Laurel outlook., 1945-11-14

~ tracts, and for 9th
c er necessary gov
'e" H. "aihoie ernment expendi
lures during the next few months
The, Budget Bureau recently esti-
mated total Federal Expenditures
for the 1916 fiscal year at $66.4 bill
lion, or $337 billion below 1915. Re-
ceipts were estimated at $36 billion,
but these may be reduced somewhat
by the new tax bill. This leaves a
deficit of 1904 billion, which must be
met by Treasury borrowing. 1t is
in order to help meet this deficit that
the Treasury decided on the Victory
Loan, the last big public drive for
| funds.
AS we enter this Victory Loan, I'd
like to review briefly the accom-
plishments of our war financing pro-
gram. From May l, 1941, when the
program started, to October l, 1945,
we raised the huge sum of $207 bill
lion. Furthermore, we raised this
money through plan of voluntary
savings at the lowest interest cost of
any nation engaged in the war, and
at the lowest selling expense ever
recorded.
In the first seven war loan drives,
we set total quotas of $95 billion for
all investors, and sold $135, ,749, ,000,-
600 in war loan bonds. Every loan
was oversubscribed. Billions more
were sold in the interim periods be-
tween drives. We have sold these
bonds to more than 85 1000, 900 Amer
leans. By the time this loan is over,
we will have sold one billion individ-
ual pieces of the popular Series E
bonds alone.
Where did this money come from?
Our figures show that individuals
provided the Treasury with $40 bill
lion net out of the $98 billion in new
funds that has become available to
them since May l, 1941-and most |
of the remainder went into cash saw
ings or commercial bank accounts. |
Insurance companies and savings |
banks invested all of the $22 billion
ii new funds that they received. |
State and local governments invest
ed So billion of the Sc billion avail
able. Private corporations had $39
billion of new funds from current
surpluses and we obtained $28 bill
lions of it. Most of the remainder
was needed by them for expanded
wartime operations. Federal agen-
cies and trust funds invested all of
their SIT billion of new funds in gov
ernment securities.
In short, up to the end of the Sew
enth War Loan, non-bank investors
provided the government with $121
billion net of the $207 billion it had
to borrow since May /, 1941, the bal
ance of $85 billion being absorbed by
commercial Federal Reserve banks,
most of it in open market purchases.
Except for the investment of a linn
tied portion of their savings depos-
its, we have not permitted the banks
to subscribe directly to war loan
securities in the last five war bond
drives, nor in the current Victory
Loan.
One of the most significant
of our program is the
distribution of the public
lebt. Millions of people who never
before saved penny in their lives,
low own savings bonds. 1t is esti-
mated that three-quarters of the
series E bonds sold to individuals
we're acquired by persons earning
5000 a year or less. Today, indi- =!
,iduals hold almost one-fourth of the
otal Federal debt outstanding. An
wen larger proportion of the inter- J.,
st paid out on this debt will 60 to
Obviously, this will
ave tremendous impact on post =:
var purchasing power. ::
Investing in Victory Bonds will !
uild second economy for the fu-
ure. We cannot afford to slump .
ack into indifference and selishness l
we are to keep faith with those +
Tho have paid most dearly so that
re could live in a free and peaceful
vorld. We can and should buy Vic
Dry Bonds to the limit of our ability =
for no other reason than to ex- !,
ress our gratitude to our fighting =.
len. They have done their job, and :.
ave done it well. 1t is up to us to II
nish ours, SO that they may come y
ack to the kind of an America they 7
reamed about-a land of opportu- Il
ity with full employment, full pro- 8
uction and high income. The Vic .
,ry Loan is our opportunity to ex- .
reSS again our faith in America. II