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Show MONEY NEEDED. Charles M. Schwab and Eugene Grace of the Bethlehem Steel company have aBked the government to advance money on war contracts in order that the work may be expedited. The company is Faid to have enormously increased the sizo of its plants for the purpose of produciug great quantities of materia for both the army aud navy. The latter lat-ter department has been advancing' as high as 30 per cent on its contracts for destroyers and also upon other work being done by the Bethlehem company. But according to Messrs. Schwab and Grace the concern is in need of much more money aud the banks refuse to supply it. The government therefore has been asked to step into the breach. We do not see any harm iu advancing the money, but it seems strange that the Bethlehem coneern cannot get accommodations ac-commodations at the banks. It is also strange that money should be so badly needed in view of tho many millions of profits made by the company since the war in Europe began. The railroads need a billion dollars in order to solve the transportation problem, according to the heads of the great'systcms, and the only way to obtain ob-tain such a vast sum is to tap the national treasury. Jsow the munitions makers are putting in applications for moey in advance and it may not be long before there are many similar pleas for help. Many of the business interests of the country are dead set against anything like government control con-trol during the war, but tbey are not above taking Unclo Sam 'b good money for their own use and behoof. The worst of it is the authorities at Washington Wash-ington will doubtless be. compelled to step into tho place of the banks and ladle out the cash in order to expedite production, not only of munitions, warships, war-ships, foodstuffs and fuel, but also for a great variety of oilier purposes; for it. is increased production that is going to win the war, and the government cannot allow the work in any of the great industrial plants to lag. At the same time due consideration should bo given to the fact, that the treasury is uot bottomless and also to the fact that the people of the country expect money loaned by the treasury to be returned. |