The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1921-10-07

SurdnCe League. ne henyOn NC
Fadden Bill is entitled "A Bill tc
standardize paper for agricultural
production, to establish discount
markets for such paper, to create
two necessary fiscal and financial
agents for the government of the
United States and for other pur.
poses," and it is a dangerous meas
ure, for it proposes to turn over
to Life Insurance Company the
job of handling the rural credit and
rural insurance business of Amer
lea, grants the corporation life
of 80 years, prohibits the Congress
of the United States from amending
the charter until after the goth
year and then provides that Con-
gress may amend it only once every
10 years.
1t is a question how far the bill
would help tenant farmers and poor
farmers, and this means at least rs
per cent of the farmers of America,
because the credit to be granted
by the Rural Credit System is linn
tied to a maximum of twenty times
the paid-up stock of the person to
whom credit is to be given and
in some cases to only five times the
paid-up sock. The bill provides
that:
81. D. May, of Granville Center
Bradford County Pennsylvania; Witt
Sears, of Thorp Spring, Hoos Coun-
ty, Texas, are hereby designated and
created commissioners, with power
and authority to negotiate, in the
manner expressly provided in Arti-
Gle vi of the charter creating said
Liberty Insurance League, with any
solvent and well-established life in
surance company incorporated under
the laws of some one of the sew
eral states having approved assets
of not less than $400,000,000 for
the purpose of inducing one of such
companies to accept the terms Of
the charter creating said Liberty
Insurance League"
1t goes further, and provides:
"That the directors and trustees
are authorized to negotiate with
United Commercial Travellers of
America, fraternal association
with it's Supreme Council in Co.
lumbus, Ohio, or the Travellers Pro-
tective Association with it's Supreme
Council in st. Louis, Missouri, for
the purpose of inducing one of them
to make the life department of the
league the official life insurance
company for its members, under such
terms and conditions as may be
naturally agreed upon by the Board
of Directors or Trustees of the
league and duly authorized officials
of such fraternal association and APP
proved by the Secretary Of Com
merce."
There is a complicated list of
provisions as to how to keep the
proposition out of politics, but the
requirements as to the amount of
life insurance which must be car
ried by either beneficiaries of this
system show that only the more
prosperous farmers could get in OF
the ground-floor of the organiza-
ton, as far as any benefits from
the general Old-Age Pension Funds
are concerned
One of the inevitable results of
this bill would be to hamper if
nOJ 10 HdHlSCTlilS IIle INDEPENDENT
Farmers Cooperative Life, Fire and
Hail Insurance Societies. 1t is re
ported in the national capital that
the big life insurance companies and
other insurance companies in New
York are keenly interested in see
ing this bill enacted into law. 1t
is true that farmers desperately
need short-time credit, but it is
doubtful whether they will think it
worth while to surrender the power
of the government to control OF
modify the charter of an organiza-
ton of this sort for a period of
twenty years.
Farmers are planning to hold
big convention in Baltimore about
the middle of October to let the
country know what the real stamps
of Agriculture is. The purpose seems
to be to see if common agreement
on a program of remedial legisla
ton can be arrived at.