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D R . E. W. A ^ W BAUMAN 72 WEST 9B ST. NEW Y O R K 25. N. Y . -^^Vw b^tJt jfcct^aLr^ I * - tzt-G^y ^wv-^ yto • 4 o tfruC^h February 27, 1951 Dr. E. W* Bauman, 72 West 98th Street, New York 25> Hew York. Dear Dr. Baumani In your letter of February 5* you asked where you might obtain data on our present national debt and the annual interest thereon* This information is published in the daily statements of the United States Treasury. The enclosed pages, which are from the January 1951 Federal Beserve Bulletin, present the Treasury data in summary form. You will note that the total gross debt of the United States Government now stands at about 257 billion dollars and that the annual cost of carrying this debt is between 5 end 6 billion dollars. There has been little change in the volume of outstanding Federal debt since the end of World War II, but the amount outstanding on June 30, 19^5 represented a more than fivefold increase over June 30, 19^0. It is to be earnestly hoped that the present rearmament program will be more nearly financed on a pay-as-you-go basis • You also raised the question of where the increased supply of currency is coming from. The expansion.of the money supply has been based in large part on sales of Government bonds to the Federal Reserve, and is a matter of great concern to us at the Board. It is this expansion of the money supply that is largely responsible for the deterioration in the purchasing power of the dollar. Very truly yours, M. S. Ecclea
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