The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1914-01-23


community the right to have a rate
corrected by the state where made
incorrectly or believed to be made
incorrectly by the rating bureau That
there is discrimination in rates in
Minnesota can be seen from the ex.
perience i'm the state i'm the past
twenty years. In the three large
cities, Minneapolis, st. Paul and Du-
luth, the stock fire insurance COM
panies have had a loss ratio of fifty
nine per cent. The other towns i'm
the state combined. which have fire
protection. have had a loss ratio OF
55 per cent. The balance of the
state, taking in the unprotected vii
lagos and farming communities have
had loss ratio Of thirty-nine per
cent Thus you will see that there
has been gross discrimination I'm
favor of the cities and against the
country.
The Township Mutuais.
The township mutual fire insur-
ance companies which insure only
farm properties, have during the past
thirty-five years had most remark
able history. They have furnished
insurance TO our farmers at rate
on an average of fifteen cents per
hundred The stock companies have
charged from 60 to 40 cents per hun
dred The township mutuals have
collected i'm the neighborhood of six
and one-half million dollars from our
farmers and II they had not been I'm
existence and this insurance had been
carried by our stock companies, it
would have cost our farmers sixty
cents a hundred or about twenty-eight
million dollars. In other words the
township mutuals have saved to our
farmers during the period of their
existence, in the neighborhood of
twenty-one million dollars.
Professor o. Willis. editor of The
Farmstead, was one OF the speakers
this afternoon. He spoke on THE
Agricultural Press and the farmer"
Address by Progressive Farmer.
+ l.. Z Potter, a farmer OF Springfield
was called upon for an address and
was introduced yesterday afternoon
as one of the most progressive
farmers in the state. He talked
on Our Resources and How to
Retain Them" He referred to the
fact that 1t was hard to wake the
farmers up to their opportunities.
There Is no doubt but that We
have the finest country in the
world. We have the best soils that
lays outdoors, and we have the
best water and best climate on
earth"
Mr.. Potter talked Of the progress
in the dairying business which has
been made in this state. "One of
our troubles is that we take our
money and put IL In the bank.
where II draws four per cent in
terest, instead of putting II into
cattle
I'VE sometimes hear the state
ment that IT doesn't pay to farm on
500 land. But IL that is the case
why do Illinois and Iowa men come
up here and buy our high priced
land? We Nave been taking the
fertility out of our land and putting
our money i'm the bank. when we
should be putting 1t back in the
land. No man has a right to have
his money I'm the bank until his
family has all the modern conven-
fences in his home.
I'VE ought not care what our
land would sell for. but whether we
are getting a good living and are
comfortable. Just now the larger
per cent of the money I'm the banks
is farmers money.
I'VE want to keep our boys and
girls on the farm. We don't want
all of them, but we do want the
best of them there
Homes vs.. Automobiles.
IF we spent as much on the inn
provement OF our homes as farmers
do on automobiles we could have
every convenience In our houses
We could keep them up for one-third
what the automobiles up-keep costs"
Mr.. Potter believes in farmers
clubs and believes In social activi-
ties among farmers. but he thinks
there is no reason for drawing. n
line between the farmers and towns
people either socially or In a bust
ness way.
Every man who has made a sue
cess OF farming is 4 fool to move