Evening star., 1921-07-26
PRESIDENT FORCED
T0IN1ERVENT|ON
Frames Policy for Congress
to Meet Needs of Agri-
culture and Railroads.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

DA sAD A<A w ANAStsSNs
President Harding has had to inter-
vene again in the affairs of Congress.
The agricultural group. which has
once before threatened to upset the
administration program, has finally
succeeding in forcing to the front it's
proposals to finance agriculture. and
the Harding administration now has
worked out a compromise plan which
is designed to satisfy the agricultural
element. and cure few other domes-
tic troubles at the same time. II is
the most significant step that has
been taken to meet the ailments of
business since the 4th of March.
The President is suggesting a
versal of republican policy of year
ago. but which has been made neces-
sary by developments and circum-
stances. When the war ended the re-
publican Congress put an end to the
War Finance Corporation and the cry
everywhere was to take the COVER
ment out of the banking business.
Economic distress developed demand
for the revival of the War Finance
Corporation. This was bitterly fought
by Secretary Houston and the Wilson
administration, but Congress passed
the measure over the presidential
veto. 1t was argued that the govern
ment would do only an incidental
financing private business on large
scale.
Farmers Not Satisfied.
But the revival of the War Finance
Corporation hasn't proved sufficient.
The farmers are not satisfied. They
realized that the corporation did help
finance exports. but its powers were
not adequate to finance the delivery
, on this side of the water-the move
ment from farm to, seaboard. So the
Norris bill was proposed, whereby a
revolving fund would be used, making
available sums all the way from $780,
100000 to 00,000,O00OO0. 1t looked
like class legislation, and seemed u
set up a rival organization to the
War Finance Corporation.
Senator Lodge expressed the admin
istrations opposition in the open Sell
ate. but this didn't deter the agricul-
tural group. President Harding sum
moned Secretaries Hoover. Wallace
and Mellon and Eugene Meyer. man
aging director of the War Finshce Cor
which would attempt to broaden the
scope of the War Finance Corpon tiou
so as to do all that the Norris bin in
tended.
Wartime Methods Necessary.
At the same time the administrator
realizing that Congress wasn't in ~
mood to pay out money TO the railroads
couple the railroad finance problem with
the farm aid proposal and try to make
| an omnibus bill of it, In other words,
! the Harding administration has in ef-
rect found II necessary to 60 back to
wartime methods and build an institu-
, ton which will be an auxiliary to the
governments financial machinery and
will devote itself exclusively TO emereen-
cy credit situations growing out of the
| readjustmeNts on the farm and on the
| railroads and presumably will help other
classes of industry which need financing
The War Finance Corporation is re-
CURED by law to extend credit only if
private capital is unable to finance
legitimate export companies But the
government is obliged also to scrutinize
| the class of securities offered as credit
and the nature of the contracts Of the
export concern. The President feels
board look after all these questions
rather than TO have credit extended
through different government agencies.
Steps to Help Business.
The agricultural element doesn't
like the idea of financing the rail-
| the one hand sidetracks the Norris
| measure and on the other hand makes
provision for payments to the rail-
roads. The farmer spokesman would
freight rates before being given any
more money. That's why the ad-
ministration program will encounter
much opposition in Congress. and the
democrats will probably assist the re-
publican insurgents in their fight to
keep the farm credit plan from being
tied up with the bill to assist the
railroads.
| The administration will have its
way eventually, but the significant
| thing thus far is that a broad plan
| for the financing of private enter
prises has had to be proposed by
President Harding and his advisers
| to meet the demands of the agricul-
tural group and the needs~of the rail-
roads. All these steps are calculated
to help business back to normal,
| though the requirements and desires
of the different classes of industry
are making the road rough one to
| travel.
Every day the legislative situation
gets more and more entangled with
the problems of business and the
| Harding administration now finds it
necessary to add to tariff and taxa
Ition another essential-the financing
of exports and domestic Transports
tion.
l 1921