DEVOTED TO TOE CIVIC, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEV^GPMENT ILLEGHANY COUNTY
Washington
Washington, July 5 (AS)—
Although there had been intima
tions that the Presiden had a
grand new spending scheme up
his sleeve, it came as a real sur
prise when he submitted to Con
gress a proposal to authorize the
expenditure of $3,860,000,000 as
a final attempt tq stimulate busi
ness recovery.
The President’s plan, incorpo
rated in a leter to Senator Byrnes
of South Carolina, who is his per
sonal spokesman in the Senate,
sets up a system of Governmental
agencies each having power to
borrow money from private in
vestors by the sale of their own
bonds or debentures. Thus the j
money so used would not add to
the National Debt, except that
money so borrowed would be
against the Government’s guaran
tee that the bonds would even
tually be repaid.
The project is based upon the
idea of using the funds so rais
ed to finance so-called “self-liqui
dating” enterprises, in which sev
eral of the New Deal agencies
have already had considerable
experience.
The Home Owners Loan Cor
poration, for instance, raised close
to three billion dollars by the
sale of its bonds, used the pro
ceeds to lend on long terms to
distressed home owners, and is
getting the money back, with in
terest.
I» Have to Make Good
The Government, however, will
have to make good any deficits,
and at present there is more
than $500,000,000 of foreclosed
home property on the books of,
the H.O.L.C., which has to be
sold at some price. Reconstruc
tion Finance Corporation and
P. W. A. have had considerable
experience in lending money on
self-liquidating projects, and have
had few losses.
The Farm Tenant program for
lending money to farm tenants
and laborers to buy their own
farms has not such a good record
of repayment. And American ex
perience with foreign loans has
not been altogether happy.
Having those experiences in
mind a considerable proportion
of Senators and Represenatives
were slightly dismayed when the
President’s plan came to them
out of an almost clear sky, coupl
ed with a request for immediate
action, so that the new spending
could begin at once, for the fiscal
year 1940, which started July 1,
1939.
The plan covers six amerent
types of spending the money to be
borrowed.
The Federal Works Agency
would be authorized to borrow
and lend $350 millions to cities,
towns and counties for water
works, sewage disposal plants,
bridges, hospitals and other muni
cipal projects; $750 millions to
build toll roads, bridges, high
speed highways and city byways,
to be paid for by tolls levied on
motorists using them; and $500
millions to buy railroad equip
ment to be leased to railroads
with the option of purchase.
The Rural Electrification Ad
ministration. would have authority
to borrow $460 millions addition
al, to lend to communities or ru
ral inhabitants to finance exten
sion of electric lines to their
homes.
To Borrow $500 Millions
The Farm Security Board would
be enabled to borrow an addition
al $500 millions to lend to ten
ant farm purchasers, rehabilita
tion of rundown farms, minor im
provements and repairs, for the
establishment of water facilities,
and to resettlement cooperatives.
The Export-Import Bank would
get authority to raise $500 mil
lions for short-term and long
term loans to foreign govern
ments to enable their people to
buy American goods.
In addition to those new pro
posals, the President accompani
ed his letter to Senator Byrnes
with a request for the approval of
the proposal already pending in
Congress, to increase fie borrow
ing power of the U. S. Housing
Administration by $800 millions,
to be lent bn 60^year terms for
model homes for the poor, to
take them out of city slums.
The Presidential estimate of
the amount of money raised by
this means which will be spent in
the year ending June 30, 1940,
if Congress approves, is $1,680,
000,000. This is in addition to the
$1,477,000,000 in direct appro^
priations for the W.P.A. and the
$1,100,000,000 carried in the Ag
ricultural Appropriation.
___ __;__:__
Capitol Hip is more than hinted I
at by those on the inside, in con
nection with the. Farm Bill and
the W.P.A. Bill. The <tfty Repre
senatives wanted the W.P-A. ap
propriation, but couldn't see the
needs of the fanners. The Fann
Lobby threatened to kill the W.
P. A- SOI, or cut the amount
down mAMi
Volume No. 15.
Foreign events
were watched
Monday night
—by President Roosevelt,
while he considered what
strategy the administration
might employ to drive
through Congress the kind of
neutrality legislation , it wants.
The chief executive, at Hyde
Park, N. Y., scanned a few of
ficial documents from Washing
ton, D. C., and spent considerable
time with his stamp collection in
the library of his home.
Beside him, however, was a
summer White House telephone
through which he was able to
keep in touch with Washington
or, if need be, American diplo
mats in Europe. He had no call
ers.
It was understood the President
would outline to congressional
leaders on his return to Wash- J
ington Wednesday the steps he
wants taken on the neutrality
issue.
The controversy over neutral
ity w7as further complicated Fri
day when the House, against ad
ministration wishes, wrote into a
neutrality bill a modified arms em
bargo provision.
Some legislators took the posi
tion that any form of arms em
bargo would penalize France and
England, if they went to war, by
denying them weapons which oth
erwise could be escorted across
the Atlantic by their sea forces.
Mr. Roosevelt has made it
clear he wants action on neutral
ity legislation this session. Wheth
er reaction abroad to the neutral
ity votes in the House would
strengthen his insistence or
whether he might change his mind
rather than risk stormy debate
in a Senate which already has
rebelled against his monetary
powers were questions for which
there were no immediate answers.
Young people of
the Winston-Salem
Presbytery
—are holding their annual
conference this week at
Glade Valley High School.
Eighty-five young people
are attending, representing 25
churches of the Presbytery, which
make up about 55 per cent of
the churches.
The faculty in charge is as fol
lows: Rev. J. W. Witherspoon,
pastor of the Lexington Presby
terian Church, director; Dr. J.
M. Gettys, Queens-Chicora Col
lege, Charlotte, teacher of Bible;
Rev. W. C. Cooper, pastor of the
Mocksville Presbyterian Church,
Young People.’s Work, and Miss
Mary Louise Woodson, director of
Young People’s Work, Synod of
North Carolina; Miss Kathryn
Hunt, Jefferson, Rev. Charles
Hutton, pastor of Reynold Pres
byterian Church, Winston-Salem;
Consecration Service, Rev. John
W. Foster, pastor of the Thomas
ville Presbyterian Church; Miss
Edna Higgins, Winston-Salem, di
rector of Recreation; Miss Janie
Mclver, secretary of Religious
Education for the Winston-Salem
Presbyterial, Counselor for Girls,
and Miss Virginia Neemer, Wins
ton-Salem, pianist.
Rep. Griswold,
of Wisconsin, died
at the wheel
—of his automobile in Washing
ton, D. C., Tuesday afternoon*
from a heart attack. He was 53
years of age and was serving his
first term in Congress. He was a
Republican.
Griswold had been driving with
his wife and daughter, Mary. Ap
parently feeling the attack com
ing on he suddenly pulled the car
to a curb and stopped. He died a
few minutes later. Friends said
he apparently had been in good
health.
I