St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1883-05-12

Ii A N X S
tor ST. LANDRY DEMOCRAT !:

Your editorial, III your issue OI tue
5th inst, criticising the unsound bank
doctrine advocated by Alexandria Town
Talk, showed a proper discrimination
ia the banking requirements of differ
ent communities. The Town Talk
saws "For instance take little Wes-
tern town of one-half the population
and business that Alexandria and Pine
Vile have, and you will always find a
bank, and sometimes two OF them.
This implies that bauk is an unmixed
blessing, and the more Of them a town
has, the greater it is blessed. It is very
apparent that the editor of Town Talk
knows nothing of the attitude that a
bank, in a Western town, holds towards
the people. Many men believe that
they are born financiers, and, from a
little superficial knowledge and sur
plusage of visionary ideas, assert as
truths what are merely speculations.
The Western bank is generally curse
| to those who patronize it, and such is
the opinion of Western people. The
men who settle the West are usually
accustomed to manual labor and have
| strong physiques and constitutions.
Their capital at the beginning varies
from a pair of willing hands to few
hundred dollars-the men who start on
4 few thousand are rare indeed. The
settlers home at first is usually rough
board shanty dug out" in the bank
of some creek; a cellar dug in the
ground and rooted over with poles and
sods or a house constructed OF prairie
sods. It will be observed that there is
no bank to develop the country at this
stage, for there is no opportunity to
make "big money" By stringent
Iecouomy and an exchange OF personal
labor for that OF team owned by an
earlier or weather. settler, he general
Ily contrives to have few acres under
cultivation the first year, thereby add
ing two dollars to the value of each
acre cultivated. In a new country
money is very scarce and tight, and the
! settler feels the want of it sorely but
in due time, by industry and persever-
ance. he owns teams, farm utensils, and
a plain home to live in. With the inn
movement values become fixed and Sc
cure. A town soon springs up, which
is to have brilliant future, and on the
: strength of this prospective greatness,
all are DESTROYS to improve their farms.
If the town contains two or three hun
dred inhabitants it forthwith obtains a
charter and full force of city officials
: ON good salaries, which it requires
auite much as it does bank. The city
: limits extend a mile or two into the
! nrairie-this assists materially to sup
8 port the city government. AS soon as
D values are actually established, the
banker steps on the scene with a capl-
!. tai varying from five hundred dollars
: to as many thousands, but it is usually
J. a small capital but whether large OF
: small he comes with the kind motive o.
furnishing thanking facilities" to the
o favored community. The bank build
{ ing is generally about the size of Negro
4 cabin. constructed very cheaply and, is ;
d great disappointment in its appearance
3 to those who expect to see fine struc
d ture however, the money is needed
a Int to obtain it, the borrower must
: of course, furnish ample security. Th
: lender is obliging, and will take mort
+ age on real estate, or chattel mort
e gage on horses, farming utensils, &c
70 Tn sums of five hundred dollars or up
: wards the borrower is required usual.
d 70 nav q bonus of twenty five dollars
y and interest from fifteen to twenty-five
g per cent. The average farmer is not
Z pood flnancier and fails to observe tina
a slow business like farming whic
! gives no returns but once year whel
;. the harvest is sold, and with fixe,
:. rate for his productions at the grea
0, market centres, will not warrant sue
u exhorbitant rates of interest. The In
!. come that he derives from his labor an
+ capital invested ID the farm, is out
d all proportion to the rate OF interest b
Q pays TO the so-called bank. His crop
= NAV not bring over five per cent on tn
Z, e money invested part of which may b
II borrowed at twenty-five per cen
rs There is then long struggle year afte
; : year under heavy debt which he car
il not remove, or else he is ruined. Man
Is a good farm has been abandoned to til
bank, the owner having only future
slavery in return for the thanking +
cilitiesn afforded him. IN commerce.