The Robesonian., 1918-05-27
ANGUS WILTON MCLEAN.

| OT V4CAGIk4N.
Something Of the Man and the Big
I Job He Has Accepted at the Call of
i The President-Highest Compli-
ment the President Has Ever Be-
slowed Upon a North Carolinian.
Parker R. Anderson in Wilmington
h Dispatch.)
h Lumberton, May 18.-When Angus
Wilton Mclean of this city took the
oath of office in Washington this
week as member of the War Fin
ance corporation, North Carolina was
given the distinction Of having one Of
her sons as the active head of the
largest corporation in the world The
War Finance corporation starts with
only paid-in capital Of $500, o,0O0 900,
but it has authority to issue $780,
100000 and those who are in close
touch with the financial problems of
the country declare that the entire
amount will be issued within short
time and there are MANY people who
say the total will be increased beyond
this huge figure before the end of
the war.
Wilton Mclean, as his friends know
him through the country. is no
stranger to Wall street For years
he has had dealings with some Of
the largest banks in New York, and
the financial world in !hIs way has
come to know him as cnly his inti-
mate business friends have learned to
know him. Since the Roosevelt panic,
in fact, even before that time Nc
Lean has been the active head Of cot
ten mills and other corporations N
the South. AS TIE head Of these con-
Germs, it has been necessary in the
past especially before the inaugura-
ton Of the great Federal Reserve
system, to look to New York for fl
nancial assistance because there wes=
few banks in the South at that time
able to care for the needs of these
great institutions.
Some Of the Northern newspaper
have laid stress upon the fact tina
Mclean comes from a small town anl
therefore has not been and is not nov
in touch with big affairs. This is no
true. There is no man in the Soutl
- who is better or more favorably know
. to the financial interests Of the w ri
: than Mclean, the banker, farmer an
business man Of this city. Such me
as Vanderlip, now one of Secretar
q Of the Treasury McAdoo's right han
men. C. c. Glover, Of the Riggs Ma
tional Bank Of Washington, and i
fact most of our great financiers G
America, came from small towns. Bu
Mclean has the advantage over man
Of these successful business men. H
has been dealing with big bushes
and big business men since he lie.
college, and the financial interests {
New York city know him and hay
confidence in the man. He is not a
experiment; he has already met tt
test an dwill not be found wanting
this instance.
Mclean told me today, is not real
a new idea. Something similar to
has been tried out abroad-in En-
land and in Germany-but in dets
our plan is different from the other
It is primarily an emergency mea
ure, an dthis is recognized by tt
law creating it, which provides tn
it shall have a limited life, not to e
ceed 10 years, and shall not exerci
- any of it's powers, except those lnt
dental to liquidation, after six mont
! after the termination Of the war, t
official date for the closing Of t
war to be determined by the Pre-:
dent.
The purpose of the corporation
to supply credits for the industri
necessary and contributory to t
successful prosecution fthe war.
order that this may be accomplishe
the law creates finance corpcratl
which will provide facilities wherel
business concerns may obtain nece
sa1y funds, and also a capital lssu
committee, whose work it will be
see that capital does not go into u
necessary channels. Of Curse,
one knows now whether the idea "
work out as we'll in practice as it a
pears in theory, but Mr.. Mclean
lieves it will, and if his ideas pro
true, it will be one of the most scie
tific as we'll as the largest financ
accomplishments in the worlds h
tory. It will also be one Of the ,nt
revolutionary, so much so in ia
that it is certain that nothing sht
of the present great world war wol
have permitted its being.
1t was but short time after
= United States was forced to enter
-, great world struggle it became app:
ent that huge war loans would ha
to be floated; that it became obvio
that private enterprises would SUI
whenever it needed new capital. I
| United States was asked to prodr
more capital for war loans than
had ever before created for all fins
cial needs. This meant an eXtensl
+ of the credit structure to such an {
tent that rates for new capital wo1
go to prohibitive figures. The g'
1 o,,n,ooo+,- ,,,,,roooJo,o+od dom ~