Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1916-10-14

! Hon. Ralph w. Moss, of Indiana, in
the House of Representatives, Thursday
September Z, 1916:
Mr.. Moss. Mr.. Speaker, in the cam
paign of 1912 each OF the great political
parties pledged its membership to the
enactment of ruralcredit law. The
democratic party declared in its plat
form that rural credits was. of equal
Importance with the question of curren-
cy reform, thereby placing the interest
of the farmer side by side with that
of the merchant and business man. The
national bank law, which was enacted
by the republican party, grossly discrin-
mated against the farmer. This law
remained upon the statute books during
fifty years of republican rule and ac
tually made it crime for any national
bank to loan dollar to a farmer and
accept mortgage on his farm as Sc
curity. The result naturally was that
farmers during this long period We're
driven to loan agents, trust companies,
and foreign corporations to secure mort
gage loans. No farmer ever borrowed
q dollar on real estate mortgage secur
ity from any bank chartered by the
Federal government under a law passed
by the republican party
One of Wilson's First Acts.
/ One of the first acts by President
WILSON, IS administration was the ap-
pointment of a commission to 90 abroad
and study the rural-credit systems in
the leading nations of Europe and make
q report TO congress. felt myself high
ly honored in being named member of
that commission. In company with my
colleagues, l spent the summer of 1913
in Europe; we visited every country
whose rural-credit societies were well
organized, and made report to cong
liess which embodied the latest informa-
tion on this subject to be obtained in
any country in the world. The commits
sion also drafted u tentative bill on this
subject as further assistance to cong
rcss. This bill was at once revised by
4 the Banking and Currency committees Of
the senate and house. No time was
wasted or delay permitted to retard the
progress of this legislation which had
been promised in good faith by the
Democratic party. In order to hasten
progress, congress created special joint
committee, composed of senators and re-
personalities, to sit during vacation,
; with instructions 10 report bill not
later than January l, 1916. also had
the honor to be member of this special
Joint committee and know the fidelity
with which every member discharged
his duty. The result was the framing
of the bill which is happily now law.
Every democrat in both house and SEN
ate remembered the pledge of his party
to enact this legislation, and not a sing
lie democrat vote was east against it.
Five votes in the senate and ten in the
house We're east against il by stand
lpat republicans. No other great meas
ure in generation has passed cong
ress with so nearly unanimous vote.
This vote is not only compliment to
the various committees which formed
this law but is emphatic proof that the
democratic party has given the farmers
of the nation an effective rural-credit
J law.
Gives Credit at Low Interest.
The purpose of this law is to give
credit for productive purposes to farm
ers at low rates of interest, for long
periods of time, andton easy instalment
in repayment The real problem before
congress was how to secure money so MS
to be able to loan il to farmers on these
favorable terms: 1t is well known that
the national government can borrow
money in larger amounts aud at lower
interest rates than any person or cor
poration. This is true because the ma.
tional government can issue bond
which is more attractive TO investors
than any other credit instrument. A
government bond is known to he abso.
lutely safe and nontaxable For these
reasons the government can today Dor.
row money ON its own terms at three
per cent interest.
The trainers of the rural.eredit law
took the government bond as a model
for the new credit instrument. The