﻿THE TREASURY

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retary of the Treasury called the issue of September
17, 1917, ($300,000,000) for redemption on De-
cember 6, 1917, and the issue of September 26,
1917, ($400,000,000) for redemption on December
ix, 1917 — both issues otherwise maturing on De-
cember 15, 1917. The last remaining issue in an-
ticipation of the Second Liberty Loan, that of
October 24, 1917, to the amount of $685,296,000,
was not redeemed until maturity on December 15,
1917, the transaction then being aided by the receipt
of $597,614,026 as the second installment on ac-
count of the Loan.

In the surfeit of its feast, the Treasury yet faced
the menace of a famine. Seemingly ample as were
its available funds after the payment of the install-
ment of November 20, 1917, the Treasury balance
was approximately only some $300,000,000 in excess
of the certificates of indebtedness maturing within
the succeeding three weeks. The unpaid install-
ments of the Second Liberty Loan were nominally
$1,022,000,000; but probably one-half of this could
not be counted upon as available before the third
installment date on January 15, 1918. As against
these unpaid installments further issues of certifi-
cates could not readily be used; another Liberty
Loan was not in such immediate contemplation as
to justify anticipatory borrowings at this time, and
the revenue flowing from taxation and war savings
certificates was obviously inadequate.

On November 20, 1917, the Treasury invited
subscriptions to the first series of certificates issued
in anticipation of the war income and excess profits
taxes, payable in June, 1918, and $691,872,000 were