﻿136

WAR BORROWING

after which the regulations of that date governed.
Such deposits comprised with respect to bond sub-
scriptions cash and credit items throughout; with
respect to certificate borrowings, only cash items
figured to any considerable extent until the issue of
August 28, 1917, when payment by credit was first
generally used. The deposits were distinguished as
to source in the general account of the Treasurer
as “Deposits in Special Depositaries: (a) Account
of sales of certificates of indebtedness, (b) Liberty
Loan Deposits”—until April 26, 1918, when the
two accounts were merged in a general entry to
which eventually redeposited receipts from income
and excess profits taxes were added.

In connection with the early borrowings it had
been necessary for the banks to make application and
to be designated as depositaries each time they sub-
scribed to certificates and bonds and desired to pay
for them by credit. Subsequently a general quali-
fication was permitted, whereby banks duly qualified
as government depositaries might make payment
by credit and might receive deposits on account of
their subscriptions to any one or all of the various
issues of bonds and certificates of indebtedness,
without the necessity of new application and desig-
nation in each instance.

Stimulated in this manner, the number of govern-
ment depositaries increased rapidly. At the close
of business on November 13, 1917 — the eve of
the flotation of the Second Liberty Loan — 1903
national banks and 1343 state banks and trust com-
panies had been so designated, and a month later
the annual report of the Secretary of the Treasury