Note 6 — Chapter VIII · WAR CONTRACTS

The financing of war factories, and particularly of those which had to make large and expensive plant additions before manufacturing could proceed, was effectively aided by the War Credits Board of the War Department. In the autumn of 1917 Congress authorized the War Department to advance to contractors amounts up to 30 per cent of the total contract obligations. The War Credits Board administered this work. In all, it lent to war department contractors about $250,000,000. On June 1, 1921, it had recouped all but $14,500,000 of these loans. Its total losses were not expected to run over $150,000, while the profits (interest, of which $8,000,000 had been collected) were estimated at $12,000,000.