It should always be remembered, however, that Great Britain was financing not only herself, but her Allies, and that the difficult condition in which she now found herself was caused by the not too considerate demands of the nations with which she was allied in the war.

Thus by April 6, 1917, Great Britain had overdrawn her account with J.P.Morgan to the extent of $400,000,000 and had no cash available with which to meet this overdraft.

This obligation had been incurred in the purchase of supplies, both for Great Britain and the allied governments; and securities, largely British owned stocks and bonds, had been deposited to protect the bankers.

The money was now coming due; if the obligations were not met, the credit of Great Britain in this country would reach the vanishing point.

Though at first there was a slight misunderstanding about this matter, the American Government finally paid this over-draft out of the proceeds of the first Liberty Loan.