﻿THE TREASURY

93

Loans. The Treasury balance rose with each cer-
tificate issue and declined in the interval, the crests
and hollows together constituting a manner of higher
plateau as compared with the preceding altitudes.
Starting from above $1,500,000,000 just before the
resumption of certificate borrowing, the Treasury
balance remained, with bare exception, well above
$1,400,000,000 through July and rose above $1,-
600,000,000 in the second week of August. There-
after the disappointing response to the issue of tax
anticipation certificates offered on August 20, and
perhaps even the deliberate correction, in accord
with suggestion, of the prevailing policy of an in-
creasing balance resulted in marked reduction.
On August 31 the balance had dropped to $1,082,-
605,200 and in the seven weeks that succeeded up to
the flotation of the Fourth Liberty Loan it did not
again attain the July and early August levels.

The flotation of the Fourth Liberty Loan opened
on September 28, 1918, and the subscription cam-
paign extended through October 19. The amount
of the offering had been fixed at $6,000,000,000;
but there was over-subscription of almost $r,ooo,-
000,000, and the lists were actually closed with $6,-
989,047,000 allotted and the number of subscribers
“ in excess of 21,000,000.” The terms of subscrip-
tion called for an initial payment of 10 per cent,
due at any time up to October 19, and for subsequent
installments of 20 per cent, on November 21, 20 per
cent, on December 19, 20 per cent, on January 16,
and 30 per cent, on January 30, 1919. The actual
receipts of the Treasury on account of the Loan up
to October 31, 1918, were $2,295,109,703, permit-