The war purse of Indiana; the five liberty loans and war savings and thrift campaigns in Indiana during the world war, Part 22

Author: Greenough, Walter Sidney; Indiana Historical Commission. cn
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Indianapolis, Indiana Historical Commission
Number of Pages: 306


USA > Indiana > The war purse of Indiana; the five liberty loans and war savings and thrift campaigns in Indiana during the world war > Part 22


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25


231


THE WAR PURSE OF INDIANA


position among the list of 'thriftiest states', and stood sixth in per capita sales for the year 1919 among all the states of the Union. Ohio led the nation in 1919 with per capita sales of $3.46, and a total sale of $18,379,328.92. Illinois was next in point of total sales with $9,373,506.91, although Illinois ranked fourteenth in per capita sales.57


Ohio, the District of Columbia, Rhode Island, Montana and Oregon only, exceeded Indiana's per capita sales record in 1919. Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, Texas, New York City, and Pennsylvania were the only states that exceeded Indiana's total sales that year.


In September, 1919, the state organization in Indiana was discontinued, and volunteers and committees were replaced by a small staff of workers in the Chicago office of the Federal Reserve Bank, who covered all the seven states in the dis- trict.58 This change was made because of a policy of re- trenchment adopted by the Treasury department, applied to the thrift campaign throughout the United States. Naturally this retrenchment lowered Indiana's total sales for the year.


The high cost of living had become unparalleled long before the war was done, and in the months immediately suc- ceeding the ending of the conflict, price inflation reached its peak. The constant work of many agencies to keep the Thrift idea alive in this period did much to start the economic pen- dulum swinging back towards stabilization of prices, which was gradually to follow the period of extravagance in 1919 and the great "buyer's strike" of 1919 and 1920.59


was sold throughout the nation. The high month's sale was reached in July of 1918, with a total of $211,417,942.61 and from the heavy sales of 1918, the totals feil to a monthly basis of around five to seven million dollars, after January of 1919. U. S. Treasury Report, 1919. P. 61-62.


57. Report of U. S. Federal Reserve Bank, 1919.


58. In the third annual report of the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank it is recorded that the Secretary of the Treasury had designated the Federal Reserve Banks as fiscal agents for the distribution of War Savings certificates and stamps and under this designation the Federal Reserve Banks became the warehouses to which banks, express companies, railways and other authorized agents went to receive their supplies and te whom they accounted for the proceeds. It also was pointed out that many banks throughout the district at the beginning of 1918 had qualified as depositories under the regulations prescribed by the treasury department.


In order to accommodate the various sections of the district, securities committees and custodians for collateral were appointed in each state, serving without compensa- tion. The securities committee for Indiana was composed of Stoughton A. Fletcher, president of the Fletcher American National Bank (chairman) ; Evans Woollen, presi- dent of the Fletcher Savings and Trust Company; Frank D. Stalnaker, president of the Indiana National Bank. The Indiana Trust Company, Indianapolis, J. P. Frenzel, president, was made the custodian for collateral for Indiana.


59. Governor Goodrich, in the later months of 1919, recognized officially that the pendulum must start swinging back towards lower prices, when at the instigation of


232


INDIANA WORLD WAR RECORDS


The list of county chairmen for 1918, prepared from the rec- ords kept by Frank E. Hering, Vice-Director of Indiana W. S. S. State Committee follows :


County


Name


City


Adams


J. W. Bosse


Decatur


Allen


Martin H. Luecke


Fort Wayne


Bartholomew


Samuel Sharp


Columbus


Benton


Geo. L. Robey


Fowler


Blackford


E. E. Cox


Hartford City


Boone


Roy Andey


Lebanon


Brown


W. L. Coffey


Nashville


Carroll


Wm. Pruitt


Delphi


Cass


Frank Amos


Logansport


Clark


James E. Burke


Jeffersonville


Clay


H. F. Bucklin


Brazil


Clinton


Ted Spray


Frankfort


Crawford


Elmer Merrilees


Leavenworth


Daviess


M. F. Burke


Washington


Dearborn


L. W. Hill


Lawrenceburg


Decatur


Harry A. Hillabold


Greensburg


Dekalb


L. G. Whitten


Auburn


Delaware


B. F. Moore


Muncie


Dubois


Bomar Traylor


Jasper


Elkhart


Anthony Deahl


Goshen


Fayette


Minor Leffingwell


Connersville


Floyd


R. W. Harris


New Albany


Fountain


W. W. Layton


Covington


Franklin


John C. Shirk


Brookville


Fulton


Frank E. Bryant


Rochester


Gibson


Stuart T. Fisher


Princeton


Grant


A. E. Highley


Marion


Greene


Quincy T. Mitchell


Linton


Hamilton


Chas. B. Jenkins


Noblesville


Hancock


Geo. J. Richman


Greenfield


Harrison


Wm. P. Huff


Corydon


Hendricks


W. A. King


Danville


Henry


Harry Jennings


Newcastle


the War Savings organization he issued the following proclamation, on the first anni- versary of Armistice Day :


Proclamation


"November 11th, 1919, marks the first anniversary of the signing of the Armistice which terminated hostilities in the great World War. The anniversary should be fittingly observed by every American ; and there is no better, more practical way to observe the day than by lining up in the great fight against the high cost of living.


"In accordance with a request of the United States Treasury Department, sub- mitted to me through the War Savings Organization of the Seventh Federal Reserve District, I hereby request and urge the people of the State of Indiana to set aside the anniversary day as a day to begin the practice of thrift and saving. If our Nation is to receive relief from the present unrest and from the high prices of all necessities of life, it is necessary that our citizens shall save systematically and buy wisely.


"I urge that every man, woman and child in Indiana realize, for his own and the common good, the importance of buying wisely to reduce the demand; using wisely to avoid waste ; saving regularly to provide for the future, and producing more for his own and his country's welfare. Let us battle against extravagance ; let us increase our savings and extend the knowledge of safe investment to all our people. Government securities represent the soundest form of investment, and our people should invest a part, at least, of their savings in War Savings stamps and U. S. Treasury Savings certificates.


"James P. Goodrich, Governor,"


233


THE WAR PURSE OF INDIANA


County


Name City


Howard


J. E. Frederick


Kokomo


Huntington


Fred H. Bowers


Huntington


Jackson


L. C. Griffitts


Seymour


Jasper


J. J. Hunt


Rensselaer


Jay


O. A. Rawlings


Portland


Jefferson


Guy Pender


Madison


Jennings


Jos. Verbarg


North Vernon


Johnson


M. J. Voris .


Franklin


Knox


Ira D. Schaffer


Vincennes


Kosciusko


N. E. Haymond


Warsaw


Lagrange


Clyde A. Walb


Lagrange


Lake


C. R. Kuss


Gary


Laporte


Kent M. Andrew


Laporte


Lawrence


W. E. McCormick


Bedford


Madison


C. T. Sansberry.


Anderson


Marion


F. M. McWhirter


Indianapolis


Marshall


K. Frank Brooke


Plymouth


Martin


Edgar Witcher


Shoals


Miami


Albert H. Cole


Peru


Monroe


Nat U. Hill.


Bloomington


Montgomery


Will L. Stump


Crawfordsville


Morgan


Frank T. Singleton


Martinsville


Newton


W. O. Schanlaub


Kentland


Noble


L. A. Weinstein


Kendallville


Ohio


W. M. Greene, Jr.


Rising Sun


Orange


W. W. Cave


French Lick


Owen


Bruno Meguschar


Spencer


Parke


Mrs. Walter Woodard. Joseph Hirsch


Cannelton


Pike


Geo. A. Hurst.


Winslow


Porter


Chas Wark


Valparaiso


Posey


Wm. E. Holton


Mt. Vernon


Pulaski


F. G. Neel


Winamac


Putnam


A. G. Brown


Greencastle


Randolph


L. L. Driver


Winchester


Ripley


J. A. Hillenbrand


Batesville


Rush


John A. Titworth


Rushville


Scott


W. H. Montgomery


Scottsburg


Shelby


Lee C. Davis


Shelbyville


Spencer


Jas. G. Hill


Rockport


St. Joseph


John A. Herzog


Mishawaka


Starke


James C. Fletcher


Knox


Steuben


Fred Snyder


Angola


Sullivan


Robert Taylor


Sullivan


Switzerland


James S. Wright


Vevay


Tippecanoe


Mrs. J. W. Greve


Lafayette


Tipton


George Shortle


Tipton


Union


George Pigman


Liberty


Vanderburgh


John S. Hopkins


Evansville


Vermillion


John C. Straw


Clinton


Vigo


John Cleary


Terre Haute


Wabash


Fred I. King


Wabash


Warrick


Wm. J. Veeck


Boonville


Washington


F. M. Wilson


Salem


Wayne


Joseph H. Mills


Richmond


Wells


E. O. Lesh


Bluffton


White


Wm. O'Connell


Monticello


Whitley


James D. Adams


Columbia City


Rockville


Perry


234


INDIANA WORLD WAR RECORDS


W. S. S. County Chairmen for 1919


The county chairmen for W. S. S., who served during 1919, follow :


Adams County


Name


City


Allen


R. E. Peters


Fort Wayne


Bartholomew


F. L. Flannigan


Columbus


Benton


M. F. O'Rear


Fowler


Blackford


Earl O. Pursley


Hartford City


Boone


John Huber


Lebanon


Brown


G. G. Brown


Nashville


Carroll


P. S. Lowe


Delphi


Cass


Frank Amos


Logansport


Clark


F. E. Andrews


Jeffersonville


Clay


C. N. Reddie


Brazil


Clinton


John L. Downing


Frankfort


Crawford


S. A. Beals


Milltown


Daviess


M. F. Burke


Washington


Dearborn


Edward Maloney


Lawrenceburg


Decatur


C. S. Coleman .


Greensburg


Dekalb


Rev. A. P. Bourns


Auburn


Delaware


Vincent W. Jones


Muncie


Dubois


H. C. Thompson


Jasper


Elkhart


Robert E. Proctor


Elkhart


Fayette


Earl Lines


Connersville


Floyd


John M. Gaither


New Albany


Fountain


Dr. O. V. Immerman


Veedersburg


Franklin


J. C. Shirk


Brookville


Fulton


Otto McMahan


Rochester


Gibson


Thomas Duncan


Princeton


Grant


A. E. Highley


Marion


Greene


W. V. Moffett


Bloomfield


Hamilton


R. H. Kinney


Noblesville


Hancock


G. J. Richman


Greenfield


Harrison


Mrs. F. A. Ulen


Corydon


Hendricks


Mrs. K. H. Smith


Danville


Henry


Harry Jennings.


Newcastle


Howard


C. V. Haworth


Kokomo


Huntington


Curtis S. Miller


Huntington


Jackson


L. C. Griffitts


Seymour


Jasper


William H. Wood


Rensselaer


Jay


Malcolm Skinner


Portland


Jefferson


W. T. Seburn


North Madison


Jennings


Joseph Verbarg


North Vernon


Johnson


W. J. Yount


Franklin


Knox


Ira D. Schaeffer


Vincennes


Kosciusko


L. C. Wann


Warsaw


Lagrange


Paul Dunten


Lagrange


Lake


R. R. Heminway


Gary


Laporte


Kent A. Andrew


Laporte


Lawrence


M. J. Abbott


Bedford


Madison


Judge W. S. Ellis


Anderson


Marion


E. W. Steinhart


Indianapolis


Marshall


L. G. Harley


Plymouth


Martin


Edgar Witcher


Shoals


Miami


S. L. Brewer


Peru


Monroe


Oscar Cravens


Bloomington


Montgomery


W. L. Stump


Crawfordsville


Morgan


Lewis Williams


Martinsville


M. F. Worthman


Decatur


235


THE WAR PURSE OF INDIANA


County


Name


City


Newton


W. O. Schanlaub


Kentland


Noble


L. A. Weinstein


Kendallville


Ohio


Will M. Greene


Rising Sun


Orange


W. E. Livingood


French Lick


Owen


Dr. H. B. Stevenson


Spencer


Parke


W. N. Cox .


Rockville


Perry


W. M. Cassidy


Tell City


Pike


W. E. Davidson


Petersburg


Porter


Charles M. Lish


Valparaiso


Pulaski


Cletus Reidelbach


Winamac


Putnam


A. G. Brown


Greencastle


Randolph


Benj. J. Brown


Winchester


Ripley


John A. Hillenbrand .. J. H. Scholl .


Rushville


Scott


C. E. Garriott


Scottsburg


Shelby


Allen Green


Shelbyville


Spencer


Charles H. Salm


Rockport


Starke


James C. Fletcher J. A. Herzog


Mishawaka


Steuben


H. W. Morley


Angola


Sullivan


Robert Taylor


Sullivan


Switzerland


Dr. H. M. Thibaud


Vevay


Tippecanoe


Mrs. Ada K. Cahn


Lafayette


Tipton


H. N. Dixon


Tipton


Union


William P. Kennedy


Liberty


Vanderburgh


Albert F. Bader


Evansville


Vermillion


John R. Paine


Clinton


Vigo


Robert F. Nitsche


Terre Haute


Wabash


Fred I. King


Wabash


Warren


Mrs. F. L. Clark


West Lebanon


Warrick


Wm. J. Veeck


Boonville


Washington


Walter Morris


Salem


Wayne


C. B. Beck


Richmond


Wells


John F. Decker


Bluffton


White


Wm. K. O'Connell


Monticello


Whitley


Alvin R. Fleck


Columbia City


Posey


O. N. Fretageot


Mt. Vernon


Batesville


Rush


Knox


St. Joseph


Appendix


COST OF WAR TO UNITED STATES


On April 5, 1917, the day before America entered the European war, the total gross public debt of the United States was $1,281,968,696.28, while the total gross public debt of the United States June 30, 1919- following the close of the Victory loan campaign, which concluded the major part of the current war financing-was $25,484,506,160.05.


Approximately twenty billions of dollars in Liberty bonds and Victory loan notes were outstanding as public debt October 31, 1919.1 The classification of this amount by loan periods, follows:


First Liberty Loan $1,984,783,330 00


Second Liberty Loan 3,526,377,747 60


Third Liberty Loan 3,904,313,017 50


Fourth Liberty Loan


6,613,907,148 00


Victory Liberty Loan (notes) 4,413,933,116 53


On this same date the Government had listed as public debt $3,736,- 352,300.72 in Treasury certificates and War Savings certificates (net cash receipts), totalling $910,684,987.44. These items, with additions of something less than a billion dollars in government bonds outstanding before the war and certain small miscellaneous items, made the total public gross debt on October 31, 1919, $26,210,530,269.89.


The gross debt increase of the government for the war period (up to June 30, 1919) was $24,202,537,463.77, while the net debt increase for the war period (the decrease being due to the increase of the net balance in the general fund of the government during the two-year period) was $23,043,190,346.50.2


The estimated gross cost of the war to America (April 6, 1917, to October 31, 1919) was $32,830,000,000, inclusive of loans to foreign governments, or $23,424,000,000 exclusive of such loans. On pages 25-26, the Treasury report for 1919 says:


"The total expenditures of the Government, exclusive of the prin- cipal of the public debt and postal disbursements from postal revenues, for the war period from April 6, 1917, to October 31, 1919, amounted to $35,413,000,000, according to statistics compiled on the basis of the daily Treasury statements. Of that great total covering the disburse- ments for two years and seven months, $11,280,000,000, or nearly 32 per cent. was met out of tax receipts and other revenues than borrowed money, although the amount of taxes does not include the December 15, 1919, installment of income and profits taxes for the fiscal year 1919, nor any part of such taxes for the fiscal year 1920. The above calcula- tion includes capital outlays as well as expenditures that have been permanently absorbed. No deduction is made for loans to the Allies,


1. U. S. Treasury Report, 1919. Page 30


2. Ibid. Page 213. Later figures for the same year show analogous general con- ditions of federal totals.


(236)


237


THE WAR PURSE OF INDIANA


or for other investments, such as ships, stock of the War Finance Cor- poration, bonds of the Federal land banks, etc. Foreign loans on Octo- ber 31, 1919, aggregated $9,406,000,000, and if that amount is deducted from the total expenditures, the disbursements for the purposes of the American Government during the war period under consideration were $26,007,000,000. And on that basis, the proportion met out of tax receipts and revenues other than borrowed money was over 43 per cent.


"If it is assumed that the expenses of the Government on a peace basis would have been at the rate of $1,000,000,000 a year, or $2,583,- 000,000 for the two years and seven months mentioned, the estimate of the gross cost of the war to October 31, 1919, would be $32,830,000,000, inclusive of loans to foreign governments, or $23,424,000,000 exclusive of such loans."3


With this set of figures in mind it is rather easy to determine how the Federal Government eventually solved the problem of war finances. Earlier in this volume it is set out that at the beginning of the war many conflicting opinions concerning the broad general methods of war financing to be used were held by financiers in Indiana and elsewhere. That current taxation was utilized to bear a heavy percentage of the cost of war is shown above.4


U. S. Certificates of Indebtedness


The aggregate amount of all issues of United States Treasury short- term Certificates of Indebtedness from the beginning of the war to Octo- ber 31, 1919, was $32,706,964,903.34 and of that sum "$18,657,988,000 was placed with the public in anticipation of sales of bonds and notes, $6,060,866,000 in anticipation of tax payments, and $7,988,110,903.34 comprised the special issues."5


These certificates formed the network of interim financing of the Gov- ernment between the Loan campaigns and between the tax-paying periods. On October 31, 1919, there was outstanding of these certificates only a total of $3,736,352,300.37, the larger percentage of which was in Tax Anticipation certificates. The Treasury report of 1919 says of the Certificates :


"Every issue of Treasury certificates of indebtedness from the be- ginning of the war to date has been a success. This means of temporary financing has provided the Government with funds in advance of receipts from the sales of bonds or notes or in anticipation of revenue from income and profits taxes, and has served the additional helpful purpose of distributing the payments of bond and note subscriptions and of taxes gradually over extended periods of time, avoiding tremendous transfers of funds on any one date and consequent money stringency."


The distribution of these certificates to Indiana banks and by them to patrons formed a definite part of the war financing in Indiana, and


3. U. S. Treasury Report, 1919. Page 25-26.


4. Secretary McAdoo in the 1919 Treasury Report deplored certain applications of war taxation, particularly the excess-profits tax, which he declared "encourages wasteful expenditure, puts a premium on over-capitalization and a penalty on brains, energy and enterprise, discourages new ventures, and confirms old ventures in their monor .'ies." The excess profits tax and similar methods of paying off war debts immediately became a political question following the conclusion of the war.


5. U. S. Treasury Report, 1919. Page 54-55.


238


INDIANA WORLD WAR RECORDS


in this state, as in the others, often resulted in the bulk of a forth- coming Loan actually having been absorbed by the Hoosier banks prior to the opening of the Loan campaign. The Loan campaigns, under such conditions, merely were, in reality, a process of distributing Govern- ment indebtedness already more or less allocated to the financial cen- ters of the state, into the hands of the ultimate investors. The cer- tificates, in other words, worked throughout the war as "shock absorbers" for the great bond campaigns.


Treasury Totals for the First Loan


The secretary of the Treasury eventually placed the First offering at $2,000,000,000 in the First loan and the total subscription thereto (page 6, Treasury Report of 1919) amounted to $3,035,226,850-"an oversubscription of $1,035,226,850, or nearly 52 per cent. more than the amount offered."


More than 4,000,000 men and women subscribed for these first bonds. It has been estimated by bankers that there had been only about 350,000 bond investors in the United States and that the people generally were unacquainted with Government bonds. Of the total number of sub- scribers to the First loan, the Treasury estimated that 3,960,000 per- sons, or 99 per cent., subscribed in amounts ranging from $50 to $10,000, while the number of individual subscribers to $5,000,000 and over was 21, their subscriptions aggregating $188,789,900.


These statistics showed national officials early that a widespread system of "selling the loans to the people" probably would result in the uncovering of a buying power that has been undreamed of in the world before.


The total subscriptions and allotments of the bonds of the First loan, by Federal Reserve Districts, is shown on page 7 of the Treasury Report of 1917, as follows:


Federal Reserve District


Subscriptions


Allotment


Boston


$332,447,600


$265,017,900


New York


1,186,788,400


593,987,000


Philadelphia


232,309,250


164,759,750


Cleveland


286,148,700


201,976,850


Richmond


109,737,100


88,593,650


Atlanta


57,878,550


46,283,150


Chicago


357,195,950


272,702,100


St. Louis


86,134,700


65,029,450


Minneapolis


70,255,500


53,759,250


Kansas City


91,758,850


62,182,900


Dallas


48,948,350


36,663,550


San Francisco


175,623,900


149,044,450


Totals


$3,035,226,850


$2,000,000,000


At the conclusion of the First loan campaign the Treasury depart- ment allotted the full two billion dollars to subscribers, giving all sub- scribers for bonds up to and including $10,000, one hundred per cent.


239


THE WAR PURSE OF INDIANA


of their subscriptions and scaling down the percentages of allotments to other subscribers for larger amounts.


Treasury Totals for Second Loan


Under an Act of Congress, dated September 24, 1917, a total of more than seven billions of new bonds was authorized for the Second Liberty Loan and this act also repealed the authority given under the first bond act of April 24, 1917.' The tax exemption features of the Second bonds were materially different from those of the first issue. In discussing the taxation feature, the Secretary of the Treasury re- ported :


"With the levying of increased taxes to meet the war needs of the country, it was felt that to continue the issuance of tax-free bonds in large amounts would give to the very rich a means of escaping a large measure of taxation with no compensating advantage to the man of moderate or small means who invested in Government bonds. For this reason the new bonds were made subject to the super-income taxes and excess profits taxes and the rate of interest was increased to four per cent.""


The amount of bonds offered in the Second Liberty Loan was $3,000,- 000,000, the right being reserved to allot bonds up to one-half the amount of any oversubscription. The Loan closed October 27th and was over- subscribed nationally, a total sale of $4,617,532,300 being recorded by the Treasury, or an oversubscription of approximately fifty-four per cent.


In this Second loan approximately 9,400,000 persons in America sub- scribed for the bonds and the Treasury estimated that 9,306,000, or 99 per cent., had subscribed for bonds ranging in par value from $50 to $50,000, the aggregate of such subscriptions being $2,488,469,350. The Treasury accepted $3,808,766,150 of the people's money tendered for the bonds, in conformity with the right reserved at the beginning to allot fifty per cent. of any oversubscription.


The total subscriptions and allotments by Federal Reserve Districts follow:


Federal Reserve District


Subscriptions $476,950,050


Allotment $407,713,700


Boston


1,550,453,450


1,151,184,900


Philadelphia


380,350,250


295,127,000


Cleveland


486,106,800


409,787,200


Richmond


201,212,500


182,581,700


Atlanta


90,695,750


82,943,050


Chicago


585,853,350


525,955,600


St. Louis


184,280,750


150,122,200


Minneapolis


140,932,650


131,972,450


Kansas City


150,125,750


136,549,500


Dallas


77,899,850


74,567,100


San Francisco


292,671,150


260,261,750


Totals


$4,617,532,300


$3,808,766,150


6. U. S. Treasury Report, 1917, pp. 8-13.


7. Ibid.


New York


240


INDIANA WORLD WAR RECORDS


Every Federal Reserve District in the Second loan exceeded its quota, the Treasury reports showed.


Treasury Totals for Third Loan


In the spring of 1918 the condition of the Treasury and the ap- proaching maturities of outstanding certificates of indebtedness made necessary the offering of another Liberty Loan. With bonds of previ- ous loans then selling below par and other securities yielding rates in excess of Government bonds, much consideration was given to the rate of interest for the Third loan. Finally Congress, on recommendation of the Treasury, authorized the issue of a 414 per cent, non-convertible bond. The elimination of the conversion privilege was taken as a step to keep down the tendency to create a demand for a constantly rising interest rate on successive issues, bankers feeling generally at that time that the Third loan bonds should bear 41/2 per cent. interest, and the Treasury department and others continuing to rely on the patriotism of the people as the major element in the sales possibilities.8


The Third Liberty bond act increased the seven billion dollar author- ization of the Second act to twelve billion dollars, and also increased the limit of authorization on foreign loans and doubled the four-billion- dollar authorization of Treasury certificates outstanding at any one time. The Secretary of the Treasury, under this act, also was author- ized to purchase each year 5 per cent. of each outstanding issue of Liberty bonds, other than 31/2 per cent. bonds. This latter authoriza- tion was an attempt to stabilize the sagging Liberty bond market.


The Third loan was offered to the public April 16, 1918, and the subscription period extended to May 4, 1918. The bonds were dated May 9, 1918, payable September 15, 1928. Subscriptions for $3,000,000,- 000 were invited and the right reserved to allot additional bonds up to the full amount of any oversubscription.9


A final total of $4,176,516,850 was subscribed to the Loan. The quotas for the Federal Reserve districts, on a three-billion-dollar basis, and the final total subscriptions in each district follow:


Federal Reserve District


Quota


Subscriptions


Minneapolis


$105,000,000


$180,892,100


Kansas City


130,000,000


204,092,800


St. Louis


130,000,000


199,835,900


Atlanta


90,000,000


137,649,450


Dallas


80,000,000


116,220,650


Philadelphia


250,000,000


361,963,500


Richmond


130,000,000


186,259,050


Chicago


425,000,000


608,878,600


Boston


250,000,000


354,537,250


San Francisco


210,000,000


287,975,000


Cleveland


300,000,000


405,051,150


8. U. S. Treasury Report, 1918, pp. 5-13.


9. Elsewhere in this volume it is shown that the Treasury department toward the close of the Third loan, sent out an urgent appeal that the oversubscription be fifty per cent.




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