﻿THE TREASURY

89

III

On January 22, 1918, the Treasury entered upon
the third cycle of its war financing — short-term
borrowings in anticipation of a Third Liberty Loan.
The characteristic of the first phase, as compared
with that of the preceding cycles, was the greater
regularization of procedure. An issue of $400,000,-
000 certificates, dated January 22, was succeeded
three weeks later by an announced program of fort-
nightly issues of $500,000,000 each. The first of
such issues was made on February 8, 1918, and was
followed by like emissions bearing date of February
27, March 20, ($543,032,500), April 10, ($551,-
226,500), and April 22, ($517,826,500). In ad-
dition the Treasury disposed, in “over the
counter ” sale through the banks, of three monthly
series of tax anticipation certificates to an aggregate
amount of $256,924,000. Finally, the current
yield of war taxation became more productive, the
ordinary receipts of the Treasury being $565,951,-
791 for the first four months of 1918, as compared
with $409,442,777 for the last four months of 1917.

The largest part of this flood of incoming revenue
was absorbed by the rapid increase in war disburse-
ments despite a marked decline in the Treasury’s
advances to the Allies. The Allies received only
$370,200,000 in January, $325,000,000 in Feb-
ruary, $317,500,000 in March and $287,500,000 in
April, as compared with $471,929,750 in November
and $492,000,000 in December. But the Treas-
ury’s “ ordinary disbursements ” including interest