Evening star., 1927-05-30
FARM LOAN PROBE
|SSEEN LOOMING
McNary.Haugen Groups De-
cIared to Be Preparing At
tack on Reorganization.

President Coolidge has no sooner
ripnalized his intention to spenu .n'
~o,.r in the heart of the farming
,yest than there comes from ,has &c
lion a warning that the ~ :,
~t;on's agricultural credlts poIiey t(
-be subjected in the next Nons ,rro,,n.
furious attack. The sdlne ,5aU"a, sUr
l.',,i'',' demanded McNary-faus
.tarn,.re,ief legislation are preparing
.',,ii, hin and thigh, the recent re
,,i1ation of the Federal Farm Loai
Board. ,,oo,o Mover
T., nc head of the board and floyo II
HARRISON and George X. CoohseS
.,,,on,hars of the board are to be the
,ar~nte at which the farm oppositioi
.'';,I shoot MessrS. Meyer. Harrison
e,,i rooLsey having been transferred
s,odi,,, from the directorate OF the W az
s1sinance Corporation. leaders Oh aSIi
cultural organizations are charsihs
sthat the Federal farm credlts sysleli
has now come under the "dominatloil
sof Andrew w. Mellon, Secfetdr! ol
the Treasury. Datins from ny
sSJr Mellon publicly assailed McNary
s1Ia,~enism. he has ranked as one oi
tbe chief ayersions of the farm poil
.ticians.
Hostilities Over Confirmation.
According to plans now under dls
cussion among agricultural leaders
.rd freely commented upon In theif
offfcial publications, hostilities at
Washington will open Wnen tne
president submits the appointments
Of Messrs. Meyer. Harrison ana Cook'
= TO the Senate for confirmation
'trbesa new Farm Loan Board mem
hers supersede Edward L. Jones OF
pepnsvlvania, Robert A. Cooper OF
south Carolina and Elmer 5. Landes
of Ohio. =.
one of the foremost farm editors IN
the country has just said to TINS
writer, There is sure to be a blg row
over the shake-up in the Farm Loan
Board, though it will not reach Its
peak until next Winter When Con
gress meets. 1t is my private opinion
that unless the reorganization IS
publicly explained, and in manner
satisfactory to farmers, it will be
threat to the administration and the
Republican party almost, il not quite,
as serious as the veto of the McNary-
Haugen bill Farmers were divided on
the latter controversy, but they will
be found practically unanimous in
condemning changes in the vast agri-
cultural credits organization, unless
these can be justified to the farming
world"
Reorganization Opposed.
The administration attitude toward
these warnings" and toward the ac-
cusations that cause them is that Pres
ident Coolidge and Secretary Mellon
deemed the time had come to put
;rr;I hnc
eral farm loan system. This is now
a concern with an annual turnover
of, roundly. S2,0OO,000 900. Although
nominally "farmer-oWned' to a large
extent, as far as the joint-stock land
banks and other rural institutions for
farm credits are concerned, supervi.
sorry responsibility for them is vested
in the Federal Government. For some
time the Treasury Department has
felt that the management of the Fed
eral Farm Loan Board, which is in
general control of the whole scheme,
was not being conducted on the best
possible lines. In particular, Treas
ury officials were of opinion that meth
DDS Of examination of farm banks
were not as thoriughgoing as they
should be. 1t was considered that in
many directions there was lack of
flung farm credits scheme.
Strong representations were made
at the White House by farm forces
against the reorganization which has
meantime taken place. Agricultural
organizations and their leaders feel
q jealous pride and sense of proprietor.
ship in the land bank system, and
they bitterly oppose any movement,
the result Of which is to remove the
land bank farther away from control
by farm representatives. Messrs.
Meyer, Harrison and Cooksey are un-
der fire as being typically representa-.
tive of wall Street." rather than
or dirt farmers" in whose interest
the Federal Farm Loan Board acts.
Congressional Quiz Seen.
Some agricultural authorities ex.
press the opinion that combined Re-
publican progressive Democratic op-
position in the Seventieth Congress
will easily be able to Illustrate con.
nrmation Of the reorganized Farm
Loan Board. The opposition, it is pre-
olcted, practically assures congress.
slonal investigation of the whole farm
loan system. One of those who is
fomenting the movement in that d.
rection asserts that the investigation
'-AA IuIIl LIlS llSHL upon the
interest of certain persons in having
the system brought under the domina
tion OF the Treasury Department"
The same authority claims that such
an investigation was held in check
last Winter only by the efforts of
former friends Of the farm loan sys.
tenn, who feared a possible reaction
on farm loan bond sales These friends
are said now to feel that the time
Tor hesitation is past.
With nearly 100000 farmer stock
holders owning the entire Federal
Land Bank system, and chafing be.
cause they claim they are now ex
ciuded from any effective voice in its
management, the political barometer
seems set for stormy weather on
capitol Hill next Winter. The effects
upon the 1928 presidential Campaign
II IS obvious, might be considerable.
Farm leaders declare Messrs. Jones.
cooper and Landes were ousted from
the Farm Loan Board because of their
oppositlon to Treasury prorosal
winch would have required farm loan
banks to foreclose on any farm bor.
rover more than 80 days DELINQUENT in
interest. Ai'
(Copyright. 1927
Stones used in Egyptian monu.
m6Dfa Woro On hao1,,, IT..