Treasury

Last week the Treasury announced an offering of $500,000,000 of 20-30-year bonds to bear 3 3/4 % interest and to be purchased by the public at 100%. In four days the books were closed with an oversubscription of about $100,000,000. Thus the Treasury bonds with the lowest rate of interest which has been offered since the War were disposed of, and the question of how to meet the greater part of some $615,000,000 worth of Treasury notes which fell due on March 15, was settled. Some bankers felt that the Treasury was rash in making a longterm, low-interest offering, but the results proved the offer was well timed.

Meanwhile more than the quota for Third Liberty Bonds, which the Treasury had offered to buy from the public for its sinking fund, had been subscribed, and the Treasury decided to take some $120,000,000 worth instead of the $100,000,000 for which it had asked.