The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1913-08-07

banking. This has been endowed by
q government with 3 per cent rev.
enue bonds TO the extent of nearly
$2O,CO0,000. The Raiffesen system is
independently cooperative and its bus
mess Tor 1910 vas almost $4,000, 000,.
600. 1t is conducted on the non-profft
theory. Any profits made apply on
debts.
The agricultural societies now mum.
Der about 10000. The combined
amount of their business equals that
or the commercial banks, viz: $4,SSS,.
100000, and they average one credit
association for every 1000 of popula.
ton. The central agricultural banks
also do an immense business. In 1909
over $l,50O,OcO, 900. They pay from 8
TO t per cent on deposits and loan at
an average rate of 4 per cent.
The LandSchaften and Ritterschaf.
ten are cooperative societies covering
larger areas, their bonds being guaran.
teed by the province, and the rate of
interest charged being less than 4 per
cent. Their bonds sell on the market
as readily as government bonds. The
lessons to be learned from Germany
are that cooperation there is a success,
and that the larger the body co-operat-
ing the lower the rate of interest. An
other very important factor for us to
seriously consider is that the rate Of
interest paid to depositors and interest
charged borrowers is less than one per
cent. The other European countries
are fast following Germany.
The two systems of banking, entire
ly distinct and separate, the CONNER
cial, and agricultural, seem to thrive
side by side.
France in some ways is going ahead
of Germany in the encouragement of
agriculture, and through a system of
credit banks, and the bank of France
which advances the money at 2 per
cent, the loans are made for less than
8 per cent. To borrow from one of the
credit societies a person must prove
that he is a member Of an agricultural
society. The republic encourages the
organization of regional, or central
banks by liberal subsidies and has loan
ed them at 2 per cent over SIT, 000, 900.
They loan both ON short time go days.
commercial paper, and long time farm
loans, intended for the small farmers,
and limited to 1888, at the rate of 2
per cent. Long collective credit con-
sists only for the agricultural CO
operative societies of production, man.
ufacture, reservation and sale of agri.
cultural products in receiving from the
state through the mutual credit banks,
advances of at the almost uniform rate
Of 2 per cent for twenty-five years, the
amount of which may not exceed twice
the amount of their paid up capital"
They also loan on the warehouse re-
ceipts of the stored non-perishable pro.
ducts of labor, thus enabling the farm.
er to hold his products for the con
sumptive demand, instead Of being
compelled, as our average farmer is,
to dump on the market for the specula'
tive demand as soon as possible after
production. Dividends are prohibited
The annual surplus can only be di
vided, if it is divided, among the CO.
operative shareholders, in proportion
to the operations that have taken place
between them and the cooperative so.
ciety." To quote from report: France
free of any political or religious bias
has placed agriculture, up to that mo
ment without any system of credit al
all, on the same footing as the other
two branches of production, commerce
and industry, assuring them all of that
equality with respect to money which
is in the economic order a principle as
indispensable as is equality before the
law in the social and political order
The policy of the French govern
ment is that the large landowners car
take care of themselves. That it is the
small farmer, without sufficient capita,
to operate efficiently, who needs en-
enlargement to stay on the farm.
The margin in the rate of Interest
between deposits and loans Is less
than one-half of n per cent.