Evening star., 1923-02-06
HOUSE AND SENATE
CLASH ON CREDITS
Lower House Feels Upper
Chamber Has ''PasSed ,
Buck" on Farm Bills.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

PreSldent Harding mas been told
that serious differences of opinion
exist in the House banking and cur
rency committee which will have to
be ironed oSt befsre, farm credits
legislation can be, adopted by the
House
These differences are not insur-
mountable, but they involve some
fundamentals which will put the bur-
den Of explanation on the champions
of rural credits to prove that the
Lenroot- Anderson bill and the Capper
bill. both of which have passed the
Senate. do not duplicate each other.
senate "Pnss,'s Buck"
There is considerable disappoint-
ment in the House that the Senate in
effect pa assed the buck" to the other
branch of Congress without exanin
ing these two measures and either
drawing them into one bill or elimi-
mating the duplicating features.
One school of thought insists. of
course, that both bills are necessary
and that both will be helpful. If
this is truc-and there is no dispo-
sition in the House to form a iadg-
ment without careful study OF the
adopted. But the impression which
many House leaders have Is that tho
two plans cannot be made tu wor',
side by side and that the House
would put itself in a very comproms-
ing position by allowing both 10 pe-
come law.
Want Early Action.
Mr.. Harding has not advised the
House which measure he prefers, but
has expressed the hope that legisla-
tton could be secured before March 4.
That. of course, is the advantage
which the House has in the situation
"a prolonged wrangle would mean
next Senate. There are members of
the administration who feel that the
present bills are tame compared to
the measures that will be offered
when the radical elements come into
control in the next Congress-
The criticism which one hears
among House members is that the
Senate tried to please everybody"
The Lcnroot-Anderson bill went
through by almost unanimous vote,
yet It is claimed that many members
Of the Senate did not believe the
measure would ultimately become law
because they expected the House to
change 1t materially. The theory
commonly advanced is that some of
the diplomats who steer things in
TO let all the important farm credit
bills go through and avoid lengthy
debate and thus pave the way for
consideration of ship subsidy. the
debt agreement and other measures
which must be tackled in the remain
ing days before this session auto
mat ;cally ends on March T. To have
done otherwise might have stirred
the wrath of the farm bloc and
blocked everything.
House May Compromise.
In the House, however, the two
bills can be drawn into one or else
one dropped altogether. and when the
final bill is offered in conference be-
tween the two houses further modi-
fication can be made.
Specifically the differences be-
tween the LenrootAnderson bill and
the Capper bill are not apparent
Their defenders claim that each
reaches different kind of problem
The people who helped frame the
Capper bill insist that it not only
aids the livestock industry but en-
ables all farmers to get long time
credits through the added amend
ments to the federal reserve act and
the formation of redscount corpora
tions. 1t IS designed to stimulate state
and national banks and private bank
ing by government supervision. The
government itself advances no mon
cy.
In the Lenroot-Anderson bill. how
ever. the government makes an initial
outlay Of 100000, by furnishing cap
ital for the credit department of the
farm land banks. Additional funds are
to be obta ined by the sale of tax exempt
bonds. The opponents of the bill claim
this is merely setting UP rival banking
machinery and that il puts the govern
ment further into the banking business
and makes the government A. competitor
with state banks and privately organized
loan associations They say the coun-
try banks will be hurt by it and insist
that the bonds will not be saleable in
the present market.
Attack Capper Bill.
In answer to this the friends of the
LenrootAnderson bill say the Capper
measure doesn't go far enough and
doesn't furnish the intermediat te
farmer who has no cooperative plan
to help him and who isn't affiliated
with loan association. They argue
that 1t means three-year credit.
Some of the House leaders who have
discussed the situation with the Pres
ident say that a multiplicity of banks
and banking systems will .only hurt
agricultural credit in the long run
and that it is the obligation of Con-
gress to decide upon one plan and
not both.
The House has a real problem on
its hands trying to do the work un-
finished by the Senate in rural cred
It's and the situation is unique. Usual
~ the House passes problems to the
Senate for more careful considera :
tfen and accepts what the Senate
does. The upper house has this time
looked upon the House as the ave-
nue. Of escape from farm blocs. pride
OF authorship and other cIrcum-
stances which caused it to let the
various farm bills slide through
without much ado about. any Of them.