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  considerable ­
  portion  of  the  receipts  are  not  due  and  payable ­
  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  revenue ­
  act,  with  the  maximum  amount  of  such  certificates ­
  which  might  at  any  time  be  outstanding  increased ­
  from  $100,000,000  to  $200,000,000.  As