The Washington herald., 1913-09-08
THE FARMER AND THE FLETCHER BILL

Since the conference on European sys.
TENS of cooperative rural banking, held
| in Nashville in the spring of 1912, al
which conference men were present from
twenty-six States to discuss the subject
with David Lubin, of Rome, Italy, many
committees have been appointed by
State banking associations: the Cover
nors of Richmond last December dis
cussed the subject of rural credits: a
conference on the same subject was held
in the White House in December with
President Taft presiding; the American
commission of nearly 100 members,
brought together by the Southern Com
mercial Congress from the majority of
the States OF the Union, has visited
Europe and returned; and the Cover
nors' conference in Colorado Springs in
August of this year olas listened to a re-
port of progress relative to some Uniform
State law establishing agricultural rural
credit systems in this country.
1t is difficult to point out any unfamil-
lar subject in modern American affairs
that has more quickly aroused the atten-
ton of the entire population. This is
due TO the fact that both farmers and
city dwellers have come TO the conclu-
sion that notwithstanding great crops,
scientific education, and the multiplication
school IdCllllltSt american
is sick-so sick that the population is
though, from every point of view, the
country can be made to offer the best
advantages for wholesome, healthy, sue
cessful life.
The Drift Cityward.
The following figures are full Of seri-
Gus meaning. The population of the
United States increased q per cent be-
tween 1900 and 1910 In the same period
town population increased 349 per cent,
and country population only Ill per cent
Eight States actually showed a decrease
in rural population, as shown here: New
Hampshire, Vermont, Ohio, Indiana, Illi-
nois, Iowa, and Missouri.
Another way of emphasizing the drift
to the cities is this; the rural population
in 1880 was 7O5 per cent of the whole; in
1890 it was 63.9 per cent of the whole: in
1900. it was 59.5 per cent OF the whole,
and in 1910, it was 52.7 per cent. Thirty
years ago, therefore, less than one-third
of our population lived in towns. Now
nearly one-half do so. This alarming
drift is not due to any lack of land, nor
to a Stacking demand for products, nor
to a lack in available farming science.
1t would seem to be due to wretched
financing and the consequent contrast
with city allurements.
We Differ from Europe.
Now comes the Fletcher bill, intro
duced August 9. 1913, by Senator Duncan
U. Fletcher of Florida, which is ITO
provide for the establishment, operation,
management, and control Of national
rural banking system in the United
States, and for other purposes" The
bill is the first fruits of the trip taken
by the American Commission. Its re-
searches into the various cooperative
systems both of banking and of buying
and of selling. as practiced in Europe,
showed the commission that in Europe
agricultural conditions existed which
were not duplicated in America. and
which, to the advantage of the United
States, should never be duplicated here.
They saw the marked difference between
the landed gentry and the PEASANTS.
Neither of these classes belong to a
democratic country. The nearest ap-
proach to the pea asant class here is the
tenant farmer, whether he be white or
colored, and the tenant farmer is fire.
qUently a wanderer, which is not true
in Europe. They saw also that in Eu-
ropean communities which have existed
for hundreds of years, the families have
fun knowledge of each other and of each
others reliability, and hence the ease
with which cooperative plans have
taken root and fiourished among a set
tied peasant class. They saw also
that the approach to autocratic gov
ernment existing in some Euro
pean countries, or at any rate the mon
archical form of government, permits the
rapid spread of cooperative effort If
favored by those to whom the mass of
the people look up as of superior sta
ton. Consequently they saw that If the
good ideas, particularly in the direction
Of cooperative banking in Europe. were
to have any success in America, it must
be in the direction of adaptation rather
than in that of adoption. This the
Fletcher bill is planned to bring about
During the discussion of the last year
a number of the financial leaders of the
country have stated that farmers could
always get reasonably cheap money on
mortgage (which, in view of legal ex-
penses, searching of titles, &C.. is not
exactly correcO, and that there was no
need for working out a banking system
different from that which already ex-
isted under State and national laws.
They are mistaken. The farmer needs
two kinds Of money; that which is placed