New-York tribune., 1918-08-03

SLOChS, <lluOuSu Cuc P1 AlSlPoA 4Oo-
son for the absence of outside par
ticipation would seem to be the un-
willingness Of the public to trade in
securities at a time when the market
is beset with SO many uncertainties.
AS matter of fact, this is pro badly
the best thing that could happen, for
extravagant speculation in a time
like the present is not only unde-
sirable but unsafe.
Government demands on the mon
ey market continue heavy. A new
offering Of $500, 100000 of ~ per
cent certificates of Indebtedness has
just been announced. With the sale
to the banks of this issue the Treas
ury Will have put out so far $780,
100000 of certificates in anticipa-
ton of the fourth Liberty Loan.
The banks as a whole have made a
gratifying response to the request
of the Treasury for subscriptions.
Apparently in the Far West, how
ever, there have been some institu
tions that have not taken their
share The Federal Reserve Bank
Of San Francisco has accordingly
sent out pointed letter to member
banks in that district. Part Of what
the letter says is worth reproducing:
t'Iet US be frank and honest with
ourselves. Have we learned to say
mo- to the borrowing public on non
essentials? Are our loan pouches
free from notes given to pay for
pleasure automobiles, or for stocks
and bonds purchased with prof1teer-
ing intent, or for other needless eA-
penditures? Have we abandoned
the plan Of business as usual and
gotten down to an honest-to-God
policy of helping win the war? Is
it conceivable that the government
will long permit unnecessary sacri-
fees on the Western front, through
the failure on the part Of the banks
to advance promptly 2h per cent
of their resources every other week?
"When the government placed a
price on wheat, sugar, flour and
canned goods (Which price was quite
below that prevailing) and then
commandeered these products, did
the men controlling these goods de-
cline to deliver them because pri-
vate customers would pay more?
Should the banker under existing
conditions hesitate to advance the
23h per cent as called because he
needs the money to loan to private
parties Offering a higher rate Of in
terest! Is it not fact that the
moral obligation to support the gov
eminent at the present time is
stronger than any written contract
possibly can be? We are in the
war and the way out IS straight
ahead. Bankers are under orders
that are as imperative as those
given the soldiers by the military
authorities"
American municipalities with few
exceptions are now functioning on a
war basis. The city governments
in striking fashion have been with
drawing from the markets for things
and for capital in Difference to the
paramount needs of the nation. The
regulation of capital issues by the
Federal authorities has tended to
eliminate municipal financing, and
the scarcity of material and Of labor
has automatically blocked many OF
the ventures that the cities would
normally have invested in. At pres
ent the tendency has gone so far
that virtually the only municipal
financing that is done is in connec-
ton with refunding Much the same
conditions obtain among the state
governments. A table compiled by
"The Bond Buyer" shows that the
state and municipal borro wings in
July, which totalled s17,113,633,
was the smallest in any July for a
decade. Moreover, the aggregate
for the first seven months of this
year-s152, ,693, ,866-was the low
est figure in ten years, and less than
half Of the average total for the
corresponding months In decade.
When the need for war rations in
the use Of capital ceases, what a
food Of demands for it there is like
ly to be in the states and the mu-