$600,000 SHORTAGE IN LIBERTY BOND ACCOUNTS DISCOVERED AT SPRINGFIELD NATIONAL BANK
Springfield, Ohio (JFK+50) On the evening of March 6, 1923, the Springfield National Bank closed its doors "following discovery of an apparent shortage of $600,000* in liberty bond** accounts."
The Evening Star reports that the bank's cashier in charge of these accounts is recovering from an attempted suicide and the bank "is now in the hands of the controller of the Treasury."
JFK+50 NOTE
If you have a $50 Liberty Loan certificate purchased in 1918, its value today, adjusted for inflation, would be $990.63.
*$600,000, adjusted for inflation, in 2023 is equal to $10,537,171.
**Liberty bonds, a.k.a. Liberty loans, were a debt obligation issued by the Dept of Treasury to finance U.S. participation in WWI.
They came in the form of 4 installments 1917-1918. By war's end, 20 million people had bought LBs & $17 billion plus $8.8 billion in taxes had been generated.
SOURCES
"Bank Shy $600,000, U.S. Checking Up," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., March 7, 1923, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
"Inflation Calculator for $600,000 Since 1923," www.saving.org/
"$50 in 1918-2023 Inflation Calculator," www.in2013dollars.com/
