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Show HAIL FINANCES MEMRUSED Conference in Washington Lays Foundation for Plan for Supplying Fund, Meets Situation Caused by Failure of Congress to Pass Money Bill. "WASHINGTON", March 11. Railroad executives and government representatives representa-tives today laid the foundation for the machinery through which loans of banks and the war finance corporation will be made available to railroads during the next few months in lieu of the funds which congress failed to provide. After conferences between a number of leading railway corporation, officers and officials of the war. finance corporation and railroad administration, a special finance committee of seven, headed by Howard Elliott, president of the Northern North-ern Pacific, was created by the railroad executives to co-operate with government agencies as a clearing house for financial arrangements. Swager Sherley of Louisville, who has just retired after serving, sixteen years, in the house of representatives, recently as chairman of the house appropriations committee, W36 appointed by Director General Hincs as director of the railroad administration's division of finance, suc ceeding John Skeiton wiiiiams, resigned. On Mr. Sherley, who will take office April 15, will fall much of the work of administering admin-istering the financial plans yet to bo developed, de-veloped, j Warrants Provided For. An important feature of the financial : mechanics of the arrangements to be made may be the issuance by the railroad,, administration of government warrants to railroads for tho amounts due them i on settlements of last year's accounts and , other debts. These warrants, virtually i certificates of Indebtedness, would not be i cashed until congress appropriates funds j at the next session, but would serve as j collateral for leans. The loans would be I arranged by each railroad company individually indi-vidually with its bankers, or in special cases with xhe war finance corporation. The railway executives' special committee, together with the railroad administration's financial agencies, would facilitate the negotiation and distribution of these loans. Companies whose financial strength was not great mij;ht be helped by the railroad administration, which will get some funds through repayment by railroads of advances already made to them. Final Plans Are Pending, These plans were outlined today by Director General Hines and the railway executives, but it was emphasized that final plans remain i-o be made. P.ailroad administration and war finance corporation corpora-tion officials will confer tomorrow with Secretary (.Jloaa of the treasury, and Thursday Mr, Hines will discuss the financial fin-ancial situation with railroad car and locomotive lo-comotive builders and with the executives' committee. Although no bankers participated partici-pated directly in the conferences todav they will be conpulted informally by the executives and railroad administration officials. of-ficials. A number of prominent bankers were here during tho day to confer privately pri-vately with railroad he.'ids. It appears probable that the war financo corporation will try to limit its loans tovrailroad corporations with ample credit, without reference to the government, govern-ment, warrants as collateral, a rid every (Continued on Page 2, Column 2.) K ARRANGED (Continued from Page One.) effort, will lio m;irlo hy 1 ho Kovormnent ;j.u''iirifH lo tin'ciuruft UinkorH la Luk; up i.iu.l. ot tlio Iomiis rotHiirud. Uniform Interest Rates. At t ho s:nn.i linif the: railio:nl a rj ni n -iMi'aliun v.1 ill try U I'SlaMish : larc ('KVL'ti of uni fi irniii v in ii.UTe.st raK's. '1'his will he- fa-:ilii;il d by Llie jiui.MiLial I'ufJOiin'cH ot' the war nuance curiJOra tio'i. St'f-rociry (ihiss at tin conlVrcnco Loniui-: row h e. .: U"l io t'liiphiiHtze, the desire of ihr- i rf-a.Miry lo kei-) rain-cad .sei-uri- ; tip;- ol't' Ihc uiarUct until :ift';r the Vic.iory : i .il.-i-L' lua n, which i'rol)a 1 -ly will dote .May 10. Tills can he. dnnr: tlnuut;b no- ; fotialins: short-u-r-ii hank loann. ' J La i I roacl cx-m-u I ivoh hte. tcjfiay cron led a com rail t-c ot s'jveii, with Mowai'd 101- I Hott , i (resident of I he Northern i'aeif iu, I r.H chaiiinau, to cc- o ra to with the. rail- I load ai'rtanh-lrai ion, ihn w:ii' finance corporation cor-poration and hiinkLi-y in arranging railroad f iuatieey. Other memhei's of the ccnimiswion are: Mherl H. Jlari'is, vice inesideut of Ihti j New Vor; t'cntral ; Itohert S. iOVU. I proisidenl. of tin: Union Pacific; Hamuoi i Kea, president of the L'snnsyivnnia; Henry 1 Kuhlen'ler, pi-i-sident of the l-Yisr-o; lh nry Waiters, eliairniau of tho Atlantic 'oast 'Line, and 1'anlel WilUird, president of I 11k b-altiniorti Ohio. i Thorn to Be Counsel. A If red. I Thorn wili be con use 1 of th special finance commit tec and George M. Sh river, vice prevalent of the Baltimore Ohio, will hi- in charge of the Recounts. Re-counts. K. C. Hucklund, president cf the Xew Haven, will be secretary. "It is the S'.MiSO of this conforenrA of railroad executives' said a resolution, "LhEiL the railroad t:om ra ti ie.s will, in the present financial cinei'(;(;iicy, co-or"'Ji';Ue in every pi'eticahle aiid reasonable way with the railroad admin is tra lion in its efforts to provide for financial requirements, pending an appmpnaaion by congress to relieve tho situation. "While the problem?, to be met n re la rtrely matters between the indi vidua I roa ds. the railroad administration, the war finance corporation 'and the bankers, it is deemed wise to have the general subject sub-ject supervised or. behalf of the raihoad companies by a control committee, with power to consider the questions- involved, and to five such aid mid co-operation and to inuke such suggestions as may be possible pos-sible to the individual roads, to the dirt'. di-rt'. -tor g'-n- ral. to the war finance corpora-t'on corpora-t'on and to the bankers: it being- understood under-stood that such, committee is not to have power to commit any individual company without its assent." |