Evening star., 1926-06-15
A Great Financial Record.

A Great Financial Record. -.
This is a red.letter day In Americs n
financial history. In addtion 10 the
ordinary expenditures Of the tinted
States Government there falls due a
aeht of sSSS .00e 600 in the form OF
.hnrt.term loan hosted to raise funds
for meeting earlier extrs ordinary obi''
cations incident to the refundins OF
rho delhi incurred during tn. Gres'
wsr. Every dollar Of that amount
wtti be paid not. as heretofore. by hor-
rowing anew, but out Of current rev
anues. On this day income tax pay
n'ents estimated at s%oo. 10000" will he
raceived hv the collectors OF Internal
revenue in different parts OF the coun'
frv and placed to the credit OF the
Treasury. A mergin Of Se' .e0o.oOe
over and above the requirements OF
the refund thus appears. The United
States is therefore. for the presen, ct
Ies st. on q ca sh. pa yment ba sis, a truly
rema rka BILE achievement. within the
seven wears OF the peak OF the war
Aeht. II was in August 1919. that
the interest bearing debt OF this coun,
.ry reached its ma ximum hgure, $40
:4e. .00e. 600. as compa red with 81 ,023.'
see 900 In the month before we went
70 war with Germany. With today s
redemption the total interesting bear
H. lAh x.sn ota ina al a
SIC. 400 900 .0Oo. Thus in not quite
seven wears from the peak of the debt
the reduction has been almost exact
~ $1,000, ,000. .00o. OF al the rate Of a
billion dollars wear.
The magnitude of this record OF
linuida ton is the greater because of
the fact that within the past two
years two large reductions in the
rates Of Federal taxation have been
effected Had il not been for these re-
auctions OF tax rates the war debt
would proba bly, have heen even further
reduced. But there is no popular com
MS int on the score of the rate Of debt
reAuction. IL is proceeding quite ia 81
enough to suit the Nation. That j,
should proceed at the present rate al
All while the ts xes are being lowered
is matter Of profound grstihcsti ton.
Were there greater certainty re-
gardina the liquidation Of the wsr
debts owed by foreign governments
to the United States it would he pos
sfele to forecast more definitely the
future liquidation Of the America n
national debt. Most Of these foreign
hebfs have besn arranged on the be sis
~ liouids ton over a Ions period Of
years. That with Fra nee Ia i'm process
~ such settlement. An ssreement to
that effect has bean recently rea ched
hetween the two countries. to which
the House Of Representatives has
given its assent. and approval Of
which by the Senate is awaiting con
hrn,atory action by France. When
th's matter is settled. and assuming
full . nd sithful meeting Of ell these
debt settlement obligations by foreign
governments. 1t will then be possible
- establish the debt reduction Der.
sBective with reasonable certs inty nd
perhaps to determine the approximate
date on which the United States. bar
ring extraordinary happenings. will
1cr the second time in its historv be
ont Of debt" The nrst time was in
February. 1885, a little more than
NINETY wears ago. when The Treasury
announced that the public debt had
heen entirely dischs rsed. From that
time until the Civil War the nationsi
deht was Of small amount. In 1865
had reached the then stupendou.
f'tal Of s23z2. 900 900. Thirty.four
wears ago IL looked a. though this
Government was on the eve Of q noal
liquidation Of this burden. but there
cana a period Of deficient revenues
The issue Of new bonds to protect gold
Payments. then the Panama Canal
underta king and finally the war with
Germa ny, with it's record breaking M
tsonal loa ns.