Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-09-12

vestigation shows that this amount of money
is held in the treasury to pay bonds issued
during the Civil war, and at other periods, that
have reached maturity, but have never been
redeemed
Somebody, somewhere, has probably left
these bonds in the drawer of old bookcase
that has gone out of fashion and has been
stored away in the attic until it becomes Can
tique" enough to be restored to the library.
Or some may have been lost through fires and
burglarieS and other accidents Every now and
then one of these old bonds turns up and is
cashed.
Holders of most of the present war secur-
tiles are not likely to be so careless And
so it may we'll be pointed out, right now,
that it does no good to hold the bonds with
their coupons attached, after these become due.
The coupons do not bear interest," neither 90
the interest checks mailed in payment of inter-
est to holders of non-coupon bonds. The cou-
pOnS should be clipped promptly on September
IS, or as soon thereafter as convenient, and
Immediately reinveSted in War Savings Stamps.
In this way, the interest money does not lie
! idle, but is at set to work.
The treasury department will mail 100000
checks to holders of registered bonds on Sep
| TENDER IS.
Payment in interest on the war debt of a
sum larger than that required to pay all of the
expenses of the government few years ago
| seems to indicate rather hopeless task, until
one looks back into the history of the financing
| OF previous wars. The total cost of the war
ana
half billions, according to a close estimate
little more than one-tenth of the cost of our
part in the great war
At the end of the Civil war there was talk,
serious consideration even, of declaring the
government bankrupt, like an inSolvent indi-
vldual, and OF wholly repudiating the national
debt There were many men of influence and
standing who believed the nation could never
lit 1T, this staggering burden of debt And yet,
within ten years, government bonds that had
sold as low as $50 in gold went up in price to
as high as 500. This was due, in part. to
the fact that the purchasing power of the dol
lar IN 1904 was only 1877 centS-that is, a
paper dollar vouched for by banks and bv the
government, was only worth that amount
No such rise in the purchasing power of the
dollar is likely to follow the present period of
nigh prices and low purchasing power But
| many authorities state the belief that as mo-
auction is increased and the world settles down
TO normal economic basis, prices will decline
considerably. And so, it's a good idea right
now to hang onto the dollar, and let it earn
some more dollars.
When this country was something of a calf
and was WObbling about on unsteady legs, not
knowing whether it was going to live or not,
! it was handicapped by its first war debt 1t
cost our forefatherS little more than $8OOOO,-
600 to win their independence little less than
the amount of interest that holders of third
Liberty bonds will reap in few days A bit
later on the war of 1912 sent the national debt
up to $127,O0O,OOO
Then we had peace and prosperity for long
period. And from 1916 to 1886, inclusive, the
annual income of the treasury substantially ex-
ceeded the expenditures. The debt was grad
ually diminished, and after a few years the
United States, with cash surplus in the treas
ury, presented what historian has called chat
happy spectacle of people substantially free
from the smallest portion of debt" We had
great deal of land in those days, and the
government sold it at fair return to new
corners to our shores. That money helped to
pay off the little obligation which we incurred
in getting independence
Then a panic came along in 1887 and the
surplus in the treasury disappeared. There is
not likely to be another surplus for a long
time 1t will take at least twenty-five years to
| pay off the present war debt.