Watauga Democrat. [volume] (Boone, Watauga County, N.C.) 1888-current, 1927-04-14
LOAN ACT is
DECLARED CONSTITUTIONAL

the World War veterans loan act of
1925 was upheld by the North Caro-
lima supreme court last Thursday as
constitutional.
Justice Clarkson wrote the 21-page
opinion, an affirmance of the judg-
ment of Judge Devin in the January
term of Wake superior court
R. S. Hinton, of Raleigh, brought
the taxpayers test suit to restrain
the issuance Of the two million dol
lars in bonds by the state under the
provisions of tn act which provides
for the use of this sum in making
loans TO veterans cf the World War,
the loans not to be in excess of S3,-
600 to any one person and not to
exceed Is per cent of the appraised
value of the real estate offered as
security.
The proposition was submitted to
popular vote at the last general cleo
ton and carried for issuance of the
bonds by a 39,867 majority.
The Winston-Salem journal, in
commenting upon the courts de-
cision, says:
The action of the state supreme
court on Wednesday in declaring the
World War Veterans loan act con-
stitutionally valid was both appro-
pirate and proper. The decision was
handed down on the tenth ami
versary of the decl&rat on of war and
the act, approved twice 1T the oils
before receiving its final leg 3 ative
form, is the unequivocal eXpr,s ). .on
of a peoples gratitude to its mobi-
lized defenders.
The purpose of the act is to help
veterans to acquire homes for them
selves, either in town or country,
through the loan of funds up to S3,-
900 which are to be paid back with
interest at six per cent by the end of
twenty-year period. Those eligible
to receive these loans are definitely
specified in the act as follows:
"Section g. Every person who
was enlisted, inducted, warranted, or
commissioned, and who served hon
orably in active duty in the militia
or naval service of the United States
at any time between the sixth day of
April, 1917 and the 18th day of
ovember, 1918, and who, at the time
of entering such service, was a resi-
dent of the state of North Carolina,
aid who is honorably separated or
discharged from such service, or who
is still in active service or has been
retired, or who has been furloughed
10 a reserve, and who was in such
service for a period longer than 90
days, sheIl be entitled to borrow
money from the fund provided by
this act upon filing application and
9th rWi-e complying with The terms
hereof, so long as ard to the extent
hat the funds herein provided for
are available for that purpose"
EXce!len, as the law is theoretical
ly, it has a practical weakness that j.
altogether obvious. The amount
available for loans is only $4,000
0J0, while the number of those eligl-
bic. according to John Hall Manning,
the commissioner of the veteran
loan fund and It's chief administra-
tive officer, is approximately $4,000.
If the maximum loan, $4,000, is
granted each applicant only 666
loans, roughly speaking, can be made,
Of course, many of those who are
eligible will not make application,
but the probability is that the amount
available will be entirely inadequate
for the anticipated demand.
Moreover, in the distribution of
the money available it is quite pos
sible that the applications for the
loans may be centered in the larger
cities and towns were the informa- .
ton necessary for making the appli-
cations may be more readily 90
ed. In this case the rural districts
would be practically eliminated from
the possibility of obtaining loans
unless system of allocating a def
mite number for each county in the
state is made in advance. 1t is un-
derstood that this plan of giving
every applicant fair chance of OBJ
tanning a loan is contemplated be-
fore the loans are actually made.
Certainly this ALLEGATION should be
carried out if the original plan of
the loans is correctly and satisfac-
torily carried out.