The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-15
Agents Are Urged to Secure Positions With New Fed
 eral System
TO GAIN BUSINESS
 PURPOSE OF MOVE
President Joyce Is Asked to Disown Circular Sent Out, Which Is Said to Be "NIisleading and
 Mischievous"

Washington, January 14.-A circular alleged to have been set by the Ma tfonal Surety company of New York to all it's agents. suggesting that they could secure the positions of secretary treasurer of farm loan associations to be organized to obtain loans from fed eral farm loan banks and thereby surely control all the bonding busi- ness" was made public today by the federal farm loan board with re- ply thereto by George w. Norris of the board to w. B. Joyce, president of the company.
 In his reply Mir Norris character izes the circular as "a sordid appeal to the cupidity'' of it's recipients amounting to "an attempt to prosti- tute the act to purposes of personal gain and expresses the hope that MT Joyce will disown it."
 PART OF CIRCULAR
 The circular. issued under date of January and purporting to be signed by the superintendent of the federal farm loan department of the company, says:
 '.We learn today that one man is to be selected as secretary treasurer or all the farm loan associations in each county.
 This being true. it will create an office of great value to the holder of it.
 If this proposition attracts you, there is little doubt but what you can secure the position if you organize immediately and ask your friends in the banks to recommend you to the farm loan board at Washington. You could then surely control all the bonding business
 The bonding business to be trans acted, it was said. would involve of ficials of banks and officers of farm lean associations. to be organized throughout the United States
 The Norris letter to President Joyce of the company follows
 T enclose herewith a circular lett Ter under dat@~o Ssasary purport-, ing to be issued by the superintend- ent of department in your company. As it has been received by several of your clients and as their astonishment has led them to call it to the at tention of this board. I suppose that there can be no doubt of it's authen- ticity
 STATEMENT MISLEADING
 q would call your attention to the following poins;
 ''The statement of fact in the first paragraph is incorrect. While the board has under consideration the ad- visibility of making such a sugges- tion to farm loan associations, no de- cision has been reached. Your publica- tion of it as fact is likely to lead to misapprehensions and much unnec- essary correspondence.
 "The suggestion in the second par of great value to the holder is not only false in fact but most mischiev- ous in its implication. It is a sordid appeal to the cupidity of the recip- tent of your letter and taken in con- junction with the concluding phrase, you could then surely control all the bonding business. it betrays total lack of ability to comprehend the broad and beneficent purposes of the farm loan act, and amounts to an at tempt to abuse the position of secre- tary- treasurer of the farm loan board as using it as cloak to conceal ul- terior motives.
 q trust that you will promptly dis own this discreditable circular and see that the farm loan department of your company if it is to be continued at all, shall be put in charge of some one who has some conception of the public purposes sought to be attained under the farm loan system
 JOYCE MAKES STATEMENT
 New York, January 14--After he had learned tonight that George w. Nor ris of the federal farm loan board had written to him calling his atten- tion to the circular sent out by the ...:&