Evening star., 1933-02-26
MORATORIUM BILL
IS BEFORE SENATE
Mortgage Emergencies Cited
by Robinson in Plea for
Haste.
~ the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
The Hull-Walcott farm and city
mortgage moratorium bill was taken up
late yesterday by the Senate, talked
about a while and then left to be
studied again tomorrow.
The measure, providing for post
ponement Of mortgage foreclosures for
was considered at the request OF
Senator Robinson of Arkansas, the
Democratic leader.
Robinson explained it briefly, as
Senator Reed, Republican, of Pennsyl-
vania, and several other Republican
colleagues contended it should not be
acted on until members had time to
srudy 1t over the week end.
Senator Borah. Republican, Of Idaho,
offered an amendment, which was not
voted on, to reduce the interest rate
from to 3 per cent for advances to
permit postponement Of foreclosure
proceedings for two years.
Senator Hull Absent.
Senator Hull, Democrat, OF Tennessee,
the next Secretary of State, was absent
during discussion of the measure. Of
which he is co-author with Senator
Walcott, Republican, OF Connecticut.
After Senator McNary, Republican,
of Oregon, the assistant Republican
leader, had told Robinson and others
he thought no one wanted to act on
the bill tonight, Robinson pleaded for
quick consideration so the House might
have it soon and act at this session.
If we are going to do anything about
this situation, we ought to do 1t be-
fore the session ends and not fail to
do it just because some Senator has
failed to read the bill," Robinson con-
tinued
without debate, the Senate a few
hours earlier passed the Fletcher BILL
liberalizing the farm loan act by per-
mitting direct loans to borrowers from
the Federal land banks and authorizing
reamortization by the land banks Of
the mortgages over 40 years.
This bill, sponsored by Senator
Fletcher, Democrat, Florida, was ap-
proved by the Treasury Department. 1t
provides that where borrower cannot
obtain a loan from Farm Loan Assocl-
alton. the Farm Loan Board may au-
thorize loans from the land banks
A second point permits loans to
liuuidate Indebtedness incurred before
January l, 1888, and for general agri-
cultural uses. Present law restricts
loans to indebtedness incurred before
January /. 1922.
The third proviso permits the amorti-
Zation over 40 years of the aggregate
amounts due on any outstanding mort
gage. Secretary Mills recently in a
statement said the amortization section
would be helpful and permit ref1nancing
of Indebtedness.
Measure Goes to House.
The measure now goes to the House
for consideration.
Robinson explained the Hull-Walcott
bill as an emergency step, to provide
time in which Congress might work out
a more permanent program to aid the
farmer and the farm debtor.
The bill provides for S500,000. 900
fund in the Reconstruction Corporation
for advances to mortgages to obtain
postponement of farm and city mort
cages where debtors are more than six
months in arrears in payment of in
terest and principal and for unpaid
taxes in arrears a year or longer.
1t provides $l00,000,000 for Recon-
struction Corporation loans to Joint
Stock Land Banks to carry borrowers
through the existing emergency.
Considerable opposition from Robin
sen and others developed to proviso
requiring the Joint Stock Land Banks
to accept farm loan bonds issued by the
banks at face value if offered to repay
mortgage-secured loans.
Robinson said these bonds were worth
only from 20 cents to so cents on the
dollar and that to require the banks
to accept them at face value would
bankrupt all the Joint Stock Land
Banks.