The patron of husbandry. (Columbus, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1881-10-15
The Agricultural Lien Law.

Lien Law w nlCn Mahcs II Law"
Mortgages and Deeds of Trust to be
Taken upon Crops to be Grown by
Merchants as Security for Merchandise
Sold Farmers on Time be Repealed!
WORTHY Master. Our farming or
Agricultural interests are OF vastly
more importance than any or all OF
our other interests, great majority
OF our people are farmers, ana
therefore a law which operates to
their injury ought not to be per-
mitted to exist. | believe the law
involved in the above question ia
very injurious to the interests OF
the farmer. First, because it ope-
rates so as to cause oppresslvely
high prices to prevail under the
credit system, which it forms the
basis Of. In relation to this credit
system, or any other credit system.
farmers may be divided into two
classes, namely, good and bad. The
good customers pay up their mer-
chants; while the bad customers
fail to do so wholly or partly. I'M
der this law all who can give a lien
upon a crop to be grown can and
do get credit. Now the merchant
can not afford to sell goods at a loss,
and to guard against losses his
| credit prices must be marked up so
that when good customers pay up
they will pay enough over and
above what they justly ought to
pay to save the merchant from
losing on bad customers.
A merchant last winter bought a
| lot Of Western mules for his custom
ers, which cost him 800 per head
landed at home In fixing price
upon these mules this merchant
probably calculated to lose one
mule in five and its price; but if he
does he will still make a profit Of
20 per cent, for they were sold at
an advance of so per cent. on time.
Surprising five farmers to have
bought a mule a piece and that one
fails to pay up, the four farmers
who pay up will pay $50 each more
than they justly ought to pay in or
der to save the merchant from
losing on the one bad customer.
This trans action shows how The
credit system, based upon this law,
works, and is worked. If this bad
customer fails to pay up from indo
ience, rascality, or any other cause,
and is refused further credit he can
90 to some other merchant and get
credit again by giving another lien
upon a crop to be grown. Year af~
ter year he is enabled by this law
to continue imposing a heavy bur
den upon his brother farmers Un
der any other credit system mer>
chants would have 20 guard again st
losses from similar causes, but not
to the great extent as under our
present system. 1t is well known
that integrity and industry are the
qualities which make good custom
ers, and Incidence and rascality are
generally the qualities which make
bad customers, and that a great ma
| lOrlty OF our farmers are good Gus
toners being the cause If these op
pressive prices it follows that they
constitute a premium upon their
bad qualities which honesty and ia :
dustry are compelled to pay.
Seconly, this law encourages ex-
travagance, both in selling and in
buying. 1t is the practice OF most
merchants to keep themselves post
ed as to the condition and pros poets
of their customers crops at that
time of the year when the yield can
be Approximately estimated When
a customer whose crops promises
an abundant yield visits the store
it is understood between the mer-
chant and the salesman that said
customer is to be sold as large bill
OF goods as he can possibly be in
duced to buy, confined, of course,
! within his ability to pay. By fiat
terry many farmers simplicity is
taken advantage of, and he is per
suaded and induced to bay extrav-
agantIy, and what is extravagantly
bought is extravagantly sold. Many
farmers, naturally extravagant, are
permitted to go headlong in debt
because the merchant feels secure
This law is Injurious to our agricul-
turaI interests.
Third, because it encourages the
production Of cotton to the excIu-
sion of food crops. When a lien is
gwen and an account opened the
merchant expects to be paid in cot
ton, and the farmer so understands
it, and on account of this expecta>
ton and understanding the farmer
plants large cotton crop, devotes
most of his time, labor, and atten
ton to its culture IF he succeeds
in paying up (morc than this nc
hardly ever does on account of the
high prices charged him) he is
forced to go in debt again, and year
after year travels the same ground
over. And again, if il were not for
the operations of this lien law far
mcrs who have established the ropu
tatic n OF being good customers,
upon the basis of honesty and in
dustry, would receive great fnan-
cial benefit by healthy compcti-
ton between merchants to secuve
their custom. As it is they can re
ceive no benefit from this source
hacausa thew orc nomnoIIod 20 ~; 4