Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-01-04
SENATE OvERR|DES.
WILSON s VETO Of
WAR FINANCE BILL
Action Taken After President
Sent Message Detailing
His Reasons for Opposing
Revival of Measure

WASHINGTON. Jan. 3.-The reso-
luton to revive the war finance cor
poration was passed today by the
senate over President Wilson's veto.
The presidents veto had been
forecast.
The vote was taken Immediately
after the presidents veto message
was read. Similar action by the
house was forecast by supporters of
the resolution, which was designed
as an aid to farmers and others in
the present period of declining prices.
The vote to override the president
was 53 to 5, or nineteen more than
required for a two-thirds majority.
Senator Underwood, of Alabama,
the democratic leader, gave notice
that he would vote to pass the reso-
luton over the presidents veto,
saying that he had not changed his
mind as to the advisability of the
measure becoming a law.
President Wilson, in submitting
his veto, gave a resume of bust
ness conditions in the United States
and in relation to foreign affairs in
which he said neither the farmers
nor business in general would be
aided by the revival of the war
finance corporation.
wilson's Message
The president wrote:
IT am in full sympathy with every
sound proposal to promote foreign
trade along sound business lines.
am not convinced that the method
proposed is wise, that the benefits, If
any, would offset the evils which
would result, or that the same or
larger advantages cannot be secured
without resort to government inter-
vention. On the contrary, I appre-
bend that the resumption of the cor
poration's activities at this time
would exert no beneficial influence on
the situation in which Improvement
is sough, would raise false hopes
among the very people who would
expect most and would be hurtful to
the natural and orderly processes of
business and finance.
Exports of domestic products
have not declined since the armist1ce:
On the contrary they have greatly
increased. From an aggregate value
before the war of less than two and
one half billions of dollars, and of
about six billions the last year of
hostilities, they rose in the calendar
year, 1919, to more than $7,9OO,OOO,-
900 and this figure will probably be
exceeded for the last calendar year
For the first eleven month of the
last calendar year, we exported more
than seven and one half billion dol
lars worth of domestic merchandise.
These have been largely privately
financed. The difficulty in the way
of still larger exports does not seem
to lie so much in the lack of finan-
cial ability here as in European lack
of means to make payments.
"It is remarkable that Europe is
able to make an effective demand
for as large a volume of our goods
as she is making.
Burdens on People
Under the law, if the activities
of the corporation were resumed, no
direct advances could be made to
producers and, if they could be,
they would not accomplish the OBJ
ject in view. They would not Gre
ate demand for our products. They
could be made only to exporters or
to banks engaged in financing ex-
ports and if they did in some meas
ure stimulate exports, they would
probably not have the effect APP
parently most desired, of substan-
TALLY increasing those of agricul-
tural commodities.
ut is highly probable that the
most immediate and conspicuous eff
feet of the resumption of the cor
poration's activities would be an eff
fort on the part of exporters to
shift the financing of their opera
lions to ordinary commercial chan
nels to the government. This would
be unfortunate. 1t would continue
the government as an active factor
in ordinary business operations. If
activities of any considerable mag
nitude resulted they would necessi-
tate the imposition of additional
taxes or further borrowings, either
the war finance corpora
ton or by the treasury. In either
case. new burdens would be laid
upon all the people,