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V.gabond Editorials
By Jack Dionne
A friend of mine expresses the opinion that Recovery is coming back to this country in spite of everything we are doing to bring it back. Y"t; i1.. so long as it comes !
"Intellectual prostitutes" is what Creneral Johnson in his recent Chicago speech called editors who criticize him. If I am not mistaken in my reading the General sort of made a red light district of the newspaper profession that time.
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Rexford Guy Tugwell, of the Brain Trust and the Department of Agriculture evidently decided that diatribe against critics is one of the honors and emoluments of official position at present, and he burst into print dubbing criticism of governmental crop and food manipulation because of the drouth "infantile, obscene, and wicked." But I know a man who forgets rnore about the economics of agriculture every morning than Mr. Tugwell will ever know, who thinks the same thing about this agricultural planning that Mr. Tugwell thinks about those who attack it. So what? ***
Good news. The new Federal Housing program is apparently taking a splendid start. Believing as I have from the beginning that it will either be a monumental success or a complete flop, this start is indeed reassuring. The very stagnation of credit that prevails and has for so long prevailed in this entire country, together with the evergrowing visibility of buitding needs throughout the land, could very easily bring about a building landslide. ***
If we can believe the reports emanating from Washington with regard to professed eagerness on the part of financial institutions throughotrt the country to participate in this program and loan money for building and remodeling purposes, together with local reports from many sections apparently telling the same story, we may assrune that the Housing Act is at least to have a flying start. ***
It is by no rneans beyond the range of possibility that this Housing Act could be the final straw to break the back of Depression by turning loose money and credit that will errrploy millions of men, and really get the wheels of industry turning once more. Let us join together in prayer. ***
This Act aims to aid depressed industry by promoting PRMTE investment in PRIVATE property; induces property owners or holders to rnake improvements at a cost of six per cent a year that will prevent deterioration of ten or more per cent annually; creates TAX-PAYING property; increases business, employment, and money turnover in communities where they are much needed, and helps those industries in which there is the most unemployment. ***
The Government invests no money. This is the one Governmental agency created to promote Recovery that does NOT contemplate and include the use of Government cash. In the case of remodeling the Government guarantees 20 per cent of the loan, and, since so great a loss as 20 per cent in building loans has never been heard of, it practically means that the Government gives the lender of the money to be used for repairing and remodeling a complete guarantee against loss on intelligently made loans. ***
A wonderful and needful thing which this Act will accomplish if it becomes generally effective and used, will be the elimination of the terrible and indefensible old secondmortgage, which has robbed more worthy people of their homes than any other human agency. It will likewise eliminate interest sharks. The day of the 12 to l8 per cent carrying charge for the honest man and woman who want to own a home, will be gone forever. ***
And a lot of the objections that we heard to this Housing Act were really the thinly disguised weeping and wailing of the interest and the service-charge sharks, who felt that if this guarantee of low interest rates and low senrice charges and long years to pay for homes,,came in, one of the lousiest rackets that ever befouled a worttry industry would have to go out. The remodeling loans under ttris Act will cost about 5 per cent, with a five dollar a year service charge, and to the horne builder the cost will be between five and six per cent interest, plus one-half to one per cent for insurance on the'mortgage.***
Now this thing isn't going to sell itself. It is going to have to be sold. Good real estate merchants, and good building merchants, and good lumber merchants are going to have to go out into the highways and the byways and demonstrate and prove to people that it is to their advantage to go in debt to improve their properties, or to build new homes. Like all the other good things of this world,
ALWAYS_ SUDDENSEnvICE
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KLAMATH FALIS, OREGON
Manufacturers of Klamath Soft Pine
