The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-04-19
U. S. LOANS TO
BUSINESS MAY
Be MADE SOON
Roosevelt Urges Financial
Aid for Small Firms
Immediately.
BY RUTH FINNEY
Times Special Writer

WASHINGTON. April 10. - The
icy pools of credit which have such
cold comfort to would-be borrowers
will start thawing very soon, If
present signs and portents can be
trusted.
For month, senate and house
banking committees have dallied
with President Roosevelt's recon-
mendation that government money
be made available for business
loans. Within the next few days,
fires probably will be lighted under
them to make them act quickly.
The reason is the forthcoming
report of Clarence DarroW's ad-
visory review board on the situation
of small business men under NRA.
The report will say that small bust
ness Is oppressed by the recovery
act. 1t will be received by the Presi-
dent Saturday and about the time
it is made public something else
will be made public, showing how
we'll small business is faring at the
hands of this administration.
Government loans to business
will be the answer, according to
every present indication.
Asks intermediate Banks
When NRA called business men to
Washington early in March to talk
over the industrial program, it re-
ported that most of its complaints
from small business men concerned
their difficulties in borrowing. Lo-
cal banks are refusing to finance
small concerns and in many COM
munities no banks are open, it
found.
President Roosevelt passed this
word on to congress and asked that
intermediate banks be established
in the federal reserve districts to
make loans to small and medium
sized industries.
II these small concerns find them
selves suddenly in position to snap
their fingers at their bankers they
will forget about charges that MIRA
fostered monopolies Cypress them,
some of the administration advisers
think.
A survey by the treasury, RFC and
the federal reserve disclosed that
$700000,000 is urgently needed by
small business for working capital.
The money would make possible en-
ployment of $4,000 new workers,
they found, plus continued employ
ment of $4,000 others.
Three Proposals Submitted
The congressional banking COM
mittees are snarled in a question of
procedure. They have three pro-
posals before them, the one for in
termediate banks recommended by
the President and the federal re-
serve, another for direct RFC loans
submitted by RFC Chairman Jesse
Jones. and third by Senator Car
ter Glass, which calls for loans from
federal reserve banks themselves.
The administration has other
communities ready for the Darrow
boards report.
NRA's planning and research
division has been making special
study Of small business and is
hurrying its findings together.
To answer the charge of Senator
William E. Borah that unfair COM
petition is driving out of existence
hundreds of thousands of small
business men" it has figures just
compiled by the federal reserve
board showing that commercial fall
ureS are occurring less than half as
frequently as year ago. In jan
uary, 1864 firms failed. In January
a year ago, the total was 2919.
In the last six months of 1888
during all of which the recovery act
was operating, 1856 firms with
liabilities under $4,000 failed while
the number was 5,130 in the last
six months of 1882.
Mcleod Bill Scored
MIRA administrator Hugh john
son says NRA codes have curbed
chain stores and other large enter
prises to the advantage of small
competitors by keeping them from
selling below fixed levels. Myron W.
w. Watkins of Consumers Advisory
Board also reports that in many in
duStries. codes handicapped large
firms, helped small ones.
Congressman are beginning to dis
cover that there is political dyna-
mite as we'll as political salve in the
Mcleod bill for paying off depositors
in closed banks, and the White House
is losing no opportunity of rubbing
this in.
Three times within the last three
days, administration spokesman
have pointed out that against the
people having money in closed
banks must be weighed the thou
sands who accepted so or 60 cents
IN the dollar and caO he cOiInted