The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-09-09
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORM ALTON
Blu REAU
FRDERIC J. RAkKnJ. DirsCeoE.
WAsht1Etan. y. @
THIRTY MILLION COUPON
wasa1tagtsl. d @
CLIPPERS.

| III
Sam is going TO pay out more money
in interest alone this year to the thir-
ty-odd million holders of liberty bonds
than it cost him to run the govern
ment before the war. During the
next twelve months, he will have to
hand over nearly a billion dollars to
the great army of American citizens
who bought his war bonds.
Before the war, coupon clipping in
dividuals of this country constituted a
small and exclusive class. Now. one
out of every three persons in the
United States has the coupon-clipping
habit. Twice every year each of the
thirty million will go to the safe, or
some other place where the bonds are
securely tucked away, clip off the
| coupon, present IL at a bank and re-
makes you feel like a millionaire
whether you are or not
The next clipping day is the 18th
] of September. That's the day when
you get out the liberty bonds, pick out
those labeled Third Liberty Loan"
| take EN- to the bank and get your
share OF the $ss,75O. ss1.s1 that Uncle
Sam pays to holders of these securities
on that day.
The 18th of October is another
pleasant day, in the same fashion, and
so is the same date in November, and
in December. The government has
chosen the fifteenth day of eight
months to honor as interest dates for
! the Liberty and Victory loans. The
first interest date fell on March Is.
Others are April Is, May IS, June Is,
and then none until September 10!
Totallins all of the amounts paid in
| interest by the government on the
various issues of bonds and notes, the
sum for the year makes the nations
| operating expenses for such old-fash-
toned years as the three which have
preceded the war look rather plea
yune. In 1919, Uncle Sam will have to
pay $50, 100000 of interest on govern
ment securities. In 1914, congress ap
propriated $6S4,757.276.26 for the
running Of the government. Uncle
Sam was even more frugal in 1915,
| spending few million dollars less,
and in 1916 it cost about the same to
run the country.
You realize how war boosts the
cost of living for nations, when you
compare this with our war bill of
about thirty billions of dollars.
It's pleasant to clip the coupons and
have the man behind the screened
window push out $2.12 for each IL
get this much twice year. BUT when
you start wondering what will happen
If everybody who gets a dip into this
big money starts spending it, 1t may
make you somewhat nervous.
II everybody decides to spend his
paid to people all over the country on
September 5, what will happen.
There will be just that much more
money in circulation and more money
in circulation means that prices must
go up.
And II the people of the county in
one year, spend more extra money
than 1t cost annually to run the gov
eminent a few years ago, the present
shortages of food and clothing and
viously will be increased, and this
again will boost prices.
But there are other things to do
with money besides spending it. The
majority of people who bought Liberty
Bonds saved the money with which
to buy them out of their earnings.
They do not need the interest money
for their living expenses. This inter-
est money is velvet. and therefore it
can be saved most advantageously.
The government is yearning to bor-
row 1t, and to pay an even better in
terest rate for il. BY putting the in
terest money right back into govern
ment security in the form OF War Saw
tngs Stamps, it can be Immediately
put to work and made to earn four
The government debt is an interest
ing thing to study. 1t indicates that
some of the sovereign American peo-
pie have been very careless. There
is a column in the national ledger
headed, debt upon which interest
more than 100000. Investigation
shows that this amount of money is
held in the treasury to pay bonds is
sued 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 an
old bookcase that has gone out of
fashion and has been stored away in
the attic until 1t becomes antique"
enough to be restored to the library.
Or some may have been lost thru 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
securities are not likely to be so care
less. And so it may as well be pointed
out. right now, that IL does no good
to hold the bonds with their coupons
attached, after these become due. The
coupons do not bear interest, neither
do the interest checks mailed in pay
ment of interest to holders of nom
coupon bonds. The coupons should be
clipped promptly on September Is, ori
as soon thereafter as convenient, and
Immediately re-invested in War Saw
ings Stamps. In this way the interest
money does not lie idle, but is at once
set to work.
The treasury department will mail
10000 checks to holders of regis
tered bonds on September is.
Payment in interest on the war debt
of sum larger than that required
to pay all of the expenses of the gov
eminent a few years ago seems to in
dictate a rather hopeless task, until
one looks back into the history of the
financing of previous wars. The total
cost of the war between the states was
approximately three and q half bill
lions. according to a close estimate
a 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.