The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1911-07-12

II. T. Graves, president of the James
River National, at jamestown y. D..
Is not believer in too much credit"
He cautions his fellow bankers along
the following lines: This matter of too
much credit, and its evil effects, is in
deed rapidly becoming a very impor-
tant matter to the people, and espec-
tally to the bankers of North Dakota.
1t Is hard to say just how or why
our credits have become so Over-e x-
tended. Perhaps it is because we are
all more or less inclined to be optim-
lists, and to believe each year, that
next year will surely bring forth a
bumper crop, with which we shall be
able to pay all our debts. Certain it is
however, that our farmers, merchants
and many others are badly in debt.
Careful investigation would. lead us
10 say that over Extension Of credit
began with our merchants They have
been so anxious to do a large volume
of business, and so jealous Of their
competitors, that they have virtually
been buying their customers by cut
ting prices and by granting too much
credit. People in other lines have been
doing business on the same plan. and
the result is a mass of debts which is
truly astounding.
A canvass of the chattIe mortgage
records, and a careful summing UP of
the amounts due to merchants, profess
SiOnal men and bankers, will reveal
condition almost unbelievable, and will
make YOU begin to wonder whether
there is personal property enough out
side the growing crop to pay ali these
debts.
Since this is an agricultural COM
munity let us begin with the farmer,
and see whether easy credit made him
better farmer or a better borrower
from the bankers view point, than he
was several years ago, when money
was scarce and credit was hard to OBJ
tain, when the farm was smaller and
the farmer took time to milk some
cows, raise poultry pigs, etc, and was
usually found at home and at work,
in an honest. earnest endeaVOr to OBJ
tain as much as possible of the liv-
ing required by himself and family
from his own farm. In those days he
had few debts, for the best reason in
the world, he was unable to borrow
the money.
Today he has an automobile, which
does not help to keep him at home, nor
at work: he has a threshing machine.
which perhaps takes him away from
home for month or more in the fall
when he should be doing his own
blowing. In many cases he has built
expensive buildings on his land, he has
acquired expensive tastes and a man
ner Of living not formerly his. His
latest acquisition is an engine plOw
which enables him to farm much more
! land but most unfaVOrable Of his pos
| sessions today is the long line Of debts
| he has acquired and must eventually
| pay. The interests of good farming
are best served by farming less land
and by doing the work in a better
manner, by keeping cattle on the farm
| 50 that the farmer may have n regular
! income, and may also have something
to return to the soil each year.
Let us now see whether easy credit
| has proved a benefit to the merchant
| Manufacturers and jObbers have urged
| our merchants to buy their goods and
| have offered the merchants all sorts
| of inducements in the way Of discounts
and long time datings, with the result
| that our merchants find themselves
with large stocks of goods upon their
! shelves which they are unable to dis
| pose of for cash. These goods must
now be sold to the merchants custom
| ers on time, and too much credit he
| extended in doing so. or the goods
| must remain uDon the shelves to go
| out of style while the carrying charge
! eats up the profits. Soon the mnr-
! chants bills come due, the iObher fails
! to extend the time payment and the
| merchant is forced to call upon his
bank for assistance, and often talks
| the banker into making an undesirable
! loan.
Last fall the bankers of North Da
| kota were forced to carry over almost
! their entire line of loans, to meet an
! unusually heavy shrinkaCe in deposits
! during the winter and spring. and
when spring came they found them
selves in the unpleasant opposition Of
being forced to make additional loans
| for feed and seed to those farmers
who already owed them money, in or
der that the farmer might put in an
| other crop with which to repay the
original loan. These banks found