The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1913-04-17

succeeding generations In short. IL
has been admitted 10 be true that
the cities would rot Il il acre not
for the fresh blood constantly pouring
IN from the country This con;ina-
Gus fow OF new fresh country blood.
of high class sturdy boys cannot keep
up unless a goodly perceutum OF this
high-class stork stay In the country
and there continue 10 raise such stur-
dy boys.
When | offered. IN the senate OF
the United States. the measure 10
establish rural free delivery. / point
ed 10 the statistics. given in our cen
sus reports. 10 show the alarming ex-
tent and increasing tendency Of the
high-class stock 10 desert the farms
and go 20 the cities. | showed that
the cause OF this was, that the farm
er felt that he was not making, on
his farm. as much as his labor and
investment should produce and that
he was not able 10 give to his chill
dren the educational advantages
which he felt that he owed :" lem.
and that the Iifc Of the housewife
on inc farm. devoid Of so many con
veniences. became distasteful
drudge. and that generally the isola-
ton. loneliness, unprOfitableness and
discomfort of farm life was such as 10
| cause this increasing exodus.
pointed out that rural free de-
: livery was one of the many remedies
that would help 10 check this condi-
: ton. also pointed to the fact that
: postal savings banks. parcel post,
good roads, and. better and more
= economical farm methods were abso-
: lutely essential remedies
t The rural free delivery proposition
: was a new one, and but little under
2 stood at that time, even by the old
est and most intelligent members of
: Congress, but these arguments and
= facts were so convincing and unan-
t swerable that | finally succeeded, af-
: ter two years fight. in getting the
t system permanently established. The
: only active assistance which | had in
| this effort was from Senator Chand-
S Ter. of New Hampshire
Great progress has been made
y since that time towards supplying
S many of these remedies, but one of
o the most important has not been
e given adequate attention, and that
/. is, cheap and easier cash for the far
e mer and wealth producer
S Today there are something over
= six million farms in the United States
d and over a third of these are occu-
o pied by tenant farmers, and less than
il half of the farm land is improved in
n necessary, if high class men, who
1t own their farms, are to be kept on
Y the farm, that We should enable the
landowners to improve their farms
: in every possible way, and besides
> that we should, as rapidly as pos
V sibie, enable the tenant farmers to
% buy the farms that they are now
q working as tenants.
n The experience of foreign coun-
l. tries has shown that this evil condi-
Y ton is most effectively corrected by
y cheaper farm credits. AS far back as
IS 1850, there was established in Aus
s, tria, cooperative agricultural credit
1t institutions, known as the Raiffesien
lie banks. This system of rural banks
i comprising, really, two systems; one
Ir under which land is used as the basis
o for loans, and another, under which
e small, short loans are made to ten
t ants, his spread over Germany and
Austria and a number of other CONT
, mental countries, until today, practi-
e cally every farmer or "cropper,
n who is worthy and industrious, is
d able to secure a reasonable loan al
2 from three to four per cent interest
z per annum.
Is A consular report from Austria
% which I have before me, shows that
Is in the year 1900, there were s25,-
G. 100000 loaned through these banks
and that last year the loans amount
q ed to nearly s9O,0O0,000 The rate
a of interest was at from 3S5 to f. !
M per cent.
1t The most successful of the cheap
h farm-loan systems established in the
D. world, however, is in France, and ir
Of this connection it should be noted
/, that nowhere in the world are the
~ farmers more prosperous than in that
Of country. The French system is call
ia ed the Credit Foncier" The far
m mers are large stockholders in thi:
n banking system, but besides, the gov
re eminent of France loans a very larg,
y, sum of the national funds so as Il
lie meet all of the demands for cheaI
OF farm credits. France requires tn,
n national banks of that country, L
ey pay license tax for doing business
lie and the money received from thi
I'll source, by the government. is all de
posted in the Credit Foncier," TO
re the benefit of farm tenants. The Ii
ne cense tax is more than 2,000,00'
n francs annually, and besides, tn
MT banks are required to keep deposited
m with the government, without inter
ly est, 100000 francs, which sums
n are in turn, deposited with thes
IL farm credit banks. Over 100000,