THE FAIR DEAL: Something for the Boys

Harry Truman is no man to let Congress steal his political thunder. Though a Senate-House subcommittee had already made a series of recommendations to help small businessmen (TIME, April 3), the President was apparently determined to show that he was a better friend of small business. Last week, in a special message, he recommended that Congress:

¶ Sponsor federal insurance of bank loans up to $25,000 for small firms.

¶ Set up private companies under federal charter and supervision to furnish risk capital and long-term loans to firms requiring more than $25,000.

¶Increase RFC's lending powers by boosting the maximum loan period from ten to 15 years, and by relaxing RFC's collateral requirements.

¶Give the Secretary of Commerce charge of most of the program and put RFC under Commerce Department supervision.

The President's proposals followed the line of bills already pending before Congress. But what the President and the authors of the congressional bills overlooked was that many a small businessman did not want Government help of the kind they proposed. Small businessmen wanted tax relief to encourage risk capital investment. In a resolution approved by its 600,000 members, the Conference of American Small Business Organizations said: "There exists grave danger to our economy [in] the rapidly increasing Government loans and guarantees. These funds could better be used to help balance our budget and reduce our Government debt. Revision of tax laws can afford better benefits to all small business than credit relief or subsidies."