Evening journal., 1913-07-09
HAPPENINGS
OVER THE SEA
Agricultural Commission
FavOrS Cheaper Money
for English Farmers
COOPERATIVE BANKS
ALSO RECOMMENDED
RY Ep. L. Ma.

establishment of cooperative banks
I'm rural districts are some of the inn
portant reforms which will be urged
by the American Agricultural Com
mission which has been studying argi-
cultural conditions in Europe tor
three months according to Director
General Clarence j. Owens, who heads
the delegation OF rs members repre-
Rentinc thirty states which arrived IN
London today from Paris. Director
General Owens and other members OF
the commission today, for the first
time agreed to publish through the
medium of the United Press. the de-
tails of the three months study and
the legislation that the commission
will urge Congress to put through.
The statements are the first compre-
hensive and official ones that have
been made by any member of the
commission which has just completed
tour of Italy. Austria. Hungary,
Denmark. Belgium. Germany, Holland
and France. The Americans viii
stop here three days before touring
ireland. They will sail on the Cedric
Tor America on July rs.
Everywhere" declared Director
Owens, "wc have found that the won
dcrfully efficient farming system Of
Europe and especially crowded Ger
many, have been almost solely due to
the system of credit available TO far
mers. While ne did not find any
European farmer more competent, or
more able, or more industrious than
their brothers i'm America, We find
that the European farmers get moro
out of less territory than the Ameri-
ran farmers. And believe this IS
due TO the systc 5 In vogue Of long
term loans. cheaper money co-opera'
tive banks and integrity and char
acter as an important factor when
6nauciers arc looking for security for
ioans'
Doctor Buttcrhcld. oi the Massachu.
tctts Agricultural College. was cnthusi-
astic over the work oi the commission.
lie believes that its report ls oi deepest
interest aud of vital importance to every
farmer in America - ann moro thau
satisfied with ou study abroad said
DR. Buttcrhcld ~ heartily agree with
what Mr. Owens has said The great
farming efficiency OF Germany can be
laid directly go the system Of chcaIcr
money for the farmers aud To co.opcra-
tive farmers aanks'
"'Quccr banks We have socn might
we'll be the title of chapter IA the
COMMISSIONS report. said congressman
Moss. of Indiana. tho only congressman
in the party Nj Moss was with tho
subcommittee which TOURED Italy. Aus.
tria and Hungary.
THE quccrcst cooperative bank of oil
We saw was in httlc town IN Italy fl
was located ia small room OF an old
but beautiful church Tho priest wis th,
cashier. clerk and bookkccrcr
~ eivcd no salary he hank was
! III some years so on o capital ot
80 which represented the cost of tho
~ IS. II has loans ont 90 por
3tcnt TO farmers for S2n0n0 The bank
ha- a fat reserve of which the priest
banker is the custodian The hank has
never lost a dollar II costs 20 cents
10 become a stakeholder
In Hungary we found small banks in
farming communities where the govern
ment paid the cost of administration so
the farmers might borrow money az .
per cent while the government at the
same time was borrowing at per cent
"Nhile | am doubtful it the United
States could adopt thu German system,
! firmly believe great success would fol
low the adoption of these systems with
notifications Conditions in Germany
aud in Europe In general are much dif-
ferent from those at home The little
banks in Germany are often in the
back room of a village postoflice. The
postmaster, the preacher or the village
echoolmastcr is usually the banker lie
may get anywhere from $40 60 Slj a
month for being banker The loans are
long. frequently stretching over period
OF from 50 TO IS years.
"The people are grateful and ap-
prcciative OF small things The op-
portunity for investment and earning
capacity of money is small. In some
sections of Hungary we found that
the greatest factor In improving con-
ditions, ir putting more money in
circulation aud Increasing value Of
property. was the money sent home
by Huhgarians who had gone to
America, and to adopt some OF Eu-
ropes banking schemes itwould be
necessary to adopt some European
conditions You can foreclose and
turn man on his place-sell him
out of house and home-takc every
thing except ne clothes on his back,
in three weeks in Europe"
S. A. Lindsey, chairman Of the
Texas Farm Life Commission. was
deeply impressed with cooperative
banking OF the German farmers. I'm
Germany the borrower. particularly
the farmer, receives far more consid-
GRAFTON than az home" he said "ln-
dustry character and reputation are
the chief securities for loans. and
yet losses are comparatively rare
AS a result of our tour I am con-
viQccd that the terms of our iarm
mortgages must be longer We could
well adopt the German plan of grad
ually paying off mortgages For in
stance here a farmer will pay 5 per
cent on mis- loan Four OF that is
interest and the other ole per cent
applies on the principle"
Clarence NJ. Smith, banker of San
Francisco, believes the German small
farm plan ought 10 be tried in Cali
fornia. IL believe not" he said. that
II some of the ten and twenty acre
farms we're laid out in such way
that the houses ~ere AZ some central
point each farmer living upon one
acre of ground thus forming q Wills
colony or village. Il would 70 fal
toward solving the problem of so
cial life on the farm"
PLANNING FOR BAKE.
The Ladies Improvement Society o