Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-04-24
LIBERTY BONDS
TO GO BACK TO
PAR, IS BELIEF

WASHINGTON, April 22.-Liberty
bonds gave wonderfully good &C
count of themselves" Assistant Sec
rotary Leffingwell, of the treasury
department, said today in discussing
the recent period of great deprecia-
ton of miscellaneous securities.
This period came to climax Wed
nesday when the New York stock
exchange suffered the most hectic
day in months through a rush of SELL
ing orders which broke quotations Of
practically all securities.
But am told that feature Of
Thursdays Liberty bond market, p"
said Leffingwell, twas the unusually
large buying of small lots by in
vestors Liberty bonds are standing
on their own feet without artificial
support
Mr.. Leffingwell cited yesterdays
market closing prices of Liberty
bonds OF the nine government is
sues of the great war period, seven
showed increases at last nights clos
ing over the closing prices of the
previous day, when all securities
broke.
AS reported to Mr.. LeffingWell, the
government bond closing prices yes
terday and the corresponding adj
vances over Wednesdays close were:
First 3 1928 $40, advance 10; Sec
ond as $500, advance 20; second
4 las $50, advance 81; third las
sol, advance .2S; fourth las $50,
advance 80; Victory notes 3-4s
$96.7O, advance so; Victory 8 S-4s
$96.7O, advance so.
Mr.. Leffingwell and other treasury
officials agree in the conviction that
Liberty bonds and Victory notes are
certain to reach par. They refuse to
predict, however, when par will be
| reached. g..
Some big New York bankers, how
ever, are making plans based on gov
eminent securities being at par with
in a year
Libery bonds and Victory notes
still are the best possible investment,
especially for the person of moderate
means, treasury officials declare.
Persons who buy now are certain ID
make profit by holding the bonds
for some months until they approach
par, it is argued.
Mr. LeffingweH gave the following
explanation of why. Liberty bonds
and Victory notes now are below
par:
"The present depreciation of Lib
erty bonds on the market is due
chiefly to the fact that of the TO-
100000 Americans who periodically
subscribed during the war, large
numbers have not been willing or
able to exercise such control over
their personal expenditures as would
enable them to retain their bonds
after the cessation of hostilities.
Liberty bonds, like other bonds, are
subject to market influences, includ-
ing the law of supply and demand,
and their market quotations have
declined i'll consequence of the fail
ure of the great investing public TO
save in proportion to the enormous
expenditures of capital during and
since the war.
Liberty bonds and Victory notes
under the impulse of patriotism who
have been unwilling, since the war
ended, to continue to lend their
money to the government. and have
forced their holdings on the market
more rapidly than others could save
funds to invest, with consequent
depreciation in market prices.
1.-THE remedy for this condition is
for people to work and save, to keep
their holdings of Liberty bonds as
investments. and to purchase addi-
tional government securities with
their savings.
People generally have been
spending freely and saving relatively
little, SO that there has not been
sufficient capital saved to overcome
the pressure upon the market from
those VINO bought bonds as patriots
but not as investors.
"The holders of Liberty bonds who
save and hold their bonds as in
vestments, will, in the opinion of the
treasury, have no occasion to regrer
it, nor will they suffer by. reason
of the present depreciation in market