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THE L I N C D L N 5 A N E £ G R A V E L CP. WA5HEZ7 G "ONE CAR OR ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Lincoln, ffAV£" L ATRAIN LOAD" Illinois May 1, 1951 Mr. Marriner S• Eccles Member Federal Reserve Board Washington, D. C. Ity dear Mr. Eccles: I was distressed l a s t Saturday t o read your testimony before the Senate Committee on the R.F.C. You, as a banker, of course know t h a t the R.F. C*, as an i n s t i t u t i o n , cannot defend i t s e l f . Yet, people "who w i l l read your comments made bef o r e the committee w i l l accept them as j u s t i f i e d 100% - because the High P r i e s t , Roseribaum, e i t h e r ordered, guaranteed the c r e d i t f o r the f u r coat o r loaned the money. So d i d Judas s e l l out f o r t h i r t y pieces o f s i l v e r - then we should MsackM the C h r i s t i a n Religion because of the t r a i t o r mixed i n i t ? Sure, there have been some u n j u s t i f i e d and unsound loans ( f o r instance, Lustron) - you would not have made i t . Since you have been i n Washington, c e r t a i n l y the R.F.C . i s not the only t h i n g t h a t may trend t o Socialism. The select few come t o l i g h t but "what about banks t h a t were saved and now serve thousands of others - what about t h i s Company, which has made f o u r d i f f e r e n t loans t h a t never could or would be made by banks. The loans have a l l been paid. I d o n ' t know t h a t you w i l l be i n t e r e s t e d however, I am enclosing our f i n a n c i a l statement as of January 1 s t , 19!>1# The f i r s t loan took a long time t o s e l l as we were going t h r u 77 B , but no p o l i t i c s , no f u r coats, no dinners, no nothing were involved. Our t o t a l loans were, o f course, small but v i t a l t o us - 1130,000.00, the f i r s t one t h r u Emil Schram, now President o f the New York Stock Exchange. I n my judgment no man i n United States could or can influence him against h i s b e t t e r judgment. I f the R.F.C • has f a i l e d i t i s men, not the i n s t i t u t i o n . I could w r i t e a h i s t o r y on banking and R.F.C• experience. I wish t o make two comments i n c l o s i n g . W. P.G. Harding, an outstanding banker, as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, increased rediscount rates t o reduce i n f l a t i o n i n 1920 - he never proposed increase reserves. The increase of the rediscount rate i s a d e f i n i t e red l i g h t of danger - i t w i l l f l a s h i n t o every bank i n the country. The i n d i v i d u a l banks w i l l act on t h a t - then l e t them alone. I t may be t h a t you have read the statement i n Barrons, November 13. 1950, "Our F i s c a l and Banking P o l i c y " . I t i s the Swan Song o f R. C. L e f f i n g w e l l , Vice Chairman o f J . P. Morgan & Co, as he r e t i r e d . I consider i t outstanding and j u s t i f i e d reading Mr. Marriner S. Eccles and study by any man "who i s responsible i n a f i n a n c i a l capacity. I confess t o be a t a loss to judge the f u t u r e , therefore, I am d e f i n i t e l y and f i m l y of the opinion t h a t the l i q u i d a t i o n of the R.F.C., because management f a i l s i s rash - you know what l i q u i d a t i o n i s - from now on the R.F.C. w i l l be more cautiously managed - and wha i s to say we are not going t o need i t - not me I Very t r u l y yours, President THE LINCOLN SAND & GRAVEL COMPANY F.W.Iongan/hlw May A, 1951. Mr. F. W. Longan, President, The Lincoln Sand & Gravel Co., P. 0. Box #67, Lincoln, I l l i n o i s . Dear Mr. L6ngari: I received your l e t t e r of May 1, enclosing a f i n a n c i a l statement of the Lincoln Sand and Gfavel Company. I have read the statement and i n accordance w i t h your request I am returning i t to you herewith. I am also enclosing a copy of the f u l l t e x t of my statement on A p r i l 27 before the Senate Banking and Currency Committee favoring the a b o l i t i o n of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. Very t r u l y M. S . Enclosure yours, Eccles.
