AMERICAN WAR FINANCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16672, 17 October 1917, Page 7

AMERICAN WAR FINANCE.

LOAN OF £650,000,000. ! I FRESH CONTROL OF TRADE A. and N.Z. WASHINGTON, Oct. 15. ji 1 Subscriptions are being received for S the Second Liberty Loan of £650,000,000. : It is expected that there will be a great , j increase in the subscriptions before the loan closes op October 2^" The President, Mr. Woodrow Wilson, has issued a proclamation fixing October , 24 as Liberty Day, when a country-wide j campaign will be undertaken to raise , the dullest possible subscriptions to the , loan, thus striking a mortal blow at autocracy. Tho President has also issued a sweeping proclamation in which he takes com- ( plete control of American imports and exports, and prescribes drastic conditions governing trading with the enemy. The proclamation gives discretionary power to take over enemy property, provides for tho use of enemy patents to help win the ' war, vests the control of exports and ' imports in the Ministerial War Trade 1 Board, and creates a Censorship Board, f with special control of foreign language ( newspapers. The proclamation effectively cuts off financial and commercial aid from c reaching Germany. * ! For the first American war loan the sum of £400,000,000 was asked and £600,000,000 offered in subscript ! The I rate of interest for both loans is 3£ per cent., free of income tax. The schedule for both, which were to aggregate £1,000,000,000, stated that the bonds were | to lie offered "as a popular loan under such i conditions as would give all citizens oL the United States an opportunity to participate therein." From the purchase of i these bonds, as much as £600,000,000 j ] might be used to purchase bonds of the c I allies bearing the same rate of interest. a