The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1915-06-18
BANKERS URGED TO
COOPERATE WITH
FARMERS
SOUL MATERIAL HAS ENTERED
THE BANK VAULTS OF
THE NATION.
The Bank a Financial Power House
to the Community.
BY Peter RadfOrd.

One of the greatest opportunities In
the business life Of the nation lies
in practical cooperation Of the coun-
try banks with the farmer in building
agriculture and the adventure is laden
with greater possibilities than any
forward movement now before the
American public.
A few bankers have loaned money
to farmers at a low rate of interest,
and ofttimes without compensation, to
buy blooded livestock, build silos,
fertilize the land, secure better seed,
hold their products for a betetr mar
ket price, etc. The banker in con
%tributing toward improving the grade
of livestock; the quality of the seed
and the fertility of the soil, plants in
the agricultural life of the community
a fountain of profit, that, like Tenny-
sons brook, runs OF and on forever.
Community Progress a Bank Asset.
The time was when money loaned
on such a basis would severely test
the sanity of the banker; such trans
actions would pain the directors like
a blow in the face. A cashier who
would dare to cast bread upon waters
that did not return buttered side up
in time for annual dividends would
have to give way to a more capable
man. This does not necessarily mean
that the bankers are getting any better
or that the milk of human Kindness is
being imbibed more freely by our finan-
ciers. II indicates that the bankers are
getting wiser, becoming more able fin
anciers and the banking industry more
competent. The vision of the builder is
crowding out the spirit of the pawn
broker. A light has been turned on
a new world of investment and no
usurer ever received as large returns
on the investment as these progress,
sive bankers, who made loans to
uplift industry. The bankers have
always been liberal city builders, but
they are now building agriculture.
A Dollar With a Soul.
1t is refreshing in this strenuous
commercial life to find so many dol
lars with souls. When q dollar is ap-
preached to perform a task that does
not directly yield the highest rate Of
interest, we usually hear the rustic
of the eagles wings as 1t scars up
ward; when a dollar is requested to
return at the option Of the borrower,
it usually appeals to the Goddess of
Liberty for its contractural rights
when q dollar is asked to expand in
volume to suit the requirements OF
industry, IT usually talks solemnly Of
its redeemer, but soul material has
entered into the vaults of our banks
and rate, time and volume have a
new basis Of reckoning in so far as
the ability Of some Of the bankers
permit them to cooperate In promot
ing the business Of farming.
God A~lmlghty's NobIemen.
These bankers are God Almighty's
noblemen. Heaven lent earth the
spirit Of these men and the angels
will help them roll in place the
cornerstones of empires. They are
not philanthropists; they are wise
bankers. The spirit Of the builder
has given them a new vision, and
wisdom has visited upon them bust
ness foresight.
The cackle OF the hen, the low
of kline and the rustic Of growing
crops echo in every bank vault in the
nation and the shrewd banker knows
that he can more effectively increase
his deposits by putting blue blood in
the veins Of livestock; quality in
the yield of the soil and value into
agricultural products, than by bust
ness handshakes, oyerdrafts anG
gaudy calendars.
Taking the community into part
nership with the bank, opening up a
ledger account with progress, making
thrift and enterprise stockholders and
the prosperity Of the country an
asset to the bank, put behind It
stability far more desirable than a
letterhead bearing the names of all
the distinguished citizens of the com
munity. The bank is the financial
power house of the community and
blessed is the locality that has an
up-to-date banker