Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1922-07-27
FARM LOAN PERvERsIoN.
Board Would Destroy Coopera-
tive Plan of Congress.


. Legislatures write laws, but adj
ministrators work them, and Of
ten there is no trace of resemb-
lance between the conception and
the product. There is no better
illustration Of the grip bdreauc-
racy has OH lawmaking than the
sad perversion that has overtak-
en- the federal farm loan system.
Congress, five years ago, set up
with government funds Il cOOpe-
rative farm loan system, which
was intended to make it as easy
for farmers to tap the great res
ervoirs of longtime investment
capital as it was for industries to
get at such capital. 1t was to be
cooperative, democratic, eXten-
siye and the efficacious remedy
for the ills of farm and financ-
ing. Congress turned the baby
over to the federal farm loan bu-
reau with instructions to get it
on its feet at he earliest possible
moment, to foster its growth, and
keep an eye on it III the public
interest after it had attained ma
jority and independence, just as
the comptroller of the currency
loks after the national banks.
Instead Of obcying instructions
the farm loan bureau made up its
mind right away--and said so i'll
it's first annual report-that Con-
gress was all wrong i'll trying to
set up a cooperative farm loan
system, and it has blocked ami
today is blocking every effort to
get the federal land banks OH all
independent basis under the con-
troll of their stockholders, like
any other bank, subject to the SUI
pervision of the board. Every
one of the II land banks, from
Springfield Mass, to Berkeley,
Cal, has long since qualified for
dependence under the chartering
act, by having 100000 of it's
stock subscribed by the farm
loan associations, but there isn't
single stockholder on the board
of u single bank. The farmers
have invested more than $50, ,OOO,-
OOO III the stock Of these banhs
and haven't word to say about
their management, though Con-
gress directed that as soon as
they had subscribed 100000 of
stock in bank they should have
six of the nine directors OH the
board of that bank. In the near
future every cent of the $S,S92,-
13O put into the banks by Con-
gress as starter will be paid
back into the federal treasury.
Notwithstanding these facts, now
comes the farm loan bureau and
asks Congress to give it perpet
ual control of the banks. 1t pro-
poses that each bank shall have
only three farmers to -four ap-
pOintees of the bureau OH its
board of directors.
In other words, the bureau
seeks to nuilify the intent of Con-
gress to create II farm loan
banks owned and controlled by
the farmers, and proposes to let
the farmers own the banks while
1t runs them. In this way the
farm loan bureau will establish
itself as the compact control of
whst is now really growing into
an enormous financial power and
may become a tremendous polit-
lcal power. In the course of the
next five years it is more than
likely that the loans and bond is
sues of the federal reserve banks
will exceed 2 billion dollars and
that their borrowers will number
around half a million.
Already under u slow-coach,
hampering policy the loans Of the
land banks exceed $500, 600, 600 to
abont 100000 borrowers. Fur
thermore, the farm loan bureau
now proposes that the II banks
be authorized to create central
body which shall handle perma-
nently the sale and distribution
of the bonds of the banks. As the
board controls the banks now
temporarily and will control them
permanently, if Congress complies
with its recommendations, i. will,
through this bond selling agency,
he able not only to determine
s.Seshak hasnha chau ha allnund fo