Lower coast gazette., 1914-02-21
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 81, 1914.
Advances on Agricultural Crops.

-E i, LDlsO1AAsA 90 #E#I
Advances on Agricultural Crops.
THE great staple crops produced in the
South. such as sugar cane, rice, cotton and corn,
which generally need more or less financing to
carry them on, especially where the laborers
are now directly owners of the land and OF the
crops. are seriously imperilled in this state this
wear because Of the disastrous results OF all OF
these crops in the state during the last two or
three years. A great many very reputable peo-
pie who have always paid their debts and who
can ordinarily get all the credit they desire, lind
themselves this season deprived Of their usual
resources in this direction and in some cases the
local agriculture is practically paralized. There
would be much more done in the way OF these
cultures on the lower coast than is now in pros
Meet if the financial situation was easier for
these applicants.
The disasters in the way of frost, overflow
and low prices that have overtaken the sugar
crop for three years and the enormous losses IN
the cotton crop occasioned by the boil weevil has
rot only hurt the merchants of New Orleans,
who ordinarily do a large business in the way OF
advancing, but it has actually hurt the banks
themselves and they are compelled to husband
their own resources in order to protect their
current cash business and are dlslncllned TO
finance those commission merchants who are en-
gagged in these industries that have proven un-
profitable during these last years.
This naturally brings up the expectancy OF
our whole system of advancing on crops. In the
western states this method of advancing is prac-
tically unknown and the cotton factor and the
sugar and rice factors who have done the bust
ness in the southern states are not represented
in any of the northern states by wheat factors
or corn factors. The fact is that the individ-
ual farmer who does the bulk OF the work with
his own family and with perhaps one hired man
needs but a limited amount of advances and If
his reserves Of stock feed and of household sup
plies have been carefully made he can go
through until the coming harvest gives finan-
cial relief without getting any relief from any
factor or commission merchant. 1t relief be
needed, the farmer can get q limited amount
right on his own personal credit and the factor
age plansWith crop liens is simply an unknown
thing in the western states.
In the South, where an immense business
was built up with slave labor before the civil
war, the agricultural securities were so good
and agricultural obligations generally so prompt
ly paid, that agricultural credits stood in high
esteem and any good planter or farmer could
get ordinarily all the advances that he really
needed and sometimes more than he needed.
The very ease with which this was done led in
some instances to a certain amount of careless
ness and extravaganza in expenditure in anti
cipation of profits that would perhaps never ar
rive. Occasional losses were made in this way
and the local status of advances made to pro-
duce crops has for many years been such that
such advances constituted a lien on the crops
produced with the aid of these funds. The crops
being pledged for the loan any diversion of
them constituted at least a constructive fraud
and the crops would be liable to seizure in the
hands Of any creditors secured by snch! liens.
This fact led the factors generally to decline
cline making advances excepting where these
pledges were carefully made and the proposed
crops were pledged to come under the control Of
the sugar, rice or cotton factor as the case
might be. The ease with which this was &C
complished destroyed that careful selection Of
customers that the factor or commission mer.
chant should always make and hence interior.
red with the credit of those planters and farm
ers who would prefer not to make the pledges
but yet whose credit would ordinarily be con
sidered very good. As the situation now stands
the full force of the disastrous conditions of thu
last few years have broken upon these planters
and farmers who wished to secure advances ant
have also impoverished the factors to a consid
cradle extent, rendering them unable to max,
advances with any freedom under the existing
situation.
AS an abstract proposition we have all beef
too much disposed to live on the future. One
hopes frequently lead one astray. We are lie,
to believe that we shall realize larger crops thai
the future really brings to US and have thes
disappointments that are now staring almos