Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1920-10-16
WANT REGULATION
 ON PAPER LIFTED
 ID RELIEVE CREDIT
Southern Delegation Appeals for Financial Change to
 Get Relief
OFFICIAL POINTS
 OUT DISADV ANTAGE
Request Made to Have Federal Banks RediScOunt Paper Gov ering Loans to Cotton
 Growers

Washington, Oct. Representa- lives of Southern Cotton commission merchants appealed to the federal re- serve board today for suspension of regulations defining rediscountable financial paper in another effort to gain relief from the credit "string ency'' which cotton interests declare has struck the whole industry.
 Propositions laid before the board. however, were declared by Governor Harding to be so intricate and to in- volve such serious questions that the delegation, numbering thirty or more, was given no definite reply. Five southern senators headed the commit tee which was made up entirely of cotton owners or commission men and bankers.
 Board members indicated they fear ed the "disastrous" results to busi- ness generally, should the restrictions about which the cotton men complain ed be lifted. Suspension of the regu- lations even temporarily, it was said, would mean a flooding of the reserve banks with rediscounts sought on pa per classified as similar to the ob- ligations which the cotton men desir- ed to have accepted.
 Specifically the delegation asked that the reserve banks be permitted to rediscount paper in which the com mission men had made advances to cotton planters. Governor Harding declared however, that this form of paper, even though secured by Mort gage on the planters crops did not come within the meaning of the fed eral reserve act which defined the classes of obligations which might be rediscounted. He said the loans rep resented an advance on an optic, the commission man himself not being engaged in either agricultural or in- dustrial production, as required in order that his note might be redis- counted.
 Halft Crop Tied Up
 Senator Smith of Georgia told the board that probably half of the en-
 
 under some such paper. He urged "some sort of help, even if it is only a temporary suspension of the regu- lations until congress can amend the law" He believed the change would readily and easily be made at the next session.
 The conference of federal reserve agents and reserve bank governors with the board was not concluded tonight as had been expected and there were indications that tLe ques- tions involved in the proposal of the cotton representatives would be giv- en attention tomorrow.
 Governor Harding announced We'd nesday that the board was preparing to make new statement of credit policy as a result of frequent ap- peals for financial aid from agricul- tural interests. He expected tonight to make public the boards attitude on these questions tomorrow.
 Meanwhile, a committee selected from the agricultural representatives which has been meeting here was awaiting the boards next move. This committee was charged with deter mining a course of action for more than thirty farmers organizations whose representatives had laid their grievances before government agen- cies.
 Two courses were under considera- tion today in event the boards state ment of policy does not provide the relief sought. One was the calling of general conference of all agricul- tural interests to meet in Washing ton with the converting of the next session of congress and the other was otask the support of the Amer ican Bankers Association, which is to meet in annual convention here next week.