The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-02-13
Congress Help Needed 60 Sell the
Victory Bonds.

Victory Bonds.
The Senate Finance Committee and
the House Ways and Means Commit
tee do not like Secretary CHASSIS
Victory Loan proposal that they give
him wide discretionary powers. They
may think better Of 1t when they
know more about 1t. They may be
glad to accept 1t when they under
stand the extreme need Of II.
The Treasury must have funds to
clean up the war bills. With the ma.
TONS military programme fiattened
cut and national war enthusiasm sub.
sided. It is going to be hard at best
for Secretary GLASS to sell his Vic
tory bonds. Furthermore. 1t Is going
to be financially dangerous to the
country for the Treasury to be COM
PEELED to try to market Its loan at a
high interest rate.
A s per cent. rate Of itself, for ex-
ample, might not dispose OF all the
bonds the Treasury needs to SELL Yet
whether it did or did not, the Gov
eminent could not 60 begging for
funds at 8 per cent. without hurtful
confession to the world that the credit
Of the United States was gone. The
Government could not go begging for
funds at 5 per cent. without pushing
all the Liberty bonds still further
down the scale of values. Already,
with the exception OF the tax exempt
Sias, they are sensatiOnally below par.
An issue Of per cent. bonds could
not fail to drive them further down
to a level disgracefully below par.
The heavy discount Of to-day dam
ages terrihcally some 100000 of
our small bondholders The still
heavier discount of tomorrow might
strip millions Of them Of the actual
possession Of their deprecated bonds;
for millions Of our small bondholders
have been compelled 10 borrow on
them. Millions more may be COM
PEELED to borrow on theirs. The mar
ket price cannot 30 below the amount
Of the loans they cover without TAX
ing their bonds away from hundreds
Of thousands Of borrowers unable to
put up more margins.
Again, the United States Govern.
ment cannot 60 begging for funds at
5 per cent. without scuttling every
other American security. When Lib
erty bonds were driven even further
down than they are now. all other
bonds, railway, real estate, no matter
what, would be shot down still lower.
This would shrink enormously the In
yestments Of the savings banks, OF the
insurance companies. OF all manner
Of trust institutions.
Involved in the assets OF the saw
Ings banks are millions and millions
of Americans who are also involved
in the deprecated Liberty bonds. In.
volved in the assets Of the insurance
companies are the same Americans.
The United States Government must
protect them. not only as to their
present Liberty bond holdings, but rs
to their savings banks deposits and
their life insurance policies.
Very likely Secretary GLASS Is try
ing to work out solution Of this vast
and complex problem in a way which
will preserve the Governments credit.
protect the patriotic investments OF
40 OOO, 900 little bondhOlders and save
money for the taxpayers. Very likely
he Is convinced that 1t Is possible to do
all three Of these things-every one or
them supremacy necessary to the well
fare of the country-lf the Govern
ment permits refunding Of some Of the
existing issues, extension OF the tax
exemption privileges and other modl.
fications of present limitations which
have so deba sed the value Of outstand'
ing Liberty bonds that as a stable Sc
curlty they have become objects OF
financial deris!On.
AIu II SGNIethIy oLhoo ohcuAu chN"
the Congress leaders not only the
merit but the necessity Of his proposal
they may be glad enough to help him,
us they were glad enough TO help Sec
rotary McADoo when, on more than
one occasion. he had to go 10 Congress
for special and unusual powers to en-
able him to sell bonds which otherwise
could not be sold.
There Is no Congress leader, there
is no Congress party, that will refuse
to give Secretary GLASS what he needs
to sell the Victory bonds, when the al
tentative must be Treasury swept
bare. national credit vanished and
so. 900 900 little bondholders betrayed
In their faith Of country.