The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1914-01-21

buyer and a burden that he may not
be able to stand up under during the
years that he may be paying for the
Ian purchased.
w should have agents in northern
Europe. in Germany, in France, in
Russia. in the British Isles, in the
Scandinavian countries, who at the
very source of immigration from those
countries should endeavor to turn the
tide of immigration to us. The men
who go across on behalf Of the state
should not be interested, either direct
ly or indirectly, in IN lands in g. per-
sonal way, but they should have du-
plicate lists of lands made up from
every county in the state, showing
price, terms on which lands can be
bought, the improvements, location,
and they should also have the data and
information as to farm lands that may
be for rent: and it does seem as
though in some systematic way such
as this that we could bring many
thousands OF people into North Da-
kota. We need them and they need
us.
In a conversation a few days since
with one Of the most prominent citi-
zens in a certain county in North Da
kota, he told me that in order to
farm the lands that had been put I'M
der cultivation in his county and that
were now being skinned owe in a
desultory fashion, that his county
need here In North Dakota ESQ. 900
people and the amount Of good that
could be done by a large influx of peo-
pie Of the same general character as
the population we now have, would do
an infinite amount of good to the
state, to the people who now live here
and to he people who might cast their
lot and make their homes with us.
Recently I went over the figures show
ing the number Of cars Of immigrant
moveables that came into North Da-
kota upon n of the divisions of a
railroad in the state, and the number
Of cars of immigrant moveables that
went out of the state, either into Can
ada or Montana, from that same di-
vision Of road, and T found there were
more cars of immigrant moveabes
that went out than came in-in fact,
two to one. Whether this
would hold true Is to the state as
a whole, I cannot say, but certainly a
record Of that kind is worthy of seri-
Gus thought and consideration. This
Is a conservation question and one
to which the Tri-State Grain Grow
ers' convention should give serious re-
Election.
"It Is expected that the national
congress of the United States this
winter among other questions will
take up the question of farm credits.
A year ago a commission was sent
abroad for the purpose Of studying
farm credits in other countries. I
asked Jul state legislature to appro-
pirate a. small sum for the purpose of
sending one or two men from North
Dakota with the commission that they
might at first hand have the opportu-
nifty to study the question and see
whether the system as applied in Eu-
could be made to apply here in
North Dakota. The legislature did
not appropriate the money and there
fore no n from North Dakota went
with the commission. but I have the
commissions report and from it I am
not sure whether a system such as
adopted abroad would apply and could
be made workable here. It does not
seem that the farm credits system
really gets at the base and to the bot
tom Of that which we are trying to
reach; but it may help. II adopted,
I hope it will. !
THE farmer does not wish to con-
tinue in debt and the farm credit sys-
tenn, If 1t shall be adopted, should be
simply a temporary expedient, the
same as it would be should a farmer
borrow money from, any bank or loan
company. He does not borrow that
money with the expectation that it is
in n way q permanent loan, but
does expect to pay the loan within a
reasonable length Of time. Our cred
It has been too good; we have gone
into debt too much; we need to re-
trench and to econon1ize and to pay
our debts. 1t would in the end be bet :
ter for us were 1t made harder for us
to get into debt, rather than easier
I feel that what we need here in North
Dakota Is the education and the help
that may be given to our farmers to
help them to SO change their methods
of farming, and to diversity their
crops, that they MAJ be able to pay
their debts. If our farmers can get
fair crops and can change their meth
Iod of farming SO as to diversity to a
greater extent and can only receive
q. fair price for the grain produced and
the stock raised. then the farm credit
system will to a great extent take
care Of itself, because the farmer will
pay his debts.
One Of the great problems, as in
bringing the buyer Of land and the
seller of land together, is the bringing
of the products OF the men who pro-
duce from the soil to the men who
consume the product and with the
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