The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-01-17
COMPLETE REPORT OF THE
COMMITTEE ON RURAL CREDITS
Very Important and Interesting Iaferrnatioa Was Secured b
connfttee-Probem in America Differs From
Problem in Europe

business In the towns and cities OF the
northwest.
The second area OF interest rates in
northwest Hes In part directly west OF
the first named and In part in nor
thern Minnesota and northern Wis
consin; IL covers the area OF shifting
farming where a change is in progress
from the all grain farming, or from
the timber skinning to settled condi-
tons Of diversified farming, such as
we find in the first area.
In North Dakota this area Of inter-
est Of owe 6 and including s per
cent on first mortgages extends west
ward to a line that traces from Dickey
county northwestward to MeHenry
and comes out at the Canadian border
in the vicinity of Sherwood and Mo-
hall; in South Dakota its western
border lis generally speaking the Mis-
souri,, river, while in no case are In
terest rates in cases of s per cent
reported from points east OF the Mis-
souri, In the latter state. In other
words, more than one-third of North
Dakota and about one-fifth of South
Dakota is embraced In this territory,
and here the difference between the
first mortgage rate and the unsecured
rate is more marked.
The third group also falls in two
4 Ahf AAD AINd Ia "A
Minnesota taking in the undeveIoped
counties north of Bemidji and that
half Of the two Dakotas lying in gem
eral west Of the Missouri river and
including all OF Montana, together
with half of northwestern Nebraska.
This is generally recognized as the
area of undeveloped and OF
attendant risk in the making of loans.
Suggestions.
Again your committee would sug-
gest that in each Of these two latter
cases a close investigation should be
made as between the interest rates
paid by the farmer and the rates paid
by men doing business i'm the same
small proht-making way in other lines
in order to SSH ourselves as to
whether the farmer is being discrin1-
mated against. In other words. your
committee believes that the small av-
erage farmer should not be compared
with the large business enterprise.
such as the railroad and the large
corporation, when it comes to loanIng
of money, but rather with the individ-
ual who in other lines of business is
handling a comparatively small total
value of income and outgo. Your
committee does hot consider that this
matter has been closely enough in
vestigated to permit it to express any
positive opinion in this regard, but
it does believe that it's INVESTIGATIONS
thus far do point clearly to the need
of a more thorough and extensive con-
sideration of the whole credits matter.
h sixth question asked by the
committee, If the reader could bor-
row money at a reasonable rate of
interest, what would he do with ft?'
was so directed that il brought out the
individual idea Of the one to whom
il was sent without in any way in
lfluencfng his reply. To this question
there were 48S different replies: these.
like the others, covering the entire
northwest. OF this total 1914 or 25
per cent expressed a wish for more
live stock, 102 or 21 per zen wanted
money for better buildings. 100 or 20
per cent desired money Tor general
improvements on the farm, and &c
or slightly over 5sper cent wished to
invest in fences. This makes a total
of 1871 per cent Of all loans desired.
These are by their very nature long
time loans, and require from two years
upward to pay back the loan out of
the investment.
Continuing this Investigation we
find but 81 or rs per cent Of all those
desiring to secure money for one pur-
pose or another wished it for the pur-
pose OF taxing UP OLD mortgages
renewing their loans; 1873 per cent
wanted to buy more land. If the fig-
ures for Iowa and Nebraska were ex-
cluded this percentage would be much
lower. For instance, out OF the 149
replies from North Dakota but eleven
express a desire for more land; out
of seventy-eight from South Dakota
there were seventeen; and out of the
157 replies from Minnesota twenty
three.
These different things cover all the
purposes for which long time loans
ton we have at hand and they COM
prise IS per cent of all the loans re-