THE  TREASURY

93

Loans.  The  Treasury  balance  rose  with  each  certificate ­
  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.  Thereafter ­
  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  increasing ­
  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  campaign ­
  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  subscription ­
  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 ­