The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times., 1914-03-25
Operative Farm
Products Marketing
Hor' Ii Is Done in Europe and May Be Done
tn America to tte Profit of Both
Farmer and Consumer

BY MATTHEW s. puooEoN.

tOW tne man on the farm can Dor.
row money advantageously and eco
nomically IL an important question.
II may not be so important as good
marketing but Il is important enough.
Ills loan should be on terms which
meet his occupation and his financial
resources. II he cannot get these
terms from his banker he will
naturally try TO get them elsewhere.
The question Ia will the banker force
him to seek loans elsewhere, or will
he meet the needs OF the farmer
There Is little doubt that the banker
could give longer time on safe per.
sonal paper. There is little doubt
that he could arrange for long time
real estate mortgages. When q farmer
borrows to buy a farm and gives q
mortgage for the loan there is no rea.
son why II should lot be a long time
amortization mortgage permitting re.
payment In annual or semi.annual
payments extending over ten. twelve
or twenty years.
Gilt Edge Security.
A good first mortgage on real estate
running for a considerable period OF
time Is recognized the world over as
gilt edged loan. Financiers are &C.
customed TO advise II as the safest In.
vestment for trustees. widows and
others who are not able 10 pass upon
the character OF miscellaneous invest.
ments.
The president OF one OF the great
life insurance companies makes the
statement that his company In its his.
tory OF forty.slx years has loaned
sl33,s3s.54si+ 10 1902 farmers. Sc.
cured by mortgage on ll.i62. 1853 acres.
the average loan being si.7s2. The
net loss after paying all costs. fees,
assessments and penalty interest
rates was fourteen.hundredths OF one
! per cent. This Is substantially the
history OF all properly organized farm
| land mortgage business. Some 5000.
/ 100000 In farm mortgages are carried
by our life insurance companies-an
amount equal 10 35 per cent OF the
| total farm mortgages shown by tie
| census.
! II farm loan for three years Is a
! good loan, one for ten or fifteen o.
twenty years is good, too, but no
| American bank makes these long
loans. Why? We have neve. been
able to get any adequate answer TO
this question. The general response
Is an unsatisfactory one. 1T isn't good
banking TO make such long farm
loans which IL another way OF say.
Ing what We have said before. that
the city banker will not meet the
leeds OF the farmer borrower.
There seems 20 be therefore no rea.
son why this fact that long time
farm loan is a gilt edged loan should
not be taken into account In fixing the
Interest. II is not possible that the
Interest on these loans should be near
the rate which is received upon bonds.
either municipal or industrial. The
city banker will investigate fully the
Integrity and earning capacity Of
every factory that wants loan. IL
there any reason why the American
banker should not put himself In a
position to investigate the honesty and
earning capacity OF the farmer who
needs money, thus permitting him TO
capitalize his character as do bankers
abroad? On the whole after looking
over the situation at home and abroad
II Is not surprising that the farmer
sometimes suggests that bankers
might we'll study their own activities
rather than TO be butting In upon the
farmers business
Over here In Germany the bankers
were formerly as slow as those OF
America are now TO meet this demand
for rural credit. SO cooperative
credit came and II came to stay. II
does the work and It does II we'll.
J The question that Is up In America
Is simply a question as TO whether or
not the American banker Ia going to
insist that the American farmer solve
his own difficulties or whether he,
the banker Is going to solve II for him
! and be his financial hacker.
Mortgage Loans In Germany.
J A cooperative loan on long mort.
Cages is no new experiment. One
) hundred and forty years ago the
Iandschaften were organized In Prus.