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Show 'fpP FIRST BIG RFC LOAN IS FULLY PAID UP THE FIRST large loan made by the Reconstruction Finance corporation corpo-ration has been repaid to the last dollar. In 1931 when the banking situation was extremely bad in all sections, Chicago was an especially hot spot. Many of the smaller banks of the city had closed and some of the larger larg-er ones were threatened with withdrawal with-drawal demands on the part of depositors, de-positors, which, although solvent, they might not have been able to meet because of inadequate cash re-'serves. re-'serves. Of these, the Central Trust, of which Gen. Charles Dawes was president, was one. It had a run on Friday and Saturday, and if it had continued on Monday without help from other sources, it would probably prob-ably have had to close for lack of available cash. The closing of that bank would undoubtedly have precipitated pre-cipitated a general bank crash in Chicago and other cities. Under these conditions, an appeal was made by the Chicago Banks to the Reconstruction Finance corporation for help for Central Trust Some four years ago former-President former-President Hoover told me of the anxious hours he spent at his summer sum-mer camp near Washington during Saturday night, Sunday and Sunday night. With direct telephone connections con-nections to New York, Chicago and Washington, he made every possible possi-ble effort to meet the situation without with-out a loan from RFC. He knew the loan was justified. He knew Central Cen-tral Trust could pay out in time. He knew the integrity and ability of General Dawes. The general disliked dis-liked the idea of receiving aid from RFC because the President was his friend. His bank was in no worse predicament than some of the others oth-ers but had suffered the misfortune of encountering a more severe run than others had up to that Saturday. Mr. Hoover told me he made every effort of which he was capable to procure relief for the Chicago situation without an advance from RFC. He worked at the job without any intermission from Saturday until un-til before dawn Monday, but without success, and finally authorized the loan and instructed the treasury to rush ninety millions in currency to Chicago. That the loan was justified was evidenced by the relief in the situation situa-tion of all the larger banks in Chicago. Chi-cago. That his faith in the integrity and ability of General Dawes was justified has been proved by the payment pay-ment in full of that $90,000,000. And no depositor of Central Trust lost a dollar. FINANCIAL TOWER OF BABEL UNDER CONSTRUCTION WITH THE HELP and support of the American people, Samuel Insull built a towering, top-heavy financial structure measured in millions. When it toppled over and we lost, we damned Insull and demanded his punishment Insull fled the country to escape our wrath. He could not have built that financial myth without with-out our support and help. Today we are assisting in building another financial tower of Babel that is measured in billions, instead of the Insull millions. The government's govern-ment's expenditures are backed only by our ability to pay. The billions bil-lions that congress so blithely appropriates ap-propriates must come out of the sweat of our brows, and there is a limit to what we can pay. When that limit is reached, there will be a crash that will be a hurricane hurri-cane as compared to the gentle zephyr of the Insull failure. The hysteria or insanity of us Americans Ameri-cans will be responsible, as we were for the Insull collapse. We are building the top-heavy structure that will topple over and bury us in a financial morass. Whom will we damn for that catastrophe? For what are your representatives in congress voting? . RAILROAD WAGES RAILROAD employees are demanding de-manding a heavy increase in wages. If they get it, each farmer will pay more transportation on the products he sends to market. Each housewife house-wife will pay more for the food for her family. The railroads will pass the increase Milong to their patrons if they are permitted to do so. If not, thoy will probably be in the hands of receivers and the several millions of Americans who have invested in-vested their savings In railroad securities will lose. Railroad net enrnings will not permit the paying ut more money unless more is taken In. It is from such tilings L;i'. inflation Is born. OI. I) AND Ni:V H1TLF.R IS MORTAL, just as we are mortal. His expectation of days or years of life can be no greater than that of other mortals. With his death will come an end of the vast slnii'tuic of hate he hus buildcd on the bodies of conquered people, in-eluding in-eluding thi'-io of the Germans. It will topple nml fall. In its place will eonip some other demonstration of the power politics of Europe, of which we may or may not approve, bill which we cannot control, no in;. Iter how we tried. |