Refunding " Victories "

Refunding "Victories"

Secretary of the Treasury Mellon, following Budget Director Lord's announcement of an expected treasury surplus at the end of the year, made public the Government's plan for refunding the Victory Loan. Victory Notes fall due on May 20. Part of them were called for redemption last December. But $830,000,000 of the Victory Loan yet remains to be paid off.

The Treasury will issue on May 15 a new series of 4 3/4% tax free notes maturing in 1927. They will be in denominations of from $100 to $100,000, and the Government reserves the right to pay them off before their maturity. It is planned to issue $400,000,000 of the new notes. The Government will also issue additional notes of this series in exchange for Victory Notes now outstanding.

This new issue of treasury notes will complete the refunding of the Government's short-term debts. Two years ago the public debt aggregated $24,000,000,000, of which about $7,500,000,000 fell due before June 30 of this year. When the new issue of notes is completed, this short-term debt will have been completely refunded, spreading it over the next four years, so that it will fall due on the quarterly " tax " days and be paid off.

In addition the gross debt has been reduced. By June 30 it is expected to be $22,400,000,000--or $1,600,000,000 less than it was 26 months earlier. Slowly but surely we are shedding the burden of the war.