Salt Lake Tribune | 1918-03-31 | Page 35 | Conferees Agree on Finance Corporation

CONFEREES AGREE 01 FIICEWORATI Capital Stock Fixed at $500,000,000; May Issue Three Billions in Bonds. WASHINGTON, March 30. Aa agreement on the administration bill to create a war finance corporation, fixing fix-ing its capital stock at $500,000,000, the amount of bonds it may issuo at $3,000,-000,000, $3,000,-000,000, aud providing a voluntary system sys-tem for licensing security issues, -was readied today by the senate and house conferees. The conferees compromised the dispute dis-pute over the bond authorization, which had been fixed at $4,000,000,000 by the senate and $2,000,000,000 by the house. The corporation bill will consist of Secretary MeAdoo (ex officio) nnd four . directors, with salaries of $12,000 each. The voluntary capital issues licensing committee will consist of seven members, mem-bers, with salaries of $7500 each, appointed ap-pointed by the president, subject to confirmation con-firmation by the senate. In compromising the dispute over advances ad-vances of the corporation through the federal reserve banks, the conferees provided that the interest rate shall be one per cent higher than the discount rate in the respective reserve districts. They struck out the house provision restricting re-stricting such advances when tho banks had not exhausted their resources in loans on commercial paper. In the case of direct loans in exceptional ex-ceptional cases by the corporation to war industries, including railroads and public utilities, the conferees retained the senate provision for "adequate" security, and instead of requiring 133 per cent security, as the house bill provided, pro-vided, the conferees fixed the security basis as 12." per cent and provided that the loans shall bo made on the basis of the value of assets of tho borrower. Another provision adopted by the conferees would prohibit the corporation corpora-tion from loaning more than 10 per cent of its capital stock 'to anv person or bank, except to railroads tVir additions, addi-tions, betterments and road extension. Indirect loans through the federal reserve re-serve bank to any one person or corporation cor-poration shall not exceed 1212 per cent of Hie total capita stock aud authorized bonds. As the lull now stands, it is radically modified from the original mry?rr f-;io-mitfed. which proposes to vest a, any more powers in the secretary of the treasury.