Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-10-26

of life with bare existence as their
portion.
The inability of the average farmer
to utilize. under his present hampered
financial condition, the lesson OF pro-
gressive agriculture is illustrated by the
fact that although there are many thou
bushels of wheat where they formerly
grew fifteen per acre. yet in 1919 the
average farmer was growing only 1T BUSH
els to the acre more than in the years
between 1876 and 1885. Likewise. while
there are hundreds of thousands of
farmers who have increased their per
acre yield Of corn from forty bushels
to eighty bushels yet the average farmer
today gets crop yield only two bushels
greater to the acre than he was getting
a quarter of a century ago.
Various methods have been proposed
in the past to remedy the financial
hopelessness of the average farmer, as
it is indicated by his wheat crop of
fourteen bushels to the acre and his
corn crop of twenty seven bushels. One
of these methods was that Of allowing
national banks to loan money on real
estate. This proposition was repeat
the federal government has continued
for many a year it's discrimination
against the chief asset of the farmer.
his land. 1t has been pointed out that
the banking laws Of the past not only
have disseminated negatively against
the farmer. but positively as we'll I'm
der these laws the country bank must
hold Is per cent of it's demand liabili-
ties, mainly deposits. in cash. 1t may
redeposit three-fifths of this reserve
with the city bank, which acts as it's
reserve agent. and this bank, in turn,
must hold one-fourth Of it's demand
liabilities in cash. and is empowered to
redeposit one-half Of this with the
banks Of the big cities, New York, ST.
Louis and Chicago.
The effect of this. has been to send
no small part OF the money OF the.
country banks
Money From Country to the big
" result is that
in times of urgent demand the money
that the country bank ought to have
at home for its own people is being
used by Wall street. and the needs of
the patrons of the country bank can
not be met. 1t has proved in opera
ton a system that carries the money
of the country out OF its natural ave-
nues of circulation and into Wall street
for it's uses.
1t Is not believed by many Of those
who have Investigated the subject that
it would be possible to make over the
present banking system to meet the
Hnancial needs or the agriculturfst-
Even proposition to make available
8 quarter Of billion dollars for loans
on real real estate would not, to their
minds, meet the situation. The farm |
ers of the country owe over $4,000
OOO, 1000, of which three dollars out OF |
five is secured by real estate mort
cages, and a quarter of billion dol |
lars could not. it is pointed out, begin |
to take care of this. |
Summed up. although much as has
been accomplished in the United States
in the direction Of the promotion of the |
agricultural interests Of the nation. the |
results have been but small percentage |
of what they might be. The public |
school has brought a fair degree Of edu- |
cation to farm children, and under the |
present trend toward reyamping II and |
making the teaching Of agriculture its |
principal object it promises to prove q |
great help.
Likewise the propaganda of the De-
partment of Agriculture has been of |
great assistance |
knowledge Useless in what has been
xry.A.A r.n:+.l acc o m p lished.
- H.