THE  TREASURY

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Treasury  as  to  its  working  balance  may  be  regarded
as  having  undergone  modification  —  the  average
daily  balance  was  $1,487,189,694  with  $1,082,605,-200
  on  August  31  as  the  low  and  $1,916,932,863  on
June  26  as  the  high  point.
Even  were  it  normal  for  the  balance  to  increase
proportionately  with  growth  in  expenditure  —  an
assumption  that  is  under  existing  conditions
obviously  unwarranted  —  the  increase  in  the  balance ­
  far  outran  the  increase  in  disbursements  and  in
loans  to  the  Allies.  This  will  appear  in  the  following ­
  table:
Average  daily  ordinary ­
  disburse-Average
  daily  ments  and  adnet
  balance  vances  to  Allies
I  (Apr.  2S-June  8,  1917)  $179,579,613  $19,211,146
II  (Aug.  9-Oct.  24,  1917)  453,748,384  32,294,322
HI  (jan.  3-Apr.  22,  1918)  926,391,004  43,784,033
IV  (June  25-Aug.  31,  1918)  1,487,189,694  65,044,025
Increase  from  I  to  II....  152.7%  68.0%
Increase  from  II  to  III..  104.19b  35-5%
Increase  from  III  to  IV.  60.5%  480%
The  purpose  of  the  Treasury  in  increasing  its
working  balance  in  this  manner  by  short-term  borrowings ­
  is  not  clear.  The  situation  was  at  no  time
out  of  ready  and  complete  control.  By  limiting
overpayments  or  payments  in  full  and  requiring  installment ­
  quotas  in  settlement  for  Loan  subscriptions, ­
  by  insisting  upon  the  tender  of  certificates  in
such  settlements  and  enforcing  restrictions  upon
the  use  of  payment  by  credit,  by  applying  the  Treasury ­
  surplus  to  the  redemption  before  maturity  of
corresponding  amounts  of  outstanding  certificates
and  by  reducing  the  volume  and  lengthening  the  in ­