The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1914-02-25
Dairy Men Of State Gathered in
Fargo for Annual Convention

l am frank to state that in my opinion
the banking business is being over
done in his state. That is, I mean 10
say, that we ought to have fewer
banks n better banks. / think tina
a good many Of my fellow bankers in
this state will agree with me when /
make the statement that in a good
many towns in this state, the bank
ing business is being overdone to such
an extent that the banks in order to
show a profit, are always ready to
furnish money IN real estate transac-
tons wherein they can get a good
commission, rather than to help out
a number Of farmers in the purchas-
ing Of dairy cattle and then wait two
or three years for results. You will
also find that a good many banks
cater only to the real estate loan bust
ness, and every time a loan is due.
the renewal is made for a larger
amount than the original loan, and
goes to take up unpaid interests and
taxes. instead of improvements on the
land. This undesirable part of the
business, will not be remedied until
we have diversified farming.
Banks advancing money for dairy
cattle must understand that at the
time Of letting the farmers have this
money, that they cannot expect to get
it back within seven months and have
the farmers derive any benefits from
the use Of the money; but If they will
let the farmers have the money to use
three or four years by renewing the
notes, for the dairymen who are will
ing to milk cows, instead of forcing
them to sell their young cattle before
they are three years old, the increase
OF the stock will in a very short time
pay up the principal and interest. and
Tor this req son halfnyo tlo+ &c --o
had fewer and better banks in the
state of North Dakota than we have
today, that one bank would get the
united support from the community in
which it is located, thus cutting down
expenses. it would be able to do more
Tor the community than If there were
three Or four banks in the community
where really only one could exist. ana
l feel quite positive that any bank that
is willing to back UP the dairymen who
want to go into cattle and STAY bv
them, will have a friend for his bank
as long as either one Of them remain
IN that community, for we all must
admit that in order for a farmer or
business man to stay in business his
profits must be larger than his expens-
es and l hope that any Of my fellow
business men who might be present
here at this time, will not take It for
granted that l am trying to down the
banks or banking department Of his
state, for I feel that the state Of North
dakota is to be congratulated in hav-
ing a governor who is a. practical
banker n business man, and between
Governor Hanna and State Examiner
SeVertson, they are doing everything
IN their power to assist the banks in
ms state wherever possible. Espe-
clally when the depositor's money Is
loaned to dairyn1en or farmers VINO
are d1versifying their farming metL-
DDS. ~
In my travels / nave found that
When making inquiries in regard to the
standings Of certain farmers
or business men, a reply Is often made
to the effect hat the party inquired
ABOUT is inclined to be slow and tricky
IN making his payments: but after
having had some experience as tn
what dairy cattle will do for these
farmers and business men who were
at n time considered slow and tricky
l n that their intentions were abso-
lutely all right from the start, but thew
SIMPLY did not have the income, there,
fore, could not pay as promptly as thew
would k to. We must all admit thai
fegardless or vocation, it is the
tarIner that leeds US. all, and the inan-
clat success OF this state / depends
Wholly on whetherask not tfle farmers
VIII get financial aid so thev can 20
INTO cattle, hogs, corn and poultry II
hot' tnere Will be more failures in the
next three years than in the last ten
years. hguring on a basis of our get
t;ng only average crops in the next
three years. e
III you travel in the northwest. Won
VIII lind starting out at Chicago. land
Taiues decrease until you get to North
Dakota. From here to the Pacific
coast. you will find that the values in
crease b o will find that we are
To-Day getting just as much grain OFF
our land as they are either east or
west of us. taking into consideration
the costs of production and the actIaI
cash received after grain has been
marketed. There are only two reasons
land is cheaper in this state than
elsewhere: first IN cou of II he
ing a new state, t~Wo-thirds only home
steaded in h last fifteen years and
second because there are not enough
eally cattle and very little diversified |
FARMING done at this time. I see no
reason why the values OF North Da-
kota land should not increase 200 ner
cent within the next ten years il our
good farmers will only go into thn
of livestock for we can GER |
talnly raise the feed, and when il gets |
raising alfalfa, I believe we can
peat any state in the union. You all
NOW that alfalfa is considered one
the best feeds for all kinds of live
stock. We have a dairyman who rails
ed ~torty~1ve hogs on one and one
acres OF alfalfa last year. He
mad them in there all summer and
only fed them grain and corn in addi-
ton to alfalfa when getting them
ready for market.
l however, will not go into details
IN reference to feeds and alfalfa for
we have other gentlemen on the pro-
gram who will discuss this matter
~
You will note hat I made mention
pr poultry as a valuable asset on a
arm. L have always considered. and
nave been agitating it as well. that
chickens are practically cleaners on :,
tarm: for they will pick up practicallv
all the different, kinds Of waste food
around the farmyard which can he
absolutely lost. I believe
mat the time is not very distant when
} successful farmer will pay the run
expenses of his farm out of poul-
Try. AS a matter Of fact, if I remem-
Der correctly, in the year OF 1912 the
1alue Of the eggs marketed was
enough to pay the interest on the ma
:ional debt.
I think I have taken about ALI the
line that / am entitled to, but before