The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-06-02
THE PRESIDENTS RECOGNITION

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Washington, D. C., June L.
President Wilson himself is ia
miliar with the work of the Southern
Commercial Congress with respect
to rural credits, annd in recognition OF
this service the President plans to
deliver to Senator Duncan U. fetch
er, of Florida, the pen with which he
affixes his signature of approval to
the measure.
Senator Fletcher is President of the
Southern Commercial Congress, and
at the next annual meeting of this
body he will present the Presidential
pen to the organization, to be pre-
served as one of its greatest treas
ures-the memento of a great &C.
complishment in the field of con-
structive legislation for the welfare
and upbuilding of the nation.
The rural credits movement was
initiated by the Southern Commercial
Congress at its annual meeting at
Nashville, in April, 1912. The Amer
lean Commission for the study of
rural credits in Europe was the out
growth of the ideas advanced at the
Nashville meeting. This commission
was composed of two delegates from
each State of the Union and from four
Canadian provinces.
The purpose of the commission was
to study agricultural conditions
abroad and the operation of the va
rious financial systems maintained
in the European countries as help
to agricultural development. The
idea was to use the information thus
gathered in the establishment of 4
system of land banks in America as
a means OF aiding American agricul-
tural interests.
This was really the first forwawrd
step taken in America toward insti-
tuition of system of rural credits
in the United States.
Senator Fletcher, in his capacity as
a Senator, directed the next step in
person. He secured the adoption by
Congress of an amendment to the
Agricultural Appropriation Bill of
1913, recognizing the initial move of
the Southern Commercial Congress,
and providing for the erection of a
government commission of seven
members to cooperate with the com
mission appointed by the Southern
Commercial Congress. President
Wilson appointed Senator Fletcher as
<cnHirman of the Government COM
mission and he was chairman also of
the so,called American commission,
Exhaustive Study Abroad.
After an exhaustive study of rural
credits in Europe-the two commits
sions spent several months abroad
just before the war-the commission
ers agreed upon report to Congress.
This report contained the draft Of a
tentative bill providing for a long
term mortgage credit and the estab-
lishment of system of rural credits
to meet the requirements of the
farmers,
Senator Fletcher drafted the com
mission bill and introduced it in the
Senate, where it was referred to the
Banking and Currency Committee. A
similar bill was introduced in the
House, and it, too, was sent to the
Banking Committee. To expedite
the legislation, the question was re-
ferred to a joint committee of the two
houses, and subsequently a special
act of Congress created special
joint committee to consider the sub
ject.
A bill was finally perfected by the
joint committee, and this bill has
now been passed by the Senate and
the House. Ninety per cent of this
bill, that will be the law, is com
posed of fundamental principles con
tanned in the original bill drafted by
Senator Fletcher and sponsored by
the Southern Commercial Congress.
The Florida Senator has been the
recipient of many congratulations up
on the passage of the bill. He re
CARDS its enactment as a great legis
lative accomplishment. He had II
forcing its recognition upon congress