The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-02-18
FLETCHER'S MEASURE IN
FAVOR OF THE FARMERS

other Florida paper that supports
Senator Fletcher prints anything
about his work in Congress, the op-
position press can say We are doing
it for election purposes But here
comes the big and we'll edited Allan
influential paper than any in Florida,
and which doesn't care whether Sen
ator Fletcher is reelected or not, and
prints the following double-leaded
editorial about Mr.. Fletcher's rural
credits measure. The Journal says:
The Fletcher Bill for Rural Credits
One of the most important pieces
of legislation before Congress is a
bill by Senator Fletcher, of Florida,
providing for a national system of
farmland banks to facilitate agri-
cultural credits. This measure is
one of vital concern to the common
country and peculiarly so to states
like Georgia, Florida and all others
of the South, where the welfare of
farming interests is the familiar and
fundamental seat of the peoples
prosperity.
The movement towards rural cred
it legislation began naturally and APP
propriately enough in the South. 1t
had its definite impetus from the
Southern Commercial Congress, of
which Senator Fletcher is president.
The organization that perfected the
plan of an American commission to
study the rural credit systems that
have played SO famous a part in the
development of European countries;
and ON Senator FIetcher's initiative
Congress itself authorized the ap-
pointment Of a like commission to
represent the government. These
two commissions, acting jointly,
spent several months in first-hand
investigation of land mortgage
banks, cooperative rural credit
unions and kindred institutions in
Germany, England and other coun-
tries where agricultural problems
perplexing the United States have
been patiently and successfully
worked out. Having gathered a
wealth of valuable suggestions from
these lands, the joint commission ad-
apted them to the peculiar needs of
the American farm, and made up a
report on which helpful legislation
could be based. AS chairman of the
joint commission. Senator Fletcher
was logically assigned the task of
preparing a specific bill. This, he
has done to the satisfaction of all
who are interested in improving the
farmers credit %cilities. His meas
ure has the administration hearty
approval and is commonly recognize
ed as an instrument of great useful
ness to Americas agricultural life.
In his message % Congress De
cember I'd last, President Wilson
struck to the heart of this question
when he said
1T has singu1arly enough, come
to pass that we have allowed the in
dustry of our farms to lag behind the
other activities of the country. | need
not stop to tell you how fundamental
| to the life of the nation is the pro
duction if its food Our thoughts
may be ordinarily concentrated upon
! the cities and the hives of industry,
upon the cries Of the crowdet mar
ket place and the clango1 of the
factory, but it is from the quiet in
terspaces of the open valleys and the
free ~hillsides that We draw the
source OF life and of prosperity
, from the farm and the ranch, from
the forest and the, mine. Without
Syese every street would be silent
3yery Cfice deserted, every factory
fallen into disrepair. And yet the
fRmer does not stand upon the same
footing with the forester and thu
miner in the market of credit HI
is the servant of the seasons. Nature
determines how long he must wal
for his crops, and will not be hur
r1ed IN her processes. He may CIV
his note, but the season of its ma
turity depetds upon the season whel
his crop natures, lies at the gate o
the market where his products ar
. sold. And the security he gives
: not known in the brokers' Office o
, as familiar as it might be on tn
|
. must add to the means by which tn
) farmer may make his credit con
: stantly and easily available and com
mand when he will the capital b
: which to support and expand his bus
/ mess. We lag behind many othe
? countries of the modern world in al
tempting to do this. Systems OF rur
al credits have been studied and de
veloped on the other side of tn