University Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1908-1916, 1914-02-02
FINANCING THE FARMER.

FINANtING lHE ARNEh.
Although the United States is the
leading country of the World in the
amount of its agricultural products,
it is the most backward of all import
ant countries in the development OF
farm credit. The farmer, like the man
ufacturer. needs funds, for farming is
becoming more OF business. The
farmer must have funds for the pur-
chase of property and for its perma-
nent Improvement and also for the
temporary purpose of financing crops.
In the past, conditions in this coun-
try have been so favorable to agri-
culture that there has been little need
of its encouragement, but our supply
of free farm land is practically gone;
good farm land must now be bought.
For the purpose of buying land and
making improvements upon it the
farmer should be able to make mort
gage loans which have a long time to
run and which can be paid gradually
in small yearly installments.
At present, the farmer gets his fixed
capital by mortgaging his land and
buildings and usually he has to get
someone in his own neighborhood to
take his mortgage The average farm
loan is for a period of three to five
years and at the end of that time
it may or may not be possible to Sc
cure a renewal This is a great handi-
cap 1t is as though every division
of a railroad had to be financed local
ly.
In practically all European coun-
tries farmers can obtain the funds they
need at reasonable terms. In Germany
the situation is handled by the organ
ization of cooperative credit banks by
munity. Each bank is limited in its
loan operations to a very small area
in which the farmers are acquainted
with each other. These cooperative
associations guarantee the mortgage
payment of their members and thus
create a ready market for farm mort
cages
The farmers in this country are just
now facing an era of extraordinary
expenditure if they are to keep abreast
of the times. There is need of more
and better live stock There is need
of more machinery and the fertility
of the soil must be increased in order
to make way for more intensive farm
ing. To provide these funds, we need
a system of land mortgage bonds the
proceeds from which can be used by
the farmers. To provide the machin-
cry for selling the bonds to the public
and lending to the farmer is the task
now before Congress and the various
state legislatures.
Under the present system of bank |
ing in this country the accumulation !
of the surplus funds in the New York !
stock exchange in the fall is seri-
Gus hindrance to the farmer. for it .
makes interest rates high at just the !
time when the farmer wants to borrow /
The new banking law, however, by |
preventing this concentration of the
surplus funds in the large cities will =.
open the way for the use of such funds |
in the country districts
TO work out satisfactory system
of agricultural credits will take some
time, but at least something can be
done in the meantime to tighten the
burden of the farmer. Some progress
can undoubtedly be made in the direc-
ton by rural organization, which will
produce capital from the farmers own
capital to enter the agricultural bus
mess.
Miss Hodge Reelected Secretary.
Miss Elizabeth Hodge was reelected