The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1944-05-19
News "a
BEHIND,
THENH||lE|lEIz|lEI!51
Released by western Newspaper Union.
BENEFITS FOR
RETURNING SOLDIERS
By PAUL MALLON =

BENEFITS FOR
RETURNING SOLDIERS
WASHINGTON. - Congress Is
moving to meet the problem Of the
returning soldier with at least one
eye conferred on the coming cleo
tons.
The legislators have, with various
steps, now headed toward distinct
line of procedure-the discharge
bonus Of 500 to $500, a bigger one
to be enacted later. the American
Legion G. I. Bill, the Waves, Wacs,
etc., to share equally in loans UP to
| $1,000 to buy homes, farms, BUSH
nesses (no interest first year, 3 per
cent thereafter), year of school
| ing with the government paying UP
to $500 tuition and $50 to SIS month
for living expenses, special U. s.
employment. service to look for jobs
and so on.
The inspiring notion Is that moth
ing Is too good for the soldiers; in
deed, this valid conviction Is shared
by most people to such an extent
that they would be glad to let re-
turning soldiers run the country, as
they should, having saved it.
But quietly, without any additional
expenditure and apparently without
the congressional tendency to over
do it for political effect, Mr.. Jesse
Jones, Reconstruction Finance cor
poration, has opened new realistic
avenue of help. Business seers like
Babson wisely say the future of this
country depends on small business,
the type that can be run by man
and wife, who preferably should live
on the premises so as to cut down
expenses of operation and the high
cost of help.
REAL ECONOMIC IMPETUS
This kind of business obviously
adds to the structure of the country
and Is progressive, because it brings
in taxes to the government and fur
nishes real economic impetus.
Also the problem now and for the
immediate postwar period is infla-
ton caused by the great sums of
cash in the hands of the people with
no goods to buy. The bonuses would
add to this initiation stream.
The ideal time to pay the bonus
from an economic standpoint would
be several years hence when the
pent-up demand for goods has been
filled and a business decline is in
prospect. The bonus, therefore, adds
- IN
whereas loans to start new small
business would be national medicine
for our difficulties.
Now, Mr.. Jones has been making
loans for years that the banks would
not take and he not only runs his
RFC without net loss, but with some
profit to cover administrative ex-
penditures. This is proof enough that
Mr.. Jones is smarter than the
bankers.
His whole business career was
that of a borrower, generally trying
to get money from banks, and appar-
emily he operates not on the basis
of how much collateral you have but
on character of individuals and
their business (his average loan is
only So, 000).
SOLDIERS GET QUICK RESPONSE
So when Sergt. Carl W. Stomps
and Pvt. Sol Kuthruff, fighting
abroad, recently wrote note ask
ing postwar promise Of loan to
finance General Motors leadership,
they received the prompt response:
"RFC will be glad to give favor
able consideration. In any rea-
sonable amount"
Another veteran made application
for himself and wife for $4,000 to
open a restaurant in Palo Alto, Calf.
The local RFC agency recon-
mended declination because the two
had no working capital except 81 900
and intended to put the whole
$1,000 in restaurant equipment.
| Headquarters here reversed the dec
lination, made a two-year loan (the
Bank OF America taking 10 per
cent?, insisting only that the life in
surance of the soldier be pledged.
As you can see from this, there
are all kinds of lending and spend
ing: good or bad, productive or in
flationary, destructive or construc-
tive. While congress argues, the
RFC has proceeded with loans for
use and is already doing what con-
gress proposes to do, but in sensi-
BILE way to help the veteran, cure
imitation, and make more business.
If congress goes its way fully and
starts tossing money around to vet
erans-even those who have jobs
lined up, or are already fabulously
wealthy, just for the political effect
of "doing something" for the veter-
ans-the soldiers themselves may
soon find these political bounties
were not really to their own best
interest as whole or the country's,
which they are to run.
@ g O
WHAT CAUSED
| DnVu