Evening star., 1933-02-09
ANT|-FORECLOSURE
BILL IS ADVANCED
Senate Subcommittee Ap-
proves Plan for TWo-Year
Moratorium.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
A Senate banking subcommittee to-
Gay reported favorably the Hull bill
designed to use 10000 900 of Federal
credit to bring about two-year mora
torium on farm mortgage foreclosures.
A special meeting of the full Banking
Committee was called for tomorrow to
take up the measure with view to a
prompt report to the Senate.
The measure provides for lending
$500, ,000, 900 of Reconstruction Corpora
ton funds to farm mortgages. Inc
funds would be used to pay mortgage
interest, installments in default Tor
more than six months and taxes de-
hnquent for more than year. In
return, the mortgage holders would
agree not to foreclose.
An amendment by the subcommittee
provides that the mortgages shall
charge the mortgagors no more than
4 per cent interest on the delinquent
payments.
Land Bank Mortgages Excluded.
Federal Land Bank mortgages are
not included in the bill, Senator Steiwer,
Republican, of Oregon. explaining the
best way to extend them is to vote
additional capital funds for the banks
cut of the Treasury.
apply to mortgages held by joint stock
land banks, which are private institu-
tions.
The amended bill provides for lending
the joint stock land banks S150,000,000
for two years at 3l2 per cent maximum
interest so they may grant relief to
mortgagorS and reduce interest to per
cent for a two-year period.
The latest idea in farm relief. an
ingenious plan developed by Southern
Senators to apply to cotton, found con-
siderable favor in Capitol circles today
as sponsors laid plans for seeking lis
enactment as an emergency measure
this session.
The Senate Agriculture Committee
was SO favorably inclined toward the
idea, which bears the name of its rank
ing Democratic member, Senator Smith
Of South Carolina, that Chairman Nc
Nary predicted q favorable report on
the bill when the committee meets
again on Saturday.
Strongly allied with Smith in advo-
eating the plan are Senators George OF
Georgia and Connally Of Texas.
Would Use Accumuiations.
The plan, which has displaced tempo
rarily the domestic allotment bill as
topic of discussion, would use the siZ-
able quantities of cotton accumulated
by the Farm Board and other Govern
nlent agencies as an inducement to
producers to cut acreage this year.
cotton farmer N return for agree
ing to cut his production 80 per cent
under last year would be given an
option on an equal amount of cotton
held in the Government pool. The
option would entitle him to buy at the
present price and sell after August Is
without putting up penny of cash.
As the decreased production Is
counted upon to send the price up, the
cotton farmer theoretically would profit
by the deal and at the same time
substantial slice would be cut off the
heavy surplus.
A similar bill has been introduced by
Senator Nye, Republican Of North Da-
kota, to cover both cotton and wheat.
Fear Price Imitation.
An important difference, however, is
that the Nye plan calls for lending the
farmer money to buy in the open mar
ket. The Smith bill originally had such
a provision but was changed when
critics pointed out that as soon as the
open market buying began the price
would suddenly shoot upward. :
With a closed Government pool of
3,500,00O bales, the hackers of the
Smith plan contend there would be no
such objection.
Western Senators considering apply
ing the revised Smith plan to wheat as
well as cotton ran into the fact that
the Federal Farm Boards once huge
stock Of stabilization wheat has now
been almost entirely removed.
Hope for helping products other than
cotton apparently was still bound up in
the domestic allotment bill on which
favorable committee report is expected
early next week.