San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-02-06
GIVE HIM EQUALITY
Will Be Able to Obtain
Money on Same Condi-
tons as Indusrials.
y DAVID LAWRENCE.


passed by the Senate now will be put
through the House in the next fort
night and President Harding who
pledged himself to those measures al
the agricultural conference at the
White House last Thanksgiving, will
sign them.
Broadly speaking the effect Of the
farm credit legislation will be TO re-
duce interest rates TO the farmer. He
has been paying Z and s per cent and
in some cases as high as 10 per cent
to get money, while his more fortunate
felow-citizen in the marts of urban
finance have been getting money fol
generations at q per cent and less. This
discrimination has not been one Of in
tent. but accident. The farmer has
had no machinery Of credit built up for
him whereby capital could be secured in
an orderly fashion and under condi'
tons that would appeal to investors al
large.
Il regard'the Lenroot-Anderson bill,
said Secretary of Agriculture Wallace
today, las the response of the admniis'
tration to the farmers demand for an
effective form of intermediate credit. 1t
will go a long way toward reducing in
terest rates ultimately and will give the
farmer the longtime credit he needs in
the turnover of his products. Both the
Capper bill and the Strong bills should
also have tremendous benefits"
Small Reduction, Big Benefits.
Mr.. Wallace estimated that even il
interest rates TO the farmers are re-
duced only l ii per cent it would mean
the equivalent of a 20 per cent reduc'
ton in freight rates so far as bene-
fits TO the farmer are concerned. lie
believes that commercial and manutac'
turing and financial communities every
where should be enthusiastic for the
new farm legislation because it will
tend to relieve the farmer Of many
of his troubles and enhance his pro-
ductive and purchasing power.
The three measures which have
passed the Senate are concerned at.
most entirely with new methods of
financing domestic markets. All the
bills which have for their object the
financing of exports will probably be
held in allegiance as the administration
is no more certain of ways 10 ensure
EXPORT trade for farm products in the
present disturbed conditions OF foreign
exchange than it is Of a method to
safeguard any other kind Of foreign
trade.
There is a feeling in some quarters
that the Capper bill ought to be suffi-
Gent legislation for the farmer, but the
farm bloc doesn't think so and neither
does Secretary Wallace. 1t authorizes
the formation under federal charter of
agricultural credit corporations Operat-
ing with private capital under the super
vision of the comptroller Of the cur
rency and makes possible the grant OF
advances on paper secured by ware
house receipts representing non-perish-
able commodities and having a matur-
ity not exceeding nine months; on pa
per secured by chattel mortgages on
livestock fattened for market, such pa
per maturing in not more than nine
months and on paper secured by chat-
tel mortgages on breeder, stocker or
dairy herds and maturing in not more
than three years. The Capper bill au-
thorizes the incorporation also of re-
discount corporations under federal su-
pervision and through these companies
the agricultural corpora
tons will have access TO city capt.
tai.
Increases Land Bank Maximum.
The measure also extends the life of
the War Finance Corporation nine
months and permits federal land banks
to lend maximum OF S2oOOO instead
Of $4,000 10 any one borrower.
But the champions of the other TWO
bills, namely the Lenroot-Anderson and
the Strong bills, while admitting the
merits of the Capper bill, say 1t VIII
help the livestock industry chiefly and
also those producers who are organized
now or are likely 10 be organized in CO.
operative associations. The latter can
make advances to individual producers
because the cooperative has a binding
contract TO market the crop. The pur-
pose of the LenroOt-A Anderson bill is TO
reach the individual farmer who is not
in a cooperative and who needs money
for farm improvements or TO handle
crops with a long turnover OF credit, -,
Under the Lenroot-Anderson bill
credit departments would be formed IN
the Federal Farm Land Banks. The
initial capital of the twelve banks VIII
total S6O,O00,000 and further capital
will be obtained by selling debenture
bonds in the open market. Ultimately
these bonds ought to sell for about
5 IL per cent at which figure the pres
ent farm loan bonds used in starting the
land banks are selling. The federal land
banks at present. however, lend money
on mortgages which are secured OF
course, BY the land itself. The farmer,
however, in the recent depression didn't
have anything to offer rs collateral
because he was already mortgaged 10 the
limit. He had the skill TO raise crop
and the land. but not the capital 10
see him through, In the business world
he would get capital largely on the
strength Of his ability to produce and
his character reliability. But the farm
or who went to the country banks
found them fearful of lending for any
more than 90 days and frequently was
unable TO renew because Of spprehen-
sions concerning the need of funds by
the larger banks in other channels OF
trade.
May BE Tax-exempt Bonds.
Under the new bills the farmer can
In some cases get three years credit.
There would be set aside capital for
agricultural purposes which cannot be
disturbed BY needs of other industries.