Fourth German War Loan

Horowhenua Chronicle, 9 August 1916, Page 2

Fourth German War Loan

♦ Amsterdam, 'March 24. A telegram from -Berlin ,says that Dr lieifferich, Secretary of State for the Imperial Treasury, to-day informed* the Ueiehstag that, according to the last ■returns, the subscriptions to the last German War Loan amount to 10,000, 000,000 marks (£530.000,000), not including the subscriptions from the troops in the field and foreign fsulvs riptions.—Renter. •X- The first German War Loan, hearing interest at 5 per cent., issued in September, 1914, at 97*, raised £223, 0()U,000. The second, also a 6 per cent, loan, issued in March, 1915, at UcSi, produced £4.50,000,000. The third loan, again ia 5 per cent issue, but issued in September last, at 99, produced £<308,000,000. The four loans have therefore produced £1,811,000, 000. Tiie City Editor of The Times writes : In (announcing that the subscriptions to the foui-th German War Loan amount to 5-30 millions, Dr. HeJflericli is imported as having boasted that Germany is the only belligerent to have covered her total war expenditure by long-term loans. liven if this were tiue, it is difficult to see precisely what there is to be proud ol in thai tact, alone. There is no special merit in issuing long-term loans when, as ill Germany's case, you do not provide ior paying the interest on them. The uiur Uerinan war ioatLs have altogether brought in 1808 millions, according 'o the published figures, while the iiritjfcii war borrowings of all sorts amount so far to about 17U0 millions, fiat then we have already imposed new- taxation in this country since the war started, calculated to yield an additional revenue of practically 200 millions ill the coming year, *>o that the interest on the new debt, whether short or long, is plentiful secured. So long as the German people chose to supply their own Government with paper credit in the form (if subscriptions to loans there is iwtliifig to prevent a "success" for this form of national finance, until tJie reckoning comes.