Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-01-28
S30O,0OO,0O0 LOAN
To FARM LAND BANK
ASKED OF TREASURY
G e orgi'a S Congressional
Delegation Urges RevoIv-
ing Fund at Nominal Rate
of Interest
BY RALPH SMITH

The outstanding feature OF the
hearings of the joint congressional
committee on short time rural cred
it's, in progress at the state capitol,
Friday morning, was the presenta-
ton of petition by the members
of the Georgia congressional dele
cation, urging:
1. Provision by the United States
congress of revolving fund Of $780,
100000, to be loaned from the federal
treasury to the farm land bank at
a nominal rate of, interest.
2. The fund so loaned to be used
by the several farm land banks, un-
der the direction Of the farm credits
board, to consummate with all pos
sible dispatch loans applied for by in
dividuals in accordance with the,
provisions Of the rural credits law.
8. Under no circumstances and in
no event is the interest rate on the
revolving fund advanced by the
treasury to exceed per cent per
annum. n 4
All Georgians Sign
The petition was presented by Rep
resentatives Gordon Lee, of the
Seventh district, at the heel Of the
Friday morning session, and was
inserted into the record of the hear
ings by the unanimous consent of
members of the committee.
The text of the petition, conform
ing as it does in general way
with many of the recommendations
advanced by Georgia bankers, was
received with acclaim, and Georgians
in congress were roundly commend
ed for both their interest in the
problem and the ideas embraced in
their suggestion.
The petitions bears the signature
of every Georgian in the house, as
follows: j. w. Overstreet, First dis
trict; Frank Park, Second district;
Charles r. Cripp, Third district; w.
Q. Wright, Fourth district; w. D.
Upshaw, Fifth district; J. w. Wise.
Sixth district; Gordon Lee, Seventh
district; c. II. Brand, Eighth dis
trlct; Thomas M. Bell Ninth district;
Carr Vinson, Tenth district; w. c.
Landlord, Eleventh dist4cet; w. w.
Larsen, Twelfth district.
Tendency of Congress
Scarcely less significant than the
petition of the. Georgia congressioaeI
delegation was the statement of Rep
resentative Henry SteagaIl, Sof Ala
bama, to The Journal, of what he
conceives to be the tendency in con.
gress to relieve the situation, as
follows:
L. Amendments to the rural cred
its law that will enable the federal
land banks to function more expedi-
tiously.
z. Provision, if necessary, Of a,
fund--a revolving fund, such as sug-
gested in the Georgia petition-that
VIII facilitate the power of the land
banks to function.
3. Such a fund to be provided by
the treasury as aNloan-also suggest
ed i'm the Georgia petitioner by the
war Finance corporation.
4. Reduction by congressional en-.
2ctmect OF the discount rates Of the
federal reserve banks throughout the
country.
The hearing Of the joint commit
tee Friday morning was no less il
Eliminating than the initial session
Thursday afternoon, and it was, if
anything, more spirited.
Usury Charge Denied
Fritz r. Jones, of the Bankers
Trust company, speaking for l.. r.
Adams, secretary of the Country
Bankers association, entered a de-
NAL of charge that many banks in
Georgia now are guilty of charging
usurlous rates of interest on loans.
Hugh Gordon, one of the promi-
nent bankers of Athens, and an &C.
tive participant in the deliberations,
who made the original reference to
usurious interest rates at the hear
ing Thursday, reiterated his state
ment.
fThere are six banks in the city
OF Athens" said Mr.. Gordon, land of
these know that at least three have
been guilty of charging usurious
rates of interest on loans"
Members oe the committee, Fri
day, manifested a pronounced inter
est in the remarks of Mr.. Jones, es
pecially with reference to the estab-
lishment by the government of fed
eral agricultural reserve banks in
contradiStinction to the federal re-
serve system, which he declared was
based solely on commercial banking
and not suited to take care of the
situation in the rural districts.
1t was the contention Of Mr.. Jones
that commercial banking is not suit
ed to the farming industry because
it is based upon quick turnover,
necessary to commerce and industry,
whereas the turnover in the country
is usually only once a year.