New-York tribune., 1916-07-28
WILSON NAMES
FARM LOAN BODY
Board to Pick Cities
for Rural Credits
Banks.

Washington, July 27.-President Will
son to-day nominated Charles E. Lob
dell, of Great Bend. Kan; George w.
Norris, of Philadelphia; W. S. A. Smith,
of Sioux City, Iowa, and Herbert Quick,
Of Berkeley Springs. W. Va, as mem
bers of the Farm Loan Board created
under the rural credits bill recently
passed by Congress. Secretary Nc
Adoo is an ex-ofiicio member of the
board.
The President hopes TO have the
nominations confirmed quickly by the
Senate in order that the organization
of the rural credits system be per-
fected without delay. The board will
select the cities in which the twelve
farm loan banks will be located and
divide the country into districts for
the operation of the provisions OF the
bill.
Secretary McAdoo said tonight that
he believed it would be impossible to
conclude organization OF the system in
less than six months and that it might
not be in actual operation before next
spring.
The President is expected to desig-
nate either Mr.. Norris or Mr.. Quick,
the Democratic members of the board,
to act as farm loan commissioners and
executive head of the tarm loan sys-
TEN.
Much Preliminary Work.
Hearings on the designation of dis
tricts and the location of banks prob
ably will begin some time in Septem-
Der. The first of these is expected TO
be held here, and most of the state
capitals probably will be visited before
they are concluded. That will require
several months, and other technical
steps provided in the act preliminary
20 actual organization Of the banks
probably will prevent operation OF the
system before February or March.
The vast amount of information col
lected by the reserve bank organiza-
tion committee two years ago in align
ing the Federal Reserve districts and
designating the Federal Reserve banks
centre will be virtually valueless to
the new board. That committee paid
particular attention 10 the flow of
commerce and the channels Of trade
and to information from bankers and
gave little heed TO the farmer.
IL was said tonight that the board
in locating the banks would consider
first cities which are near farming
centres. regardless of size or other
banking facilities, and that cities which
were candidates for Federal Reserve
banks but failed to get them probably
would be strongly considered for Fed
eral land banks.
Many Loan Requests Already.
Requests for loans on farm lands
under the law have been filed already
in large numbers in the Treasury De-
partment, but no action can be taken
on them until after the board is or
ganized.
Lobdell and Smith are Republicans
and Norris and Quick are Democrats.
The law provides that rot more than
two of the appointed members Of the
board can belong to the same party
From a list Of more than one hundred
suggested by Senators, Representatives
and members of the Cabinet the Presi-
dent selected a lawyer, a farmer, a
banker and a student of rural credits
problems.
Mr.. Lobdell was a farmer before
studying law, served in the Kansas
Legislature for ten years and was
Speaker of the Kansas House in 1895
In 1902 he was elected a judge and
served for nine. years, resigning to be-
come president of a bank at Great
Bend.
Mr.. Norris has been successively
newspaper man, lawyer and banker
He is a director and deputy chairman
of the Federal Reserve Bank of Fhila-
delphia.
Mr.. Smith, farmer, for the last year
has been an expert in farm practice in
the Department of Agriculture.
Mr.. Quick until a few months ago
was editor of Farm and Fireside" and
for many years has devoted himself TO
a study of rural credits and other farm
problems.