FARMERS: Runt Relief

• Share

(3 of 3)

Unyoking Mortgages. Of larger scope and hope than the price-upping bill were plans a-making at the White House last week to ease the farmers' mortgage yoke. President Roosevelt conferred long with Congressional leaders who prepared to couple a mortgage relief measure to the farm bill in the Senate. Pondered was the following proposal:

Let the Government issue through the Federal Land Banks one or two billion dollars worth of long-term 2½% or 3% bonds. Let the Land Banks absorb the Joint Stock Land Banks for $500,000,000. Let holders of "frozen" farm mortgages turn them in to the Land Banks for good Federal bonds and the Land Banks issue new mortgages on farm property at an interest rate of not more than i% above that paid on the bonds. Or let the Land Banks lend farmers enough to pay up their back taxes and interest and make a new and better deal with their own mortgage holders. Such a scheme pivoted on the belief that mortgagees would gladly reduce principal and interest in return for either a cash settlement or a government-guaranteed security of less value.