94

WAR  BORROWING

ting  the  payment  of  outstanding  parts  of  the  certificate ­
  issue  due  October  24  —issue  of  June  25,
1918;  $839,646,500  in  nominal  amount  —  and  still
leaving  the  Treasury  encumbered  with  an  unwieldy
balance  of  $1,845,739,992  [October  31,  1918].
In  attempting  to  appraise  the  fiscal,  as  distinct
from  the  economic  and  social  results  of  certificate
borrowing,  it  is  important  to  set  forth  the  standards
by  which  the  effectiveness  of  a  credit  expedient  in
war  finance  is  to  be  gauged.  There  will  be  little
difference  of  opinion  among  students  of  finance  or
financial  administrators  as  to  these  standards.
The  Treasury  must  obtain  that  part  of  its  revenue
which  is  to  be  procured  by  borrowing  with  as  little
delay,  as  slight  risk  and  as  moderate  cost  as  possible.
Readiness,  certainty  and  economy  are  the  criteria  of
the  fiscal  serviceableness  of  a  war  borrowing  device.
It  is  with  reference  to  these  that  our  fiscal  experience ­
  in  the  use  of  certificates  of  indebtedness
should  be  examined.
In  the  matter  of  fiscal  readiness,  certificate  borrowing ­
  has  proved,  as  might  be  expected,  a  highly
efficient  method.  This  is  true  both  of  authorization
and  of  administration.  It  has  been  possible  to
secure  legislative  approval  without  protracted  debate
or  embarrassing  delay,  and  there  has  been  popular
sanction  in  financial  circles  and  in  public  opinion  of
the  borrowing  procedure.  How  much  of  this
assent  represents  intelligent  approval,  how  much
sheer  faith  cannot  be  determined.  Financial  legislation ­
  in  the  United  States  has  rarely  been  preceded  or
even  accompanied  by  a  campaign  of  education  —  in