The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-03-18

That's right" chimed in Barkley h0tIy. And that's ex- actly why we need legislat ton like this bill for the little feI- low. The REC already is talk. ing care of the big fellow. If Q small business man tries to get Q contract from the War Department and needs finances to carry out the contract, they tell him, We win let you have the contract if you can get an REC lOan.' Then he goes to the REC and Is told We will let you have the money if you can get the cOntract.'
 There ought to be some place where the two things meet. May be this legislation, which sets up @ special division for small busi- ness under the War Production Board, with power to make loans apd assist the little fellow in getting contracts, Is the answer. The record shows that small busi- ness is getting little, If any, help from the REQ"
 MORE REC STALLING
 Latest case of REC penny pinching stalling of vital defense contract that has come to the committees attention and aroused hot indignation is that of the Northern Pump Go, Minneapolis, Minn.
 The largest maker of. Navy ordnance in the country, the concern has an excellent fi- nanclaI and business record. In the last few years 1t has grown from 1000 to coco employees and now has over S1OO, ,0OO,00O in In Navy orders.
 Last year the company was give en a $23 100000 Navy contract for some urgently needed ordnance. To finance this rush order the firm asked the REC for Q $3,000,000 loan.
 After weeks of time marking the REC finally offered to lend $l,000, 900 provided the company put up more than 5000 900 in assets, its valuable patent rights, and notes signed personally by its executives.
 In other words, despite the fact that the company had 8 $23,OOO, 600 Navy ordnance order, which the Navy was cIamOring for, Jesse Jones' REC would not lend the concern more than $1,- 0OO,OOO to fill this cOntract-and even then only if the company signed away its eye-teeth.
 When the company executives protested this tight-fistedness, they were snapped off with, we are running a bank, not Q de- fense agency"
 Finally, despairing of getting any REC help, the concern, through the intervention of an- other government agency, got it from the Minneapolis Federal Re- serve Bank. Within 24 hours after applying for loan the bank gave the company unlimited credit.
 But in the meanwhile three months of priceless time had been lost because of the RFC's money grubbing ohstructionism.
 TRAVEL-HOGS
 During inc noisy House battle over the Agriculture Department appropriation bill,. hot words were hurled at a travel allowance item. It was charged that extravagances and waste were rife in government travel expenditures.
 That is absolutely true. And what is equally true-though no mention of it was made in the House - is that the worst travel boodling offender in, the entire government is Congress.
 The country rose in arms over the attempted congressional pen- sion grab, which would have cost taxpayers around g l00,0eo a year. But what is no. realized is that for years Congress has been tap- ping the treasury for sum nearly twice that amount. s15l.0 .0ee 6 year, in the form of travel allowance.
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