Show SEtEN SEN and HEl around nd t tN e tl N ONAL CAPITAL API TAtI fr Carter CarterField Field Washington With Jesse II H. Jones chairman of the Reconstruction tion Finance corporation leading one side and Senator George W W. Norris Morris leading the other a terrific battle has been going on for or months as to whether the government shall shaU go ahead with its spending and gradually encroach more and more moreon moreon moreon on private initiative or or whether it II shall stop where it Is now despite an en unemployment situation which seems to cry to heaven for more government spending Jones' Jones viewpoint Is represented by bythe bythe bythe the bill now being rushed through congress to provide liberal long- long term loans to business Senator viewpoint Is advocated advocated ad advocated by Marriner S. S Eccles of the federal reserve board by Harry L. L Hopkins of and by Harold L. L Ickes of and whatnot Jones Jones' view Is that relief is just justa a shot In the arm that employment employ ment must be taken care of by private private vate business which therefore must be aided by the government if necessary essary by liberal term long low low- Interest loans At the moment President Roosevelt Roosevelt Roose Roose- velt volt Is on Jones' Jones side But it is Interesting to read a public pub pub- lie lic statement made by the federal power commission right In the midst of this battle batUe It is dated April 1 I and is headed Federal power commission prepared to b begin gln Fort Worth Texas survey on or about April 10 It is interesting chiefly because of various things the President has said in the last few months since months since he became worried about the reces reces- sion slon He Asks Aks Why For Instance his talk with the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh electric elec elec- tic utility officials about which beat he be heat heat at once told the newspaper men Summed up he asked these utility magnates if any government compe compe- petition threatened their systems They said not Then why he asked them and the press later did not investors rush in to supply the estimated billion dollars a year that the electric industry should spend to keep abreast of the growing growing grow grow- ing demand Apparently there was no answer Still still later after the Supreme court decision upholding loans and grants for municipal power plants and distribution systems the President told the press he assumed as as- umed negotiations would be beun be be- gun un with the owners of the private vate ate plants looking to their purchase pur pur- chase base by the local governments so sois as is to avoid duplication of facilities Consider how encouraging this sentence from the April 1 power commission statement must be to tomy any my prospective Investor In the elec dec ric industry The proposed surey survey sur sur- vey ey does not contemplate appraisal and valuation of the privately owned electric facilities now serving the city but an engineering estimate of the cost of constructing a a. a new distribution system capable of serving servo Ing ng the entire city at the present time and for some years in the fu- fu ture ure The power commissions commission's statement state state- ment meat also explains the expected source of power power for this proposed municipal system The Lower Colorado River authority is a state agency created by y the Texas legislature for flood control reclamation and hydroelectric hydro electric purposes Its program provides for the construction of four dams all to produce electric power on the Colorado river of which two are arc practically completed and two are under construction The program pro pro- gram ram is being financed by a 15 15 federal loan and grant from the he and by direct appropriations appropriations I of approximately from rom the bureau of reclamation from torn federal relief funds Heres Here's Optimum There Is more optimism and more agreement about the possibilities of ol the he new Dew industrial loans bill than anything so far proposed to help in inthe inthe the he present business recession On taxes axes the congress and the President President President dent are almost at opposite poles The senate for tor example is determined deter mined to wipe out the tax on undistributed un tin- distributed earnings and even the house douse would leave only a face sav i ing trace of it Almost the same difference exists between the capItol capItol capitol cap- cap Itol and the White House on the capital cap ital Ual gains tax nut But on the idea of Industrial loans there seems to be very genera general agreement except that rold lI LIckes L L. Ickes public works administrator does not like it Nor does Harry L L. Hopkins Hopkin I like some of the Implies Implies- involved particularly that relief re reo re- re lief is only a shot in the armand armand armand arm and that the real way to solve the unemployment problem Is to encourage encourage en en- courage private business Ickes of course objects primar fly lly to one feature of the bill This Thi would tend to take away from hi his some lome of the functions It ha has performed lie He says with some lorne truth that there is not much likelihood like like- of 01 getting projects with n no subsidy attached after aUer such luch a long period of granting gifts along with loans nut But the main features of the bill the le feature on which its backers backert really eally place their hope is not this project feature at all aiL but the plan planor for or lending money to private industries Indus Indus- tries ries which for one reason or another anther an an- other ther have not been able to borrow the he money they would like to use use for or plant additions and for new equipment Their difficulty has been created it t Is freely admitted by the government govern govern- government ment so 10 it seems fair that the government gov gov- should take a hand In rectifying rec rec- the trouble Where Trouble Lies The difficulty has been with the securities and exchange commis commis- slon Ion law This has made almost impossible the floating of small security se- se issues by local Industries The lie penalties involved for any misstatement mis- mis statement any holding out of hope for or profits not absolutely justified etc tc are such that the little business managers have been terrified So they hey have just done nothing Normally Normally Nor Nor- mally of course they could find pleny plea plen- ty y of Investors or suckers to buy their heir securities promising them all sorts orts of profits SEC has made that too oo dangerous So the new corporation loans willbe will wili wille be e made to these enterprises gov gov- money being lent with no time time limit limit required required required-by by the law law law-as as aso to o when it must be repaid The present reconstruction finance corporation cor cor- law requires that no loans can an be made with a maturity date later ater than February 1 I 1915 The idea will be to require some local ocal participation in the loan preferably from a local bank so as to have lave a watchdog on the ground for forthe forthe forthe the governments government's money President Roosevelt is sold not only on the Idea of hurdling the difficulties Imposed by SEC restrictions ions but of encouraging ng employ ment lie He definitely swings for the time ime being to some of his more conservative supporters and temporarily tern tem at least he is convinced that hat relief Is just a shot in the arm while permanent aid must I come from private employment Incidentally Jesse H. H Jones to oft off set et the often otten made charge that he hea heis heis is a a miser with money told I Ithe the he senate committee that from 15 to o 20 per cent of loans are in some stage of default Which is Jones Jones' way o of promising that he will willbe wille be e liberal on the Industrial loans Mexican Affairs Mexican affairs will take a very different turn from that generally expected in the oil controversy according to well advised sources in Washington Not only will President dent lent Lazaro Cardenas stand firm on his ils seizure of American and other oil fields but he will force the private vate oil interests dispossessed to market the oil from them I The point is that Cardenas is s expected to agree to pay for the wells but will agree to pay for them in oil So that It t will be up to the companies to see seeto seeto seeto to it the oil Is refined and sold or or else get no money On the silver policy Mexico is worried but will not be forced to yield She needs silver sliver for her own currency and she needs the sale of silver to provide exchange Already some of her mines are closed down also the plant of the American Smelting and Refining company at Monterey Cardenas plans lans to tell the company to operate or he will seize that too Cardenas knows perfectly that his seizure of the oil fields was not the main reason for the United States Treasury's reduction of the price of silver sliver but that that that-it it was only the ex cx cuse lie He knows that President R Roosevelt had been looking for some excuse to stop propping up the Jie world silver sliver price for a long longtime time ime time as a from the silver silver silver sil sil- sil- sil ver policy polley that the United States embarked on in the early days of the New Deal In order to placate our silver producers and the Cardenas is not encouraged therefore by the specious argument that under the law the Treasury must buy silver sliver and if it buys it abroad will merely be adding a two two- way freight charge to Mexican MexicanS sil all vcr Cardenas does not weigh the text of laws as do some Americans nor does he think the Washington government will be too much hampered hampered hampered ham ham- in that direction In which opinion he Is joined by some shrewd observers here especially the silver sil silo ver and senators who are frankly worried Cuts Silver Subsidy Roosevelt dl discovered covered on New Years Year's day that he could reduce the domestic silver subsidy without an earthquake despite the plaintive cries of senators from the sliver silver states Mexico's program of government ownership of everything is marching march ing on The silver sliver move is more mor likely to expedite it than to delay it Cardenas realizes also that he ha has the whip hand from a diplomatic diplomat standpoint Secretary of State Cordell Cor dell Hull is already very much disturbed dis dis- at nt the repercussions throughout through through- out Latin Latin America America where th the strength of Mexico's position is no not yet realized and the picture seems seem to be of the Colossus of vi the North using her financial strength to coerce coerce co Cu- erce an economically weaker neigh neigh- bor Up to a few years ago only a landing party of marines could have aroused much sympathy for forthe forthe I Ithe i the invaded country or indignation against Washington But Dut the Latin Latin- I I Americans now realize the implications implies lions of economic domination tf B Ben Bell U Syndicate Service Ic I |