Evening star., 1922-01-13
DEBT
| PRESENTS BIG TASK
Undersecretary Gilbert oi
Treasury Predicts Great
Peace-Time Operation.
By the Associated Press.

! By the Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA, January 13.--Re.
funding the remaining $500. .O00, ,00(
| Of the nations short-dated debt will
involve operations Of a magnitude un.
paralleled in time of peace" Under.
secretary of the Treasury S. p. Gil.
bert, jr.. declared last night in an ad-
dress before the annual meeting OF
| the Philadelphia Bankers Association
The operation, however. he added
| should be carried through withou,
disturbance to the business Of the
| country.
The Treasury. he said, has beer
able to transfer about 500. 100000 OF
the short-dated debt to somewhat
later maturities. through the Offering
| OF short-term notes. but the problem
remains Of providing for the $780,.
| 100000 of victory notes. the $2,200,.
| 100000 Of Treasury certificates anG
the $700.000.O00 of war savings GER.
| tihcates still outstanding. which ma.
ture within year and a half.
| To refund this $500, 900 debt
| he declared, would not take new
money. but would require skill in or.
| der to avoid financial strain or dis.
turbance to the security markets
| Treasury certificates, he asserted
could be used to carry those outstand
Ing, while the new Treasury saving,
Certificates would care for the matu.
| rity Of the war savings certificates.
| Problem Of Victory Notes.
The $3,500,O 900, 900 Of victory notes
ne added, presented the greatest prob
lem, and because of the sum to pay
| of or refund in one day 1t would no,
| do to await their maturity before re.
| ductng the notes outstanding.
| 1t Is according to the Treasury's
| pockets" Mr.. Gilbert said. Ito retire
victory notes from time to time when.
ever the opportunity offers. through
the sinking fund and other similar
operations. through successive sales
OF short-term notes, and perhaps
through longer term operations il
moderate condition should prove IA
vorable. In this way, the Treasury
plan to spend the $500, ,O00. 600 OF
short-dated debt which is now con-
centrated in relatively few maturities
WITHIN the next year and half into
progressively smaller aggregate
amount of better distributed maturi-
Ties over a longer period"
Discusses French Finance.
M Maurice Casenave. the principal
financial adviser Of the French dele
CATION to the Washington conference.
gave comprehensive review of the
financial situation Of France, in which
ne called attention to the studies in
taxation made lby the financial oS-
ganization Of the league of nations.
according to these calculations,
England is taxed 25 per cent" he
said. the United States per cent.
france 19 per cent and Germany only
IL per cent. In this country / have
often heard complaints made from
purely business point of view about
the Inconvenience. 1t seems to me
that this Inconvenience should be fei.
even more in France, which has suf-
fered SO much from the war, than in
the United States, which Is certainly
In much better financial position"
NJ. Casenave said that the deficit In
ordinary and extraordinary French
budgets for 1929 was about 1,000.-
000,0 francs.
considering the general condition
Of the world" he continued, this
deficit Of 1,00O,00o,000 francs.
considering the general condition
Of the world" he continued, "this
deficit of on billion francs does not
seem SO exaggerated. The United
States is facing even larger deficit.