Carbon County news., 1937-03-12

more has come to be s.
Confusion much . part q
3. s. the federal gov
ernment's general administration.
have talked about the buster ant
the ballyhoo and the cross purpose
at which So many pieces of the New
Deal program have operated, anC
another outstanding example of thi'
condition now appears, "
Two governmental agencies, one
4 strictly New Deal agency, the
other with a beginning in the Hoover
administration, find themselves
working directly in opposition tc
each other-and in the end taxpay'
ers win pay.
Il is not the fault Of the Home
Owners Loan corporation that II
finds itself in q position where it is
going to be landlord to something
like 100. 900 pieces Of real estate
largely homes.
When the government went into
the business Of loaning money on
private residence it had experience
upon which to base its program.
Many years ago the farm loan sys-
tenn was organized with none too
happy results. In the late days Of
the Hoover administration, howev-
er, three or four politicians were
able to drive through the legislation
creating a system Of government
loans on residences as distinguished
from farms. .,..-...
I predicted in these columns some
three years ago that the govern
ment through the Hole, was going
to be the proud possessor Of . lot Of
real estate. My statements at that
time were based upon what I had
seen happen in the case Of the loans
on farms. The article brought me
direct criticism from two or three
places In the government but at
this time ] can report that the
Hole. before another year passes,
will own something like 160, 900
homes.
It is always difficult for q mort
gage or bank institution, privately
owned, to dispose Of property which
It has been forced to repossess
default Of the borrowers. It
IS much more difficult for the fed
eral government to dispose Of that
type Of property, try as 1t may to
getrfd Of the parcels. ..-< s.....,>,
So. we find one governmental
agency serving as a landlord on a
scale and with signs por-
;ending moves by politicians that
will in the end cost the taxpayers
hundreds of millions Of dollars.
These politicians are proposing leg
station in congress to cut the in
crest rate on the loans now in
iefau1t and other loans as well;
hey are proposing also to cut
he principal Of the loans on the
lefaulted mortgages and they are
'eeking means by which those in
lefault may have unlimited time in
which to make the payments in a
way that, specifically at least,
makes the proposals appear actu-
lily as an outright gift to those
Who have bought homes under the
loan plan.
There is no way to tell now what
viii happen to these various pro-
'osals. Undoubtedly, most Of them
will fall by the wayside and re.
eive no consideration in congress. |
let, on the basis Of observation of
many such movements, it does not
eem far wrong to guess that the |
in congress will accom-
'1ish something in the way of re-
luction Of these debts where the
Iefaulters bring pressure to bear
n the home town political ma
hines.
Now, concerning the other govern.
mental agency involved in the game
OF cross purposes
cross that ! mentioned. i
Purposes I refer to the fed |
eral housing ad- |
Like the Home Own
rs Loan corporation, it is not the |
ault Of the housing administration |
hat it finds itself in a tough spot. |
is commanded by the President |
nd by congress to proceed with a |
igantic housing program, to loan |
honey on new homes wherever it
an persuade contractors to build |
nd individuals to buy. It is to be |
also that loans on |
1ese properties are guaranteed
ne legislation calls them insured |
,ans-and that makes the federal |
ousing administration liable in |
ase the new home buyers fail to
leet their commitments.
The housing administration an
its program to encourage
Eholesale home building throughout
ne nation only recently and it was
y coincidence, ! am sure, that the
ousing program was announced al /
lost simultaneously with the deter
BY. the Hole to start fore
Iosure proceedings in order to
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