Evening star., 1938-06-21
>RAYBURN URGES
UNITY FOR NATION
Majority Leader in House
Reviews Congress-Sees
Hope for Prosperity.

Following is the text of an address
by Representative Sam Rayburn, DEM
ocrat, Of Texas, majority leader of the
House. reviewing the work of the
18th Congress. Representative Ray
burn spoke last night in the National
Radio Forum, arranged by The Star
and broadcast over Nationwide net
work of the National Broadcasting Co.. !:
It Is fitting at the close of the 18th
Congress that we should review what
this Congress has done in the way of
legislation in the interest of the people
OF the country. But in order to better
understand the reasons and necessity
for enactments of this Congress, 1t
might not be amiSs to look back for a
moment at the picture of the country
at the beginning of the present ad-
ministration.
Our memories are short, but allow
me to call your attention specifically
to some of these conditions The con-
dition of the banks of the country may
be taken as An example.
Throughout the land these banking
institutions were closing their doors
and depositors were seized with pan
tcky fear of losing their life savings.
BY the swift and decisive action of
the President in closing the banks
until remedial measures could be
taken, confidence was restored and
disaster averted. The first step was
Sy1o lio fa1V fNl1 I1y% 1~
by enacting a law for the insurance
Of bank deposits up to $4,000 and in
setting up various emergency agencies
to save farmers and other property
owners from the threat of foreclosure.
Depositors Feel Reassured.
AS result of the law providing for
insurance of bank deposits and Of the
Glass-Steagall Act, making needy re-
forms in banking practices, no deposit
tor any longer fears for the safety of
the funds he has in the bank, and
bank failures have practically ceased.
Under the four years of the Hoover
administration. 1884 banks failed.
Under the same number of years under
the Roosevelt administration, only
1863 banks closed. In the 1854 banks
that failed during the Hoover admin
istration, the people of the country
had on deposit s4,0OO,00o, 900, and
these deposits were not guaranteed.
OF the 1863 banks that closed during
this period under the Roosevelt ad-
ministration. only s2o3 100000 were
on deposit and, under the law passed
by this administration, every dollar of
this was guaranteed so that no deposi-
tor lost penny.
To show the confidence that has
been created in the minds of the
people by the enactments of Congress
during this administration, on June
30, 1887, there was on deposit in the
1880 banks of this country $59,822,-
$4,000, an amount never exceeded by
the deposits in the same number OF
banks and only equaled in 1880 when
24,079 banks had deposits of $59,-
847,1e5,000.
At this time also farmers and small
home owners were in the most dire
distress they had been in in the his
tory of the Nation Mortgages were
being foreclosed by the wholesale
Farmers had no way of meeting their
obligations because they were selling
the products of their toll at price so
far below the cost of production that
not only had their buying power been
destroyed but their debt-paying power
destroyed as well. These same farm
ers had for - years lived on promises
OF the Harding. Coolidge and Hoover
administrations. The New Deal gave
immediate relief.
Drop in Prices Curbed.
There was set up the Agricultural
Adjustment Administration and the
Farm Credit Administration, the first
designed to stop the downward trend
Of prices Of farm commodities and
to bring about parity between farm
prices and other prices, and the Sec
ond, designed to provide abundant
cheap credit so that farmers could
hold their homes.
Under these acts, prices Of farm
products were brought to a profitable
level by farmers of all classes joining
in to carry out the purposes of the
acts, and the benefit payments of
the Federal Government permitted
the farmers to clear up back taxes,
pay other debts, and restore their
business generally.
? To further show you the condition
that existed, the total farm income
in 1882 was $4,328,000, 900, in 1893 it
had climbed to more than five billion
dollars in 1884 to more than six bill
lion dollars, in 1885 to more than seven
billion dollars, in 1896 to nearly eight
billion dollars and in 1887 to more
than eight and one-half billion
dollars.
When the Supreme Court of the
United States declared the Agricul-
tural Adjustment Act unconstitutional
and panic was about to seize the farm
Ing population for fear they would go
back to the old days, the President
recommended and the Congress en-
acted the Soil Conservation and Do
mestic Allotment Act, under which
more than four million farmers
in 1886 and 1897.
The Home Owners Loan Corp. Act
was passed to assist owners of small
homes to retain their property. This
act was passed in 1885 In that year
when families were losing their homes
at the rate of 1000 a day, the Home
Owners Loan Corp. Act was passed,
under the provisions of which they
are being assisted in keeping their
homes. These small home owners re-
ceived this assistance from the Home
Owners Loan Corp. when they could
obtain credit from no other source.
To show you few of the things
that have been done under this act.
more than 100000 loans have been
made In the amount of more than
$4,000, 100000 OF the amount loaned.
more than s4o0,0Oo,000 have been
paid back.
Home Building Aided.
In 1884 the Federal Housing Admin
stration was set up by Congress to
encourage home construction and bet
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