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Show SHORT HISTORY OF THE FIRST LIBERTY LOAN On the sixth day of April, 1917, a .state of war was declared as existing between the United States and Germany. Ger-many. Secretary of the Treasury Mc-Adoo Mc-Adoo immediately advised Congress of the financial necessities of the country, and on the twenty-fourth of April the greatest bond bill in the history of the 'TJ"Kfg4Sjiand ' one of the greatest of the worltTw passed by a practically unanimous vote by both Houses of Congress. The law authorized the issue of $5,-000,000,000 $5,-000,000,000 in honds and $2,000,-000,000 $2,000,-000,000 in certificates of indebtedness. indebted-ness. On the second day of May it was announced that the first bond issue is-sue was to be for $2,000,000,000 and the entire issue was named the Liberty Liber-ty Loan of 1917. On the fourteenth day of May the details of the bonds were made public and subscriptions fornfally invited. The campaign opened on the fifteenth day of May and closed on the fifteenth day of June with the result that over 4,-000,000 4,-000,000 American citizens of every section, race, class, ana conuiuon subscribed to Liberty Loan Bonds and the aggregate amount of their subscriptions was well over $3,000,-000,000. $3,000,-000,000. The four great outstanding features-of the first Liberty Loan have been said to be the promptness with which the issue was arranged and disposed of, the patriotism, earnestness earnest-ness and efficiency which marked the campaign, the magnificent result in the amount subscribed and the number num-ber of subscribers, and the avoidance of any interruption of the business of the country normally to be expected ex-pected from so huge a demand upon the finances of the Nation |