The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1912-05-01

Mr.. Chairman, Ladies and Gen.
tlemen-I, too, have made "a survey
of a small region of country life. and
a very superficial one. l took a coun-
try neighborhood i'm one Of our South
ern States. and made this inquiry the
best | could. 1t is not yet complete.
/ said to my friends: Let us take this
area in farming country adjacent to
little town and find out the ecOnom-
ic condition of every human unit. BY
one unit we mean family if it lived
together, or a single man or a single
woman who earned his or her own
living.
THAT inquiry resulted in something
like this: There were eleven who
had bank account in a little bank in
the adjacent town; there were two
who were supposed to have bank ac-
counts in larger bank in the city;
there were about fortw who could
borrow money either on their land,
from money lenders or from the
bank, or from their neighbors. We
accounted for something like so per
cent. This was a prosperous farming
community. What about the other so
per cent? They have no credit, there
Is no way for them to borrow money
directly or indirectly.
81 mean this: One of this so per
cent Of these people who are below
the credit line may borrow $40 from
one of his more fortunate neighbors.
That more fortunate neighbOr has
himself had to borrow it, and so on.
The so per cent Of the human units
had no credit in any organized way
Now. nearly all these people live
by farming. / ask you this question:
How many farmers are there in this
region who have capital enough? On,
of my informers said only one. Any
where in the South you will find that
even If be has bank account. 1t
was common there for them to rent
mule during the plowing season
when they could not own one.
Now, this inquiry suggests thous-
ands Of things to a man who is in the
habit of looking at things from the
economic view. More than half the
workers in that area had not capital
enough to do their work When one
who fell beneath the credit line had to
borrow he not only had to pay a rea-
sonable rate Of interest. but always
an unreasonable one, because the
money or the mule had been borrow
ed two or three times and he paid
nobody knows what interest.
Let us picture that community:
Suppose every farmer in that area
had money enough to equip his farm
scientifically to work it to it's utmost
and 1t was capitalized as industries in
the city are. What would be the re-
suit? l do not think that any imagi-
nation can tell what would be the re-
suit Presumably there were not one
per cent Of the acres that were work.
ed One-half as well as they would be
under such conditions as / spoke Of.
What would you say if in an area like
this every man had all the money he
needs to equip his farm. There
would he no waste either Of time or
land. We would go to work as or
ganized Industries al working. Is
there any way TO bring that about?
There Is. There Is way to make the
fifty per cent Of men in that COM
To not one of whom you would
lend dollar with the expectation Of
getting IL back. the safest borrowers
of money in this commonwealth.
There has beer going on in this
city for three or four days a deliber-
alton under the leadership Of our
Mr.. Lubin. a discussion
by men from twcnty-four States on
the credit society system that has
revolutioniZed agriculture in COntinen-
tai Europe. I regard this as one OF
the most important economic dis
coveries in the last century.
"It works this way Here are fifty
men who have no credit. who are not
doing their labor. Take these mon.
organize them in what is known as a
credit society. Make every one Of
thcm responsible for the debts of any
one. and then on the recommend
alton Of al those men or by a COM
mittec lend one man. \. 500 for any
productive pursuit whatever. not to
pay any debts or To indulge in any