The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-11-14
PLANNING NEXT
 LIBERTY LOAN
By HOLLAND


 A few weeks before the selling campaign for the fourth Liberty Loan began the question was sometimes asked; What would happen in case the full subscrip- ton of $60o0,000,O00 were not made?" In reply the intimations were strong that the American banks had, at least by tacit agreement, underwritten the loan and would make good whatever the diff ference might between the actual sub- scription and the total amount of the loan For this reason it may be Secre- tary McAdoo felt justified in expressing his perfect confidence that the loan would be absorbed. He may have known that the American banks would undertake to make good any deficit in case there should be any.
 But it is now known that not only was the loan handsomely oversubscribed but furthermore that i. nas been unnec- essary for banks to make good their tacit agreement to underwrite amy un- subscribed remainder. t4g
 Fortunately before Secretary McAdoo makes an offering to the American people
 in the early spring of fifth Liberty Loan, which it is presumed will aggregate $6 000, ,000 coo, corporations and individuals will have something definite to base their estimate of the amount which they may be able to set apart for subscriptions to
 
 in Congress will. it is assumed, have been put upon the statute books in the course of few weeks. When that is done every corporation and every individual having large incomes will be able, perhaps not easily but yet sufficiently. to learn how
 much must be set apart in order to meet this new tax requirement and how much therefore may be left for subscriptions | to the fifth Liberty Loan. One of the reasons why the fourth Liberty Loan l went so slowly at first was due to the 1 fact that corporations and many individ-
 uals did not know how much they would I be able to subscribe because they did not
 know what their new taxation would be. l THE NEXT LIBERTY LOAN l Should peace negotiations be embodied ] in treaties and these treaties be ratified | then the government undoubtedly will
 feel justified in cutting down, in some
 cases very largely, expenses entailed In
 the purchase of various material Never
 theless we have in Europe an army of | LOGO 900 men and including those who are
 in this country as much as 100000 men l or little more. Therefore 1t will ba necessary for the governfhent) to receive large amounts of money since the cost | of maintaining an army Of this size IS !, very great. This will necessitate at I last one and possibly two Liberty Loans ] within the next F months. Assuming 1 that there will be two more loans of 1 S6 GOO 00O,OO0 each the total amount of
 bonds which the American people will l have absorbed in little over two years will be $22, 2,000,0 ,000,000
 THE QUESTION OF REFUNDING
 Already some of the leading men of finance and, it is understood Secretary McAdoo are giving some consideration to the question of refunding the govern ment debt as it shall become due from time to tine For 1t is self evident that the government cannot pay off these pii- lions of bonds as they become due ana therefore must resort to the eApeuieAe ol
 refunding.
 The United States will therefore have ] for two generations, perhaps for three. q war debt of $22,000, 100000 which involves the payment of an enormous amount or interest every year. Nevertheless our but probably will be increased as the years go by because we shall have | learned two lessons, one involving the utilization of thrift and the other the de- yelopnlent and conservation of our unex- arapled resources. The national wealth should increase each year by many bii- lions of dollars and some good judges estimate that our agricultural production will be found in the course of few lyears to be yielding at least s20.C09,0 ,0o0. .oo0 of new wealth every year.
 II THE LESSON OF THRIFT In the greater excitement and interest which the marketing of si0, ,0O0. .0Jy.Oc0 or bonds in the past year and haif mas caused there has been disposition to overlook that steady, silent ana ihcreas- I ing current of funds which IS pringins to the government many millions repre- | senting the small savings Of the .4Ameri- ca.n people It is now estimated that the ! shs of war savings and thrift stamps l will have been so great by the end oI the | present fiscal year as to bring to the treasury a little under So,0c0, ,0t0,Oeo When | if was first proposed to authorize the | sale of war savings and thrift stamps | many people doubted the success of the nran. Ii would not have been successful unless a thorough organization had beer created. This organization Is now to bt | so expanded as to make it possible ts | market stamps of the aggregate valus of s4O0O, 900 900. The organization is ont of the most thorough and efficient O all those which have been created bl the government. er s Il It is now regarded as probable tha | | Congress will authorize the continued sal of war savings and thrift stamps so lonI as the government has any occasion 10 ! ! borrowing money 20 that this sale VII be continued over long period of years | While it has already shown'its advantag as a money producer for the governmen 1t is believed to have been Of still greate El .a.x, ere ~1.trg fhet NSonle hoy