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WAR BORROWING

United States, a Treasury certificate of indebtedness
may be described as a freely negotiable, short-term
government obligation — differing from the evi-
dence of a bank loan in degree of negotiability, from
a funded bond in hardly anything more than a
shorter term of maturity, from a demand note in
nominal non-convertibility upon presentation. In
addition to the widest latitude in technical form, a
certificate of indebtedness may bear interest or be
non-interest bearing. It may have a definite date of
maturity or be payable or fundable at the option of
the government at any time or after a fixed date.
It may be made receivable for all or for certain
public taxes or dues or be made acceptable for specific
public payments, as bond subscriptions or public
land purchases. It may be secured as to interest
or principal by assigned tax revenues or prospective
loan proceeds, or be protected only by the pledge
of public faith. It may be issued in direct dis-
charge of public accounts payable or be marketed or
hypothecated as a funded obligation. It may even
be vested with limited privileges of circulation or be
endowed with full legal tender quality.

In the first century and a quarter of our national
existence there were six occasions on which the
Treasury had recourse to the issue of short-term
negotiable obligations: (A) The War of 18x2,
(B) The Crisis of 1837, (C) The Mexican War,
(D) The Crisis of 1857, (E) The Civil War and
(F) The Crisis of 1907. In addition authority
was conferred but not exercised for the issue of
certificates of indebtedness in connection with the