The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-01-21
If the Sheriff Should Come!
Some folks are frightened.

some IolkS are frightened.
Some folks are always frightened.
Your mother always was when you
wanted to climb a tree or go skating.
But that was because she was your
mother. You would have been fright
ened, too, if you had been her moth
erl Then there are those people who
never have a good time on visit be-
cause they are afraid burglars have
broken in back home. Any how the
train will probably be wrecked so
what's the use of going home!
But the frightened people we have
in mind are those who bought Liberty
Bonds, and, having seen them go
down in price, are afraid they will
keep on going down till they are
worth nothing, and that they will new
er get their money back. You can
tell them that the whole country is
back of the bonds, but they are afraid
the country is going to pieces
Now what are we going to do for
them? Of course, some of them are
the kind who always imagine burglars
and they don't want to feel safe. They
wouldn't be happy unless they could
be unhappy over something.
But some OIL Tie 1LlSLIC44CN OlAOo al =
scared just because they don't under
stand how safe they are, and it is for
them that this article is meant.
Now a great many very strong state
ments have been made about Liberty
Bonds. You have heard them called
the best investment in the world.
others have been content to call them
simply the safest thing in the coun-
try. Either statement, if true, ought
to be enough for the timid folks
But how can they be sure about
such statements, they say. These are
such terrible times! 1t costs so much
to Iivei The country is borrowing so
much that it may never be able to pay
It all back. Would It not be better
to keep ones money in bank, or buy
real estate, or first mortgages, or even
hide it in the ground until this awful
war is over?
We have heard all these doubts ex-
pressed and all those methods sug-
gested. Perhaps you yourself, though
not actually frightened, have had ar
occasional touch of nerves and have
thought some Of those very thoughts
so let's look into the whole matter and
see whether Liberty Bonds are really
safe or whether it would be wise fol
you to put your money into something
else.
OF course, you know that Liberty
Bonds are debts-just like any bonds
The government borrows money from
us and gives us it's I. o. U.-its prom
Use to pay. If the promise is any good
we are all right; if it isn't, we lose.
arv good SunnOEe
the government tells US it can't pay
What then?
.-sNWeIl, you'n have to wait 25 or 81
years for any such bad news because
the debt doesn't fall due until tina
time. So that ought to take the frs
keen edge off of your worry.
But if, after the 80 years, the gov
eminent said 1t didn't have enough
money to pay us, what would hap
pen?
What happens when you are IN
similar position? Suppose you owet
the milk man $40 and when he cams
to collect you had to tell him tina
you simply didn't have cent to pa,
him and wouldn't have. Well, o
course. before you would tell him an,
such thing you would look about yo'
and see the furniture in your house
the clothes in the closets, and the jew
elry and silverware in your little treas
ure chest. And even though you dt
rot happen to have any money to pa
that SO you would simply sell some o
your possessions to get the money, be
cause you wouldn't want visit fror
the sheriff.
Now that's exactly what Uncle Sar
would do, If necessary. If he shout
run out of money he would loo
round about to see what he could sci
And he would see all the factories c
New England, all the cotton fields c
Dixie, all the gold and copper an
silver mines of the west together wit
its great wheat and corn fields, a
the railroads, and sl1yscrapers, an
steamboats,, and banks, to say nothin
of every home in the land, includin
your home, and mine and the one thu
YOU have the first mortgage on.
Now Uncle Sam would say to hin
self that it would be a shame to Sc
any one Of these splendid possession
lust to pay a debt. Instead he woul
simply take a little slice off of the,
all by making each of his tenants pc
a little higher rent. He might call
a tax, but it would mean the SAN
thing. All the property in the coul
try belongs to the government, al
when a government debt comes dt
with no money in the treasury to pa
1t, the fairest way to raise the mont
is to tax every individual according
the amount he owns.
So that just as long as the de
isn't more than the value of the pro,
erty it VIII always be possible to raj
enough money to keep the intern
tional sheriff away from our door,
In the next few lessons we sha
have some more to say about this poN
erfui fellow we call Uncle Sam, al
will examine into how much his pro
erty is really worth.