making his examination of the laws of the several States and forming his conclusions thereon said Farm Loan Commissioner may call Commissioner may upon the office of the Attorney General of the United States for any ask advice from office needed legal advice or assistance, or may employ special counsel in employ special counsel any State where he considers such action necessary. of Attorney General or in any State. State may require Farm Executive of any At the request of the Executive of any State the Federal Farm Loan Board to state Loan Board shall prepare a statement setting forth in what respects wherein its require the requirements of said board can not be complied with under the with State laws. existing laws of such State. ments are at variance Applicant who know. ingly makes false state valuation shall be punished. cepts a loan or gratuity shall be punished. PENALTIES. SEC. 31. That any applicant for a loan under this Act who shall ment or appraiser who knowingly make any false statement in his application for such loan, willfully makes over- and any member of a loan committee or any appraiser provided for in this Act who shall willfully overvalue any land offered as security for loans under this Act, shall be punished by a fine of not exceeding Examiner who ac- $5,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both. Any from bank, or person examiner appointed under this Act who shall accept a loan or graconnected therewith, tuity from any land bank or national farm loan association examined by him, or from any person connected with any such bank or association in any capacity, shall be punished by a fine of not exceeding $5,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both, and may be fined a further sum equal to the money so loaned or gratuity. given, and shall forever thereafter be disqualified from holding office form other service for as an examiner under the provisions of this Act. No examiner, compensation for bank, while holding such office, shall perform any other service for compensation for any bank or banking or loan association, or for any person connected therewith in any capacity. No examiner can per or person connected with it. Penalty prescribed for forgery and counterfeiting. For uttering false or forged instrument. Any person who shall falsely make, forge, or counterfeit, or cause or procure to be falsely made, forged, or counterfeited, or willingly aid or assist in falsely making, forging, or counterfeiting any bond, coupon, or paper in imitation of, or purporting to be in imitation of, the bonds or coupons issued by any land bank or national farm loan association, now or hereafter authorized and acting under the laws of the United States; or any person who shall pass, utter, or publish, or attempt to pass, utter, or publish any false, forged, or counterfeited bond, coupon, or paper purporting to be issued by any such bank or association, knowing the same to be falsely made, forged, or counterfeited; or whoever shall falsely alter, or cause or procure to be falsely willingly aiding therein. altered, or shall willingly aid or assist in falsely altering any such bond, coupon, or paper, or shall pass, utter, or publish as true any falsely altered or spurious bond, coupon, or paper issued, or purporting to have been issued, by any such bank or association, knowing the same to be falsely altered or spurious, shall be punished by a fine of not exceeding $5,000 or by imprisonment not exceeding five years, or both. For altering same or No compensation al cept usual salary or fee. Other than the usual salary or director's fee paid to any officer, one employed by land director, or employee of a national farm loan association, a Federal bank or association ex- land bank, or a joint stock land bank, and other than a reasonable fee paid by such association or bank to any officer, director, attorney, or employee for services rendered, no officer, director, attorney, or employee of an association or bank organized under this Act shall be a beneficiary of or receive, directly or indirectly, any fee, commission, gift, or other consideration for or in connection with any transaction or business of such association or bank. No land bank or sociation may make national farm loan association organized under this Act shall charge or specifically authorized. receive any fee, commission, bonus, gift, or other consideration not herein specifically authorized. No examiner, public or private, shall No land bank or ascharge except as herein Names of borrowers not to be disclosed by disclose the names of borrowers to other than the officers of a proper national farm loan association or land bank without first having examiners. obtained express permission in writing from the Farm Loan Commissioner or from the board of directors of such association or bank, except when ordered to do so by a court of competent jurisdiction or by direction of the Congress of the United States, or of either House thereof, or any committee of Congress or of either House duly authorized. Any person violating any provision of this paragraph Penalty prescribed. shall be punished by a fine of not exceeding $5,000 or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both. scribed for embezzle Any person connected in any capacity with any national farm loan Punishment preassociation, Federal land bank, or joint stock land bank, who embez- ment, false entry, and zles, abstracts, or willfully misapplies any moneys, funds, or credits other fraudulent acts. thereof, or who without authority from the directors draws any order, assigns any note, bond, draft, mortgage, judgment, or decree thereof, or who makes any false entry in any book, report, or statement of such association or land bank with intent in either case to defraud such institution or any other company, body politic or corporate, or any individual person, or to deceive any officer of a national farm loan association or land bank or any agent appointed to examine into the affairs of any such association or bank, and every person who with like intent aids or abets any officer, clerk, or agent in any violation of this section, shall be punished by a fine of not exceeding $5,000 or by imprisonment not exceeding five years, or both. scribed for false repredifferent classes or is Any person who shall deceive, defraud, or impose upon, or who shall Punishment preattempt to deceive, defraud, or impose upon, any person, firm, or cor- sentation concerning poration by making any false pretense or representation regarding the sues of bonds. character, issue, security, or terms of any farm loan bond, or coupon, issued under the terms of this Act; or by falsely pretending or representing that any farm loan bond, or coupon, issued under the terms of this Act by one class of land banks is a farm loan bond, or coupon, issued by another class of banks; or by falsely pretending or representing that any farm loan bond, or coupon, issued under the terms of this Act, or anything contained in said farm loan bond, or coupon, is anything other than, or different from, what it purports to be on the face of said bond or coupon, shall be fined not exceeding $500 or imprisoned not exceeding one year, or both. The Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to direct and use the Secret Service Division of the Treasury Department to detect, arrest, and deliver into custody of the United States marshal having jurisdiction, any person or persons violating any of the provisions of this section. GOVERNMENT DEPOSITS. Secret service availlation of law. able for detection of vio of public money in thorized. Certificate Issued Satisfactory security SEC. 32. That the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized, in his Temporary deposits discretion, upon the request of the Federal Farm Loan Board, to Federal land banks aumake deposits for the temporary use of any Federal land bank, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated. Such Federal land bank shall issue to the Secretary of the Treasury a cer- bearing interest. tificate of indebtedness for any such deposit, bearing a rate of interest not to exceed the current rate charged for other Government deposits, given. to be secured by farm loan bonds or other collateral, to the satis-" faction of the Secretary of the Treasury. Any such certificate shall discretion of Secretary be redeemed and paid by such land bank at the discretion of the of Treasury. Secretary of the Treasury. The aggregate of all sums so deposited limited. by the Secretary of the Treasury shall not exceed the sum of $6,000,000 at any one time. Certificates paid at Aggregate deposits penses appropriated, Board. ORGANIZATION EXPENSES. Organization ex- SEC. 33. That the sum of $100,000, or so much thereof as may be disbursed under direc necessary, is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury tion of Farm Loan not otherwise appropriated, to be expended under the direction of the Federal Farm Loan Board, for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this Act, including the rent and equipment of necessary offices. Whole act can not be declared invalid by de of invalid. LIMITATION OF COURT DECISIONS. SEC. 34. That if any clause, sentence, paragraph, or part of this claring any part there- Act shall for any reason be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder of this Act, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered. Other inconsistent REPEALING CLAUSE. SEC. 35. That all Acts or parts of Acts inconsistent with this Act acts repealed; right re- are hereby repealed, and this Act shall take effect upon its passage. The right to amend, alter, or repeal this Act is hereby expressly reserved. served to amend, alter, or repeal. Approved July 17, 1916. RURAL CREDITS MOVEMENT PRIOR TO THE SIXTY-FOURTH CONGRESS. The active demand for rural credits legislation began with the Southern Commercial Congress held at Nashville, Tenn., in April, 1912, which, in consequence of a conference presided over by David Lubin (United States delegate to the International Institute of Agriculture, located at Rome, Italy), determined to send a representative body known as the American Commission abroad to investigate and study the subject in European countries. Further impetus was given to the movement in March, 1913, through the appointment, under act of Congress, by President Wilson of another body known as the United States Commission to act in conjunction with the American Commission. Senator Duncan U. Fletcher, of Florida, was selected as chairman of both Commissions, and the members of the two Commissions acting together spent several months abroad and collected a vast fund of valuable information (the basis of the farm loan act), which has been made available for general use in various public documents, but especially in the Commission reports, Senate Documents Nos. 214, 261, and 380, Sixty-third Congress. Upon the report of the Commission and in connection therewith, a bill was introduced in the Senate by Senator Fletcher (S. 4246) and in the House by Mr. Moss (H. R. 12585), known as the "Fletcher-Moss" bill, upon which continuous hearings were had for some weeks before a joint subcommittee from the Senate and the House Banking and Currency Committees, following which a bill was introduced in the Senate by Senator Hollis (S. 5542) and in the House by Mr. Bulkley (H. R. 16478), known as the "Hollis-Bulkley" bill. The two Houses being unable to agree at the close of the Sixty-third Congress, the matter was referred to a joint committee of both Houses, authorized on the last day of the session. MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES COMMISSION. DUNCAN U. FLETCHER, Florida, Chairman. THOMAS P. GORE, Oklahoma. 1915. Mar. JOHN LEE COULTER, Minnesota, Secretary. CHRONOLOGY DURING THE SIXTY-FOURTH CONGRESS. 4. Joint committee authorized. Mar. 6. Joint committee organized, Mr. Glass elected chairman. Mar. 17. Subcommittees appointed on "Land Mortgage Loans," Senator Hollis, chairman, and on "Personal Credits,” Mr. Moss, chairman, Nov. 9. Daily meetings of subcommittee on "Land Mortgage Loans" begun. 1916. Jan. 3. Bill agreed upon by joint committee and ordered reported. Jan. 4. Report presented by Mr. Glass and bill (H. R. 6838) introduced by Mr. Moss, referred to House Banking and Currency Committee (H. Doc. 494). Jan. 5. Reported by Senator Hollis to Senate and referred to Senate Banking and Currency Committee (S. 2986; H. Doc. 494). Feb. 15. Reported by Senator Hollis from Senate Banking and Currency Committee with amendments (S. 2986; Rept. No. 144). Apr. 25. Mr. Moss introduced H. R. 15004. May May May May 3. Report by Mr. Phelan from House Banking and Currency Committee (No. 630; H. R. 15004). 4. S. 2986 as amended, passed Senate; 57 affirmative votes, 5 negative. 5. S. 2986 as passed Senate, presented in House and referred to House Banking and Currency Committee. 5. S. 2986 reported to House by Mr. Glass from House Banking and Currency Committee, with amendments (same as H. R. 15004; H. Rept. No. 643). 6. Rule adopted for consideration of S. 2986 by Committee of the Whole House. May 15. S. 2986 as amended (H. R. 15004), passed House; 295 affirmative votes, 10 May negative. May 17. Conferees asked and appointed in Senate and House. May 24. Additional conferees appointed in Senate. June 23. Conference report presented in House by Mr. Glass (H. Rept. 844) and in Senate by Senator Hollis (S. Doc. 472). June 27. S. 2986 as agreed by conferees, reported by Mr. Glass and approved by House; 311 affirmative votes, 12 negative. June 28. S. 2986 as agreed by conferees, reported by Senator Hollis and approved by July Senate without objection. 5. Signed by the Speaker of the House. |