Evening star., 1933-04-23
Prom an Etching by Diana Thorne.

The most valuable asset Of the Amer
ican people is the time and energy of
its many millions of men and women
eager to work. 1t is an irreplaceable
asset Today it is being frittered away.
In consequence of that We are suffering
poverty and hardship when We should
be enjoying plenty and prosperity.
1t is utter nonsense to assume that
there is fixed or limited quantity Of
work to be done in the United States.
not enough to go around. There are
slurns to be eradicated and rebuilt with
adequate housing; thousands Of COM
munities require water supply and
sewerage systems for the protection of
health; more than 10000 railroad grade
crossings on the important highways of
the Nation constitute menace to life
and a hindrance to traffic and await
elimination. There are bridges, tunnels,
highways. schools and hospitals to be
built. Altogether these projects can
put millions of men to work directly
and enough indirectly to break the back
Of the depression. I repeat that the
next legislative step must be the adop-
ton Of plan whereby that kind Of
enterprise can move forward with the
necessary eXpeQlt1On.
One of the most far-reaching meas
ures in connection with the program
of the administration for national
rehabilitation is embraced in the
legislation for the refinancing of farm
and home mortgages and for the re-
duction Of the burden of indebtedness
which rests upon the farmers and home
owners Of the country The farm
mortgage legislation already has been
introduced by Senator Robinson of
Arkansas. 1t has been considered and
favorably reported by a subcommittee
of which I was chairman. It probably
will have passed the Senate before this
is in print.
During the three years ended March
Is, 1881. 366.000 farm mortgages were
foreclosed. Since then the pace of fore
closure has quickened. The reason for
this serious situation is not only that
land values have been greatly debated; +;
the most important cause is that the
prices of agricultural commodities have
shrunk to such low levels the farmer
cannot recover his cost of production
and cannot pay the interest upon his
debt or the installments of principal
that may become due. Gross farm
income has declined from SIT 900. 900 900
in 1919 to less than $4,000, 100000
in 1882.
Problem Squarely Met.
The farm mortgage bill meets that
problem squarely. It authorizes the
Federal Land Banks to issue up to
$4,000, ,000,0 900 of 4 per cent bonds upon
which the Government will guarantee
the interest. These bonds are to be
used by the Federal Land Banks pri-
marily in acquiring farm mortgages at
a discount, the benefit of which will
be passed on in full to the farmer
The bill thus will accomplish reduc-
ton Of the principal of the farmers
mortgage. In addition, it provides for
the reduction of interest during the
next five years upon all Federal Land
Bank mortgages to a rate Of AZ per
cent; it suspends the payment of In
five years and in deserving cases even
the payment Of interest may be de-
ferred.
Under the terms of the bill a farmer
will be able to borrow up to 5000 for
the purpose of redeeming his FORE
closed home. The bill also provides
the necessary means whereby the Joint
Stock Land Banks may avoid fore
closure Of farm mortgages for q period
of two years and reduce the interest
they charge to per cent. Provision Is
also made for reflnancing at lower
interest rate the bonds of irrigation,
levee and other improvement districts
and passing the benefit on to the
farmers concerned.
Altogether the bill represents the
most far-reaching effort ever made in
the United States to protect the farmer
against foreclosure and to reduce the
burden Of Indebtedness under which
he has been laboring through the
period of price decline.
Similar legislation Is now being
drafted to alleviate the debt burden
resting upon the home owner. The
details Of the new home mortgage plan
cannot at this writing be stated. I
feel confident, however, that 1t will
make possible a reduction of mortgage
interest for the home owner, a reduc-
ton in the principal Of his mortgage.
assurance against foreclosure for a
period of five years and new financing
to enable him to pay his taxes. interest
and repairs. No greater service, be-
heve, can be rendered toward the per-
petuation of American life than to use
our full strength to tide the American
family over the present emergency and
leave it undisturbed in the enjoyment
and possession Of its home. The home