The Washington herald., 1919-05-16
SUCCESS
WAS ASSURED
New York Financiers AL
ways Optimistic for
Victory Issue.

A week or ten days before the
seiling campaign for the Victory
Loan began one of the ablest Of the
men of finance of New York said
to some of those who Were doubt
ing the success of the loan. that he
was confident, first, that In the New
York district the quota would be
oversubscribed by at least five hun
dred million dollars; next. that the
aggregate of the subscriptions
throughout the country would be
in excess OF six billions; and third.
that the individual subscriptions
would certainly reach fifteen mil
lions and perhaps as much as twen-
ty millions His prediction has
been justified by the event.
Yet he was not speaking as a man
who was guessing. He had made
it a point to get information from
all parts of the country. He knew
what would be done in New York
in case there was an apparent lag
ging in subscription while the sale
of the Victory Loan was in prog
ress.
He was aware that a tacit under
standing had been reached which
assured Oversubscriptions in New
York City and he estimated that
the amount of oversubscriptions
would be not less than five hundred
millions.
Pessimistie Forecast.
Undoubtedly this forecast. together
with others somewhat similar in char
acter which were made by men COM
petent to give judgment. was made
known to the Secretary Of the Treas
nry p Csloga
The Secretary, therefore. had this
opinion before him when he wrote the
somewhat imploring appeal while the
campaign was in progress to the
American public to support the loan.
1t Is now known that the Secretary
did not thus write because he de-
SPARED of the success of the loan
through shortage of public subscrip-
tions, but simply because he wanted
to aid in speeding up the campaign
Many were the reasons given for
the forecast that the loan would be
oversubscribed and that every Fed
eral Reserve district would be found
when the campaign ended to have
oversubscribed its quota
First of all was teh mastery within
two years by the American people
of the policy OF investing some part OF
their savings in government securi-
ties.
From every part of the country have
come reports showing that the great
body of the American people have.
by reasons of the lessons taught when
the liberty loans were fioated. learned
that il Is not only wise but profit
able policy to set apart some portion
of the income or the savings and
invest in securities which are certain
- -, T,nn - f1-
payment comes. and are Also certain
to yield interest payments upon the
date fixed
Lesson Taught.
This Investment by possibly one
third of the population of the United
States in government securities will
make it all the easier to persuade
the people to make other invess-'
ments by and by. especially in for
eign securities which will be offered
in the American markets after the
high grade character of these Sc
curities have been vouched for by
competent authorities.
The leaders in finance say thai we
are hereafter to witness 4 wonder
full expansion of investment by the
American people in what are called
gilt edge securities. both domestic
and foreign
In the next place one of the rea-
sons for tine feeling Of certainty
that the Victory Loan would be
oversubscribed is to be traced to
the bountiful harVests.
This year the American harvest
consisting of food commodities OF
all kinds and also of animal food
will be probably Of the money value
of not far from 5000. 900. 900.
In other words the new wealth
produced by agriculture and stock
raising in the United States in the
year 1919 will be almost equivalent
to the war debt which this country
has incurred.
In fact il will be some six or
seven biiIions greater than the war
debt IL from that debt .here be
subtracte1 the ten billions which
other nations now owe the United
States.
Have the Money.
The harvests of last year and the
promise of a phenomenal harvest
this year (the value of the wheat,
if measured by the government
price. S226 a bushel. being probably
nished the plain people with money
years ago would have been deemed
impossible to accumulate.
Then. too, the war workers in the
munition and other plants have re-
ceived very large sums from the
government and the banks have
been accumulating deposits in a
manner unprecedented. Therefore
the people had money available for
investment in these government Sc
curities-
The men of finance are of the
opinion that the announcement by
Secretary Glass that the victory
Loan would be the last of its kind
offered to the American people had
little to do with persuading the pub
lie to invest or offer to invest as much
as Sc, 1000. 900. 900 in the Victory notes.
The proposition of itself was a
tempting one from a business point
of view. Money was plentiful and
the people knew that the govern
ment needed funds in order to liqui-
date certain large debts and also in
order to meet the expenditures en-
tailed by Keeping what remains of
the army in Europe and also in
bringing the soldiers and sailors
home.
when it Is said that approximate
Iy $4,000, 900 American citizens, men
and women. have invested in the
-ozafa 1ihArfv and virt0rv 1oa ne