Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1914-09-20
Economic Conditions in
Canada Are Criticized
Writer Outlines Faults in Canadian Banking System, and Says
General Farming Conditions Bad. @h@s

ing eight per cent interest in ad-
vance deducted from the principal.
And in most cases for six months even
if they don't need that much time.
How the Farmer Fares.
Now when they treat a county that
is practically free from debt in this
manner, how does the individual far
mer fare in his daily business as COM
pared with the farmer in the United
states? Few Canadian farmers run
a checking account and the bulk of
them that live along the boundary
line do their banking in North Dako-
ia where they get fair treatment. I
will give you a few instances Of the
way they treat their farmer GUS
toners. A friend of mine owns a
farm of 400 acres with a railroad sid
ing right on the place. Well, he rent
ed the farm and came down to Cali
fornia banking about $4,000 in a
branch of the Union bank of Canada
in a certain town in Saskatchewan.
The money lay there about a year
drawing no interest. When he wrote
them to send him down $1,000 to Cali
fornia, they sent him a draft for the
money charging him or deducting l
think about $3.50 for the draft after
using the $4,000 for a year without
interest.
In another case a man owning LOCO
acres of fine land, a large bunch OF
cattle, horses and sheep, with every
thing clear, loaded a car load OF
wheat, took the bill of lading to the
bank and told them to collect it and
asked them if they would kindly cash
his checks, if he happened to over
draw before the returns came, but
they declined unless he would give
them a note for an amount large
enough to cover any possible check
and pay the interest in advance. He
told them what he thought Of them
in language more forcible than po:
lite, drew out his money and took
his business to- one of the other banks
but did not get any better treatment
by doing so as they all run on the
same system. There are very few
men to whom they will loan money
without taking mortgage security.
Now it does not hurt a man In most
cases to give security DIS he intends
to pay anyhow. put a man that Is per-
fectly solvent, owning a good farm,
we'll stocked, all clear OF debt with
a rating 100 AL, it hurts his pride
to be asked to give a mortgage for q
short loan besides the extra expense
which the borrower has always to
pay. These have been their methods
in the west since the country settled
up under normal conditions. Now
, since the war, things are much worse.
In many places the farmer could not
borrow money to pay his hands even
when his grain was in the shock, and
liz a man cannot borrow money Tor
a legitimate purpose like this, what
use is a bank to him? Almost every
man, it matters little what he is
worth. has to borrow money at times.
II have lived in Dakota from the early
days until the last six years and
never saw the time that a man could
not borrow money for legitimate pur-
poses IL he needed it and his credit
was good. Bankers are not supposed
TO be philanthropists; their business
is run like every other business, to
pay dividends. It is not always a mat
ter Of interest rate but of being able