The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-02-24

and ran 1t. It was the first, and for a long time the only government corporation.
 Prior to World War I all govern ment activities were carried on in the regular departments headed by cabinet officers. But in 1916 the first Federal Land Banks were chartered. They were privately owned, but gov- ernment controlled, which seemed innocent enough.
 When the United States got drag ged into the first European fracas, the government corporation idea really took hold. First came the War Finance Corporation, then the Emergency Fleet Corporation, U. s. Housing Corporation, Spruce Pro- duction Corporation and a few others.
 FEW SUCH BUREAUS
 IN THE POS
 All were liquidated after the war except the Federal Land Banks and the Fleet Corporation, which later became the Maritime Commission. The 1920s were relatively free from this sort of stuff, until Herbert Hoover came along and started the Inland Waterways Corporation while he was Secretary of Com merce, and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation while he was President.
 The depression really saw the gov- crop idea take hold. The National Industrial Recovery Act gave Pres ident Roosevelt powers to create new businesses. Among his first was the Commodity Credit Corporation, set up to borrow money from REC and loan it to farmers. Then Congress expanded eco, gave it powers it didn't realize it was bestoWing - and the next thing Congress knew, here was CCC paying subsidies and was the Congressional farm bloc face red.
 Today there were A of these gov- corps and credit agencies doing bus mess at pretty fancy stands. Sixteen are in the credit and banking bus mess, nine deal in war supplies, four in insurance, four in transportation, four in construction, four in econo- mic rehabilitation, one in power, one in retail distribution and one in publicity This last-Prencinradio Inc, is a honey. Set up in the Rockefeller office, it is authorized to do darn near anything it can think of in the fields of communications and public relations.
 LITTLE INFORMATION
 AVAILABLE
 Granting that all these big bus inesses have been ably and honestly run, they still present an inherent danger because they are definitely not run in gold fish bowls and in formation about their operations is hard to get because they don't have they have done, what their assets are, how much they have lost or where they're going. Incidentally, 37 of these corporations were created by Congress itself, so you can see whose fault the present condition of these goV-corps really is.
 The best approximate balance any body has been able to strike on all these operations is that 35 of the government corporations show total deficits of over IS billion dollars. It really isn't quite that bad, because about 10 billions of this will have to be charged up to the cost of the war. And the other government corporations show total profit of 684 million dollars.
 Out of the Byrd-Butler bill, the George bill to separate the loan agencies from Department of Com merce, the second Wallace-Jones fracas, Wallace's statement that REC should be investigated, Jones's statement that as Federal Loan Ad- ministrator he had powers that &C., tually scared him there should come some healthy reforms, and isn't it about high time?