Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-06
MEYER CONCLUDES
GREAT CLEANUP
Federal Farm Loan Head
Ends Quiet, but Effective,
Purging of Process.
BY WILLIAM HARD.

When it comes to lending oceans of
public money to sterilization corpora
tions" and other agricultural institu-
lions under farm legislation in the
Hoover administration, there will be
just one man in Washington who will
clearly know most about all such
problems. That man is Eugene Meyer,
present farm loan commissioner of the
Federal Government.
Mr.. Meyer is just concluding one of
the biggest-and yet one of the
quietest--cleanupS that has ever hap
the course of a relatively few months
he has ruthlessly house-cleaned our
Federal land banks, our agricultural
intermediate credit banks and our
joint stock land banks, all coming
under the supervision of the Federal
Farm Loan Board, of which Mr. Meyer
has been the operating executive since
the Spring of last year.
Purifying Process Terrific.
Various officers of such banks In
various parts of the country have been
conveyed to jail or have been sentenced
to Jail or are now under indictment or
are on their way to indictment. The
purifying process has been gigantic and
terrific. and yet there has been no
making of sensations" and no eX-
plOitation of scandals" for publicity
purposes and no impairment whatso-
ever Of the reputation and credit of our
Federal agricultural banking system.
In fact, instead of an impairment
there has hnnf a
Meyer is now selling the bonds of the
banks under his care at a better figure
than was obtainable when he took Of
flee and began investigating and
prosecuting. When it Is remembered
that the securities involved in our Fed
eral agricultural banking system have
now reached the titanic sum of $1,000
5000, the scope and the delicacy
of Mr.. Myers accomplished task be-
come apparent.
He has been in the public service in
Washington now for a decade. He is
about so years of age He had made
a vast fortune in private business by
the time he was 49, He lent several
hundred million dollars of public money
to agricultural institutions and to banks
as managing director of the United
States War Finance Corporation-and
got the money back. He has prob
ably now made a lot more money for
the United States Government than
he ever made even for himself.
"Jim" Watson Wins.
His greatest achievement, though, has
undoubtedly been his noiseleSsness as
vacuum-cleaner of the Federal agri-
cultural banking system over which he
now presides. He has cleaned it in the
midst of noiselessness instead of noise
somenesS.
The Federal Farm Land Board smells
perfectly sweet again now, and the
Republican party feels very grateful
to Mr. Meyer.
The Republican party can also brag
on Jim" Watson. Some" Republican
is Jim. He said some mighty mean
things about one Herbert Hoover at
Kansas City last June. Then one Her
bert Hoover instead of Jim. got the
Republican nomination for President
Jim, however then just recently went
and got the Republican nomination and
election, that Is. the certainty of it, as
the Republican leader of the next Sen
ate in place of Charlie" Curtis, who
will become Vice President. Jim, as
Republican leader, will be able to do
dirt to Herbert as President.
But does he plan to do it? He does
not. Does he glare at Herbert and
whet knife for him on his sole? No
sir-ree. Does he intend to trip Herbert
up and lay him low and have revenge
upon him? On the contrary!
Jim is regular" Let us now do
homage to the virtues of regulars. "
God presumably, will punish their vices
Let us reflect, with awe, upon their vir-
tues of forgetfulneSS and their virtue
of forgivingness.
Just as soon as Herbert was non1i-
mated at Kansas City, Jim wholly for
gave him for provoking him into making
mean remarks about him. Jim also for
gave himself for making the remarks.
In fact, he entirely forgot the remarks.
He also entirely forgot the reason why
he ever made them. Herbert was now
"the leader of the party" That was
enough for Jim.
Not one "reformer" in 10000 in the
same circumstances could do 1t. Let us
take due note of something or other in
regulars"