Internal War Loans Belligerent Countries

obligations, or by helping in the distribution and sale of the
bonds to private investors. As the war has continued more
efficient and better trained organizations have developed for
conducting the sales campaigns. The National War Savings
Committee in Great Britain and the selling organizations of
bond houses in the United States have been especially helpful.
Switzerland and Italy are apparently the only countries where
banking syndicates, as commonly known in the United States,
.have been formed to underwrite war loans.
A feature of the German loans and of some of the Russian
loans is the offer by the Government banks to hold bonds
in safe keeping. This offer is especially helpful to purchasers
of bonds in small denominations as those individuals are not
ordinarily buyers of securities and do not usually have safe
deposit boxes.
Great Britain and the United States have inaugurated a
comprehensive plan for the distribution of government obligations
in small amounts. The plan has been most successful
in both countries and has reached a class of investors that
would not be able to buy government bonds if issued in large
denominations. Canada, Australia and India have also issued
War Savings Certificates but have not instituted as intensive
campaigns as have Great Britain and the United States. In
those countries where War Savings Certificates have not
been offered, war bonds are sold in small denominations. The
War Loans of France and Germany are issued in denominations
as low as ioo francs and ioo marks respectively, or the
equivalent of $19.30 and $23.82 United States currency at
normal exchange rates. The National Defense Notes of
France maturing in three, six and twelve months are also
issued in denominations as low as five francs. It has long
been the practice in France for citizens of large and small
incomes alike to invest their savings in Rentes and the development
of the custom in the other Entente nations is one of
the favorable results of the war. Such a policy is most desirable
and is sure to promote better citizenship and encourage
all to become more interested in /government finance.
Of the larger belligerent powers Japan has issued the smallest
amount of loans during the war. Her loans have beçn
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