Not since World War II had the Treasury faced as tough a financing problem as confronted Secretary George M. Humphrey last week. Actual payouts for defense goods hit their peak at a time when the deficit for the fiscal year just ended reached $9.3 billion. This was $3.4 billion higher than Harry Truman's January estimate, and more than double last year's deficit. To meet the cash requirements of the next three months, Humphrey had to raise $6 billion—in a soft Government securities market (TIME, May 25).
Last week Humphrey, who had wanted to put more of the U.S. debt into long-term...
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