Show Little Evidence Seen of Farm Land Speculation Rural America Seen as Bulwark Against War Post-War Depression Nervous Gentlemen Admit Possibilities of Speculative Wave j t. t I- I By BAUKHAGE 4 Jr-fJ Jr Y News Analyst and Commentator f l' l Service Union Trust Building Washington Washing D. D Ci C. C i to If It you see a cheerful glow along the horizon of rural America these evenings you'll know what it is not is-not not nota a prairie fire or the neighbors neighbor's barn but the happy light of burning mort mort- gages gaces m The farmers of America have had their lesson They arent aren't throwing their money around this time They are pa paying ing their debts They are 4 becoming the solid citizens of the nation They are building a bulwark bulwark bul bul- wark against a war post depression that can save the nation financially unless Right RiCht now the financial health of c. c rural America is better than it has hasi i been in many a long decade But i certain nervous gentlemen are beginning be be- 1 ginning to worry Will the farmer keep keel to the straight and narrow or orwill will he be tempted to put down an option on distant hills which are bee beginning be be- e f. f ginning to turn an alluring green i Listen to what one of those cautious cautious cau cau- gentlemen in Washington Frank Wilson of the department of commerce has to say Why you t may ask does the department of commerce whose job it is to look r after lifter the welfare of the city man worry about the farmer Well when the farmer goes coes broke the city man e. e closes up shop But a 8 word fromi from i Mr Wilson j While the level of farm values throughout most parts of the Middle r a West has increased 10 io to 15 per centi cent 1 i Jn Sn the last year and the transfer of ot l farm properties has been greatly accelerated ac ac- ac there is is as yet no evidence evidence evi evi- dence of the recurrence of the deI destructive de de- de- de speculation in farm lands which followed the First World war I So far so good But here is Mr 1 Wilsons Wilson's postscript 1 Farm lending authorities throughout through r. r iv out that area h however wever admit that conditions are in hi the making from which a speculative wave might reI result result re re- re- re sult unless price control measures can be effective in holding farm I prices at or only moderately above I present levels Mortgage Survey i r The department of commerce v- v made a survey of the farm mortgage Y situation in 19 sta where states tes' tes where the bulkY bulk of the food production for war is isi i being made I The federal land banks and the theL L Farm Credit administration which I t has been watching this situation like likes s a hawk has plenty of data One out of every ten ten ten-or or more than farmer borrowers from the 12 fedt federal fed led t l. l era eral 1 land banks and land bank comIt commissioner com cam It r missioner repaid his loan In full InI in I 1942 In the 19 states the department of 4 commerce studied according to the 1940 census there were more than I three million farms more than half of all the farms in the country Their i total value is well over half the total value of farm lands in the country r. r i The survey of this territory just made public shows that in 1940 41 and 42 indebtedness of farmers to the Farm Credit administration dropped a quarter of a billion dol lars This includes the drouth area 1 in Kansas one of the states hit hardest hard est by the drouth farmers got out of debt and Kansas borrowers I f kept right on paying until they had deposited a million dollars In the future payment fund to anticipate labor installments Similar statistics could be reeled of off for other areas One thing that has helped the debt f payment is the Inability to get into 1 further debt for debt for automobiles and other commodities which just arent aren't for lor sale Will that memory fade Will the farmers farmer's money begin to burn bum a hole in his pocket Will those green pastures pastures pas pas- tures just over the hill begin to lure 1 him beyond his means As I said the cautious folk in hi Washington are a little worried These are some of the danger signals sig nals they see sec A possible rise in values which cannot be exactly predicted or ex ex- But which is always a pos pas i If not now after the war Then there will be an accumulation I E of cash there will be a lot of war bonds in the thc safe deposit box or In Inthe the old sock There will be a lot of i husky young sons returning from the ther L r war for whom fathers will want to toW W J buy farms there will be perhaps an increased demand for farm tarm products as new foreign markets are opened or the Ue United States begins to help feed a starving world In some places there Is evidence of the tendency toward speculation now Lenders in Iowa are offering money against Iowa farm land as low as 2 per cent Speculation in livestock is going on In some places But there Is no trend now toward the wild buying of ot World War I. I And says sas Mr Wilson toil if the tremendous gains in the farm Indebtedness indebtedness in In- situation can be held the capacity of the great agricultural areas of the nation to absorb the thc flood of products that will come to all markets after the war will be tremendous The financial fate of war post-war America is pretty much in the hands of the farmers Lets Let's hope he wont won't let it and his spare cash slip through his fingers Way Two-Way Attack On Beveridge Plan When the administrations administration's Beveridge Beveridge Bev plan for Increased social Security security security se se- and war post-war adjustment was made macle public con congress cress proceeded tomake tomake to tomake make It plain that they intended to pigeon-hole pigeon it The general impression sion zion was that it was laid away because because be be- cause it was too socialistic to suit the right wingers or even some of the the middle But do not think that all the opposition op position came from one direction The first adventure of the new social security program was in reality very much like the Charge of the Light Brigade for there were cannons cannons can fans to right richt of them and also cannons to left of them which volleyed volleyed vol vol- and thundered As I said the offensive from the right was taken for granted But the attack of the left eft wing while not as vocal seems to be just as vehement There is proof in a press release which probably probably probably ably was released by very few pa pa- pers It comes from the Peoples Lobby in Washington an institution which believes in public ownership of natural resources basic industries and essential processing and distributive distributive distributive agencies But the Peoples Lobby thinks the Presidents President's plan is nowhere near socialistic enough In fact it is just another trick to try to lull the people into a sense of false security while economic royalists continue through ownership to dictate the standards of living of the American people S S Washington Washington- Geometric City The other day I heard on a radio broadcast the statement that Washington Washington Washington Wash Wash- ington was a geometric city We have so many squares and circles and other geometric figures figures figures-Dupont Dupont circle that I pass every day Lafayette Lafayette Lafay Lafay- ette square with its historic memories memories memo memo- ries ties not to mention its squirrels where I spend my extra seconds the Octagon house built by a wealthy friend of George Washington where society was lavishly entertained Inthe inthe in inthe the early now preserved bythe bythe by bythe the American Institute of Architects which bought it to preserve its stately state ly beauty as well as to house their offices the sprawling Penta Pentagon con building of the army a city with witha a roof over It With this in mind I was suddenly impressed with the new patterns Imposed Im posed on Washington since the war the human figures two of which I watched over my lunch in a restaurant rant the other day At the next table were not circles nor squares but human loops and bulges One was a slim man In eyeglasses His nose was a loop his smooth hair was looped back over his forehead His gestures were looped the back backof of the wrist rist bent and higher than his fingertips as he dangled his c cigarette ciga ga rette rette-I rette I could only think of the paws of a lackadaisical pup begging for fora a sweet His partner was Mr Bulge The bulge began below the wrinkle in his vest and it was the only thing that kept him far enough away from the table to save his bulging nose from reaching the soup I could hear him inhaling His hands bulged like the padded arms of an overstuffed chair in a hotel lobby His cheeks were pink and bulging hams Washington Is learning new lessons lessons les les- lessons sons in human geometry |