Imperial Valley press., 1943-08-05

DB tONOhESOM6N JUN HfLLh -
A few months ago we had quite flood
in the Mississippi Valley. At the peak
a little short OF 5000 600 acres We're un-
der water and about 100000 Of these
had alread been planted. An interest
ing side-comment on the situation is the
fact that the House Committee on Agri-
culture actually had to meet and discuss
whether or not it would be necessary to
put bill through Congress, or whether
the secretary of agriculture had sufficient
power without new legislation, to let the
farmers of the inundated area replant
their own farms to the same crops lost
by the flood
When the disaster seemed at its worst
Congressman Bennett of Missouri went
to work to see what he could do about
financial help for the farmers of his dis
trict whose money had already gone in
to crops which were lost. He discovered,
as he says, in the department of COM
merce an organization know as disaster
loan corporation. 1t was created in 1897
to provide quick loans when these were
made necessary by floods or similar cat
astrophes.
The corporation has a capitl stock of
s4O,OOO,OO0 and it has branches in st.
Louis, Kansas City and Little Rock. Loans
are made where it is impossible for the
borrowers to obtain credit from private
sources. California farmers have taken
advantage of this help in recent years,
in times of catastrophe.
Congressman Bennett brought away
with him from the Washington office
set of the necessary application blanks.
They consist of 1S sheets of paper, legal
lenth size, 9 IA inches The first four
sheets must be executed in triplicate
and contain thirty-three questions, be-
sides the necessary space for sworn affi-
davit.
The applicant must fill out blanks an
Swering, among others, the following
questions:
List the collateral offered for the loan
Can you obtain an endorser or guarantor
for the loan? Give a complete financial
statement. (There are forty-two sub
divisions under this item). Your income?
Give complete description of all your per-
sonal and real property.
Another set of forms, marked Exhibit
"B', require complete statement of the
nature and history Of the applicants
business. Exhibits &c" and "D' ask for
more information about the applicants
reliability. Before the loan can be COM
pleted, the applicant must sign a note
which has sixty-three lines of type finer
than any type ever used in an insurance
policy. He must provide witnesses and
endorsers. He must sign a contract,
called Agreement of Borrower, which
tells him how he may spend the loan if
he gets it, and the system of bookkeeping
which it will be necessary for him to set
up. He must sign what is called
Standby Agreement" with eleven more
binding provisions.
A few weeks before | left Washington,
Congress appropriated 100000, 600 900
Quite little of it was for the benefit of
other countries. / doubt very much if
these countries were required to fill out
eighteen pages of applications, in tripli-
cate, and | doubt if any of them were
asked Can you obtain an endorser or
grantor for the loan?" If good credit
in sound financial transactions, is Great
ed by the satisfactory repayment of prev
ious loans, just what credit ratings would
some Of these borrowers have had?
That money was not for the relief of
American taxpayers unless we feel joking
iy that they have been relieved of it. 1t
was loaned willingly and generously in
time OF great international catastrophe