FAILURE IN AMERICA

Hawera Star, Volume LIII, 9 March 1934, Page 3

FAILURE IN AMERICA

CROP LOANS FOR. FARMERS WASHINGTON, March 1. President Roosevelt has candidly confessed that his scheme for aiding farmers by crop loans had failed, and lie will now vote 40,000,000 dollars to taper off the policy, rather than end such aid with a jerk. Previous crop loans had shown a heavy loss to the Government, because administrative costs exceeded the interest collected. Last year’s loans aggregated 100,000,000 dollars. Yet normal loans for seed, until two years ago, had never exceeded 6,000,000 dollars. Officials say the Government has lost 54,000,000 dollars. Under the new scheme now being worked out farmers- must band together in their counties and borrow from credit corporations run by the Government, putting up land or equipment as security, instead of merely ; their crop, as formerly. Loans have been given mainly to poor farmers barely ekeing out an existence, hut after this year the Government hopes to shift these men to other lands or to subsistence homesteads where they will he carried on relief.