COST OF HANDLING BONDS

Mr. GARY. Do you have any estimate of how much it costs to handle $25 bond?

Mr. KILBY. When Mr. LePage, who was representing the House ppropriations Committee, was visiting us last year he asked that estion, and we told him it costs an average of 36.6 cents for handling ch individual bond from issuance to retirement and destruction, and e average cost is the same whether it is a $25 bond or a $1,000 ›nd.

Mr. GARY. Off the record.

(Discussion off the record.)

RETENTION OF MATURED E-BONDS

Mr. SHREVE. Another important part of the sales job is to persuade wners of matured bonds to hold onto them after maturity, not to turn em in for cash when they come due.

On chart 4 we see the achievement from May 1951 to December 55: 19,900 million E-bonds have come due, 6 billion were paid off cash, and 13,900 million ($7 out of every $10) was being held. We feel that is a very satisfactory picture, because there are 13,900 illion of bonds that virtually have been sold without effort, and I ink Congress did a wonderful job when they passed that law makg an automatic 10-year extension.

On December 31, 1955, matured E-bonds outstanding had a cash alue of 14,600 million. These bonds had earned an additional $658 illion in interest so far in their extended life.

(The chart referred to follows:)

* 10 YEAR MATURITY VALUE

CASH VALUE OUTSTANDING E AND H BONDS

Mr. SHREVE. Chart 5 shows the cash value of E- and H-bonds ou standing at the close of fiscal years 1946-55, and at the end of secon quarter 1956.

Here we see on December 31, 1955, the cash value of E- and H-bond all of them owned by individuals, amounted to over $40 billion-th peak of all times. So the people owned nearly 912 billion more tha at the close of the war loans.

Gains in cash value are made up of the net margin of sales in exce of total redemptions plus the interest accruals.

The black area indicates the amount of matured E-bonds held at the close of each of the past 4 fiscal years and on December 31, 1955. On that date 14,600 million, or more than one-third of the 40,100 million outstanding was held in bonds 10 years of age and over.

(The chart referred to follows:)

CASH VALUE OUTSTANDING
E AND H BONDS

Mr. SHREVE. To summarize:

The amount of E- and H-bonds outstanding in the hands of the people is at the all-time record. E and H cash sales are the best in 10 years. Net sales in excess of redemptions are the highest since 1949. And $7 out of every $10 matured E-bonds are being retained by their owners beyond maturity under the automatic extension program voted by Congress.

One thing that I must say in passing-and it is a keen disappointment to me is that we do not have the savings bonds payroll savings plan in the Congress. It would be wonderful if you could do something about starting such a plan in Congress.

Mr. GARY. I am ready to sign up today.

Mr. SHREVE. I think a man like yourself and others similarly situated who are buying bonds back home would find that it would be a convenience to you, too.

Mr. GARY. Off the record.

(Discussion off the record.)

Mr. SHREVE. I welcome this opportunity of appearing before this committee again because I want to say very frankly and very sincerely I have had a lot of pleasure in meeting with you men here and you have been of more help to us than perhaps you realized. Your suggestions and your enthusiastic interest in the program have gone a long way to help us do a better job, and I thank you very, very much.

Mr. GARY. Mr. Shreve, the committee is very glad to get your report and I assure you it has been a pleasure for us to work with

you.

Mr. Sieminski was called out of this committee to act as chairman of another committee of which he is a member and which is in meeting at this time. He asked me to express to you on the record his com pliments for the work that you have done and his best wishes for you personally in your retirement; and also to pay his respects to Mr Buckley, the incoming Director.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF MR. BUCKLEY

Mr. Buckley, it is customary in this committee when a new person takes over a position of this kind to have him place a short biography in the record for the benefit of the Members of Congress so that they may know just what his background and qualifications for the posi tion are. We will appreciate it if you will give us a short biographica statement at the present time.

Mr. BUCKLEY. Mr. Chairman, may I first, if it is in order, be privi leged to thank my predecessor, Mr. Shreve, for making this presenta tion for me in view of my 36 hours' incumbency as his successor.

Mr. GARY. You can thank him for that but I will tell you right no he has set a very high record for you to live up to and you might no be so thankful when you try to live up to his record.

Mr. BUCKLEY. I have said that elsewhere.

Mr. SHREVE. We feel very fortunate to have Mr. Buckley head th Division.

Mr. BUCKLEY. I was born in Iowa, educated at the University of Chicago. Shortly after college I was in the Army, on the border i 1916 and subsequently in the First World War in the artillery. Afte

the war I was with the Review of Reviews Co. in Chicago, later the Conde Nast organization.

I left there and spent 5 years in sales-management work with the Beaverboard Co. and subsequent to the sale of that corporation came, pproximately 29 years ago, with the Hearst Corp. which, as you know, is the largest communications organization in the world. Up o the end of this year I have been in the magazine side of that busiess. I was originally publisher of Cosmopolitan magazine and then for 14 years I was business manager and publisher of Good Housekeeping magazine. About a year ago I became general advertising lirector and member of the board of directors of all publications of he Hearst Corp. here and abroad.

I have been associated with the better business bureau movement, being currently a director of the National Better Business Bureau and he former chairman of the Association of Better Business Bureaus, which is composed of 100 different local bureaus.

I have been a director of the Periodical Publishers Association and hairman of the advertising committee of the Magazine Publishers Association. In that connection, for the last 22 years it has been ny privilege to work with the Bond Division. I had the cooperation of 600 magazines throughout the country and that, I think, has gotten he in this work. The publications have made a great contribution nd I certainly shall hope that that will continue, and that I can use hy position to advantage in keeping in their minds now more than ver the existence of the bond business and our need for not less but onsiderably more of their cooperation in the way of space for adverising savings bonds.

I therefore have come with enthusiasm for and a certain broad ppreciation of the bond program. Little do I know about its detailed peration, but I assure you I regard it as one of the finest things in he whole business of government and in the whole American scene. come enthusiasticaly into it and I think, if I may modestly say so, vith a certain experience in sales and advertising problems, which I hink is the essence of this enterprise, which is primarily a selling peration.

Mr. SHREVE. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Buckley had about a year and a alf to go before his retirement, and the Hearst publications were ood enough to make it possible for him to retire to take this posion at the end of my incumbency.

Mr. BUCKLEY. I am embarrassed; I didn't mention that, but pleased o end that you mentioned it, because they did do that. Thank you. Mr. GARY. Mr. Buckley, this field offers a fine opportunity for pubc service and we welcome you to it. I assure you this committee tands ready to assist you in any way it can in the discharge of your uties, because we recognize this is one of the important functions of ur Government at the present time.

Mr. JAMES. I would like to use a minute or two in the discussion f the suggestion of putting Members of the Congress on a payrolleduction plan to buy bonds. I think it might be off the record. (Discussion off the record.)

Mr. MURRAY. I just wanted to add my congratulations to Mr. hreve for his very fine service to the Government. Mr. SHREVE. Thank

you very much.