our last telegram. Will wait
till letters received. What is the matter? Are you all crazy?"

On the 18th the bids were carefully analyzed and accepted in the
order in which they were received. The bid of the First National
Bank was made on the behalf of an association of banks and bankers.
I declined their offer for refunding certificates and accepted
their offer for $111,000,000.

I wrote to Conant, April 18, as follows:

"Since I wrote you the letters yesterday respecting the recent
circular of April 16, I have sold the whole of the $150,000,000 of
bonds offered therein; $39,000,000 were sold to sundry banks in
the city of New York, and the residue, $111,000,000, were sold to
an association of banks and bankers through First National Bank.
This unexpected and agreeable _denouement_ of our refunding operations
will supersede much that I have written you. I received and answered
your telegram of to-day. Arrangements will be made with the new
associates for delivery of four per cent. consols and the receipt
of called bonds in London.

"Although I have given notice that I will feel at liberty to do so
after the 4th of May, I prefer that you will postpone any new
arrangement for delivery to other parties until the 10th; hoping
that before that time Messrs. J. S. Morgan & Co. will be able to
close out the balance of their last subscription."

On the same day I made a call for $160,000,000 10-40 bonds, being
all of such bonds outstanding, except an amount that would be
covered by the proceeds of ten dollar refunding certificates. The
sale of these certificates gave the department a great deal of
trouble. The object and purpose of the law was to secure to persons
of limited means an opportunity to purchase, at par, certificates
of indebtedness bearing four per cent. interest. As they could be
converted at pleasure into 10-40 bonds of small denominations, it
was thought they would be promptly taken by the persons for whom
they were designed. They were sold in limited amounts to individuals
at post offices, but as they were, when converted into bonds, worth
a premium, bankers and others hired men to stand in line and purchase
certificates. This was a practical fraud on the law, and was mainly
conducted in the cities, and where done the sale was discontinued.
The great body of the certificates were taken by the class of
persons for whom they were designed. In a brief period they were
sold, and the proceeds wer