Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-01-28
CREDIT EXTENSION
FOR FARMERS IS
GIVEN STUDY HERE
Congressional Committee Is
Impressed With Need for
Elasticity in short-Time
Loans, Safeguarded

A joint committee of the United
States senate and house Of represen-
tatives, sitting in the Georgia SEN
ate chamber, Thursday afternoon,
was appraised of business conditions
throughout the south, and was i'm
pressed with the justice of general
, demands for legislation that will
make more responsive and elastic
certain governmental agencies that
have already been created by con-
gressional enactment. The meet
ing was largely attended and high
ly representative.
The committee in question. was
created from the senate and house
Of representatives. to investigate the
practicability and necessity for short
time rural credits under the proper
safeguards. It was agreed, original
ly, that three hearings should be
held-one in Atlanta, another in
Minneapolis, and a third at Kansas
City, Mo.
''It was our belief that in Atlanta
the committee could and would re-
ceive invaluable first-hand informa-
ton with relation to conditions in
the cotton belt, with especial refer
ence to the farmers" explained Rep
resentative Gordon Lee, himself q
Georgian, and presiding as chairman
Of the meeting Thursday afternoon.
Minneapolis was chosen as a
meeting place because we believed
it's geography would enable the com
mittee to get line on conditions in
the great wheat belt, and Kansas
City was selected because there we
are assured it will be possible to
get information as to conditions in
the cattle-producing country"
Representative Lee emphasized
that the movement is non-political
in every sense of the word, and that
the joint committee is seeking only
first-hand information.
"We are not particular as to the
source Of information in Atlanta or
at any of the other points we ex-
pect to visit" he remarked. "But
we are particular to understand that
what we learn is typical Of real con-
ditions in both commerce and agri-
culture, for after all these great In
terests are interdependent.
cit is because Of the committee's
desire to exhaust every source of
information that we expect to hold
three hearings in Atlanta, and have
invited farmegS, bankers and mer-
chants to appear. We have been
fortunate in enlisting the co-opera,
ton Of the Georgia Bankers asso.
citation, and we expect to hear from
these men a lot Of facts that cannot
but prove helpful in finding a solu.
ton"
While it is premature, if not pre-
sumptious to make any suggestion
as to the probable outcome of the
short time rural credit fnvestiga
tions, it is pertinent to observe that
the members Of the joint committee
were much impressed with declara.
lions Thursday afternoon that there
are now enough government agen
| cies properly to relieve the situa
ton.
III. Warner Martin, president OF
the Lowry National bank, and chair
| man of the short time credits com
mittee of the Georgia Bankers as
| ISOLATION, informed the joint con
| gressional committee of a result OF
"a recent questionable in Georgia. He
said the answers showed a prepon
derating belief that there are now
| ample agencies to take care Of the
situation, if only they can be made
| more elastic.
SIT is our belief that the fedora
| reserve bank, the war finance board
and the federal land bank have
| proved wonderful aids in the emer
| gency of the times" he said. at
the facilities Of the land bank were
made more elastic, it is the view OF
many that it would help the situa
ton.
There has been considerable re
mark in the questionaires on the
delays attendant upon the function
ing Of the land bank, and it Woule
prove beneficial if applications fol
loans could be facilitated. Wher
| the government lends money, OF
rather, the land bank, lends money
on farm lands, these loans, very
obviously, enable. farmers to liqui
| date short time bank loans, and the
discharge. Of these obligations op
crates to relieve the strain in coun
try banks from so-called frozen
| loans"
During the course of the hearing
| number Of prominent visitors par.
ticipated in the general discussion
and the members of the committee
| were pleased with the spirit of CO
| operation generally manifested.