS
we're far above what they actuaiiy ~
4 tailed would have elements OF positive
danger 70 the loans success accordins
Ito Secretary McAdoo and other OFFICIALS
Il who advocated the new procedure.
i Newspapers which heard during the day
OF the plans for sunpressing estimates
protested to the Liberty Loan orgenixa.
ton. arguing that the estimates during
the second loan were admitted to have
been substantially accurate They sug-
J eestsd that psychologically the campaign
Ironagapda needed prompt reporting 81
figures as well as accuracy.
These protests were met with the state
} ment that official reports from federal
raserye banks probably would be has
J tened under the new procedure. BY the
tlatter part of the week the treasury ex-
poets &c give its first official report on
suI,scr iptions. These probably will be far
above the first week OF thu second CAM
l .aign since officials declare the COM
| lret;tlon PROMPTED BY the awarding CT the
homer flag to communities when they
lrcach their quotas. has stimulated early
canvassing work
From several cities today came word
lthat an attempt was being made to conn
mcrcialize the honor flag idea. and that
flag manufacturers were soliciting orders
FOR large quantities OF the specially de-
signei hammer, This was met by . warn
ling from the treasury that the flag has
Ibeef copyrighted and Can be obtained
legally only from the Liberty Loan Or
Il lsHfs ~ IS