THE PRESENT 27 
In purpose the thirty-one series may be arranged 
in seven groups as follows: 
Series 
In anticipation of: Nominal amount 
(A) [1] 1917 Income Tax 
(B) [2] [3] [4] [5] ... First Liberty Loan 
(C) [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] 
[ 11 ] Second Liberty Loan 
(D) [12] [13] [16] [18] 
[21] [23] 1918 Income and Excess 
Profits Taxes 
(E) [44] [151] [17] [I©] 
[20] [22] Third Liberty Loan 
(F) [24] [25] [26] [27] 
[29] [30] [31] .. Fourth Liberty Loan 
(G) [28] 1919 Income and Excess 
Profits Taxes 
$ 50,000,000 
868,205,000 
2,320,493,000 
1,624,403,500 
3,012,085,500 
4,659,820,000 
iS7,S52,50o 
The circumstances attending these successive 
issues may be briefly reviewed: 
(A) The early entry of the United States into 
the war was foreshadowed in the recommendation 
of the Ways and Means Committee of the House of 
Representatives in the report accompanying the 
revenue bill of March 3, 1917, that inasmuch as 
“ under the present system of taxation a consider 
able portion of the receipts are not due and pay 
able until the last month of each fiscal year ”— the 
existing authority of the Secretary of the Treasury 
to issue certificates of indebtedness with a view to 
anticipating public revenues should be enlarged. 
A little noticed section of the Payne-Aldrich tariff 
act of August 5, 1909, had reenacted the certificate 
of indebtedness provision of the Spanish War rev 
enue act, with the maximum amount of such certifi 
cates which might at any time be outstanding in 
creased from $100,000,000 to $200,000,000. As