The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1915-12-11
"YOu Pay 1t, Who Gets IT."

enable our farmers to borrow O
long time at low rates Of interes'
the interest only to be paid an
nually." John Nj. Parker.
Let US eschew politics for fe
minutes, and see ii few fact
from authoritative sources vii
not show the farmer what Nir
Parker means-no other candi
date seems to take this part of Mr.
Parker's platform as serious, o
Of any importance.
The Southland Farmer, pub,
lished at La Porte, Texas, uGdeI
the above heading, says:
'The banker and the time merchan
do not get all of it. but your ex
perience and that of thousands anG
hundreds Of thousands of farmers like
you, show that they get more thar
they are justly entitled to in serving
you by lending you money or selling
you goods on time, till you can make
and harvest and market your crop"
John Shelton Williams, Com
troller of the Currency. says:
"Some reports from the South and
West, the Northwest and the South
west, especially in the wheat and cot
ton section of the Southwest, are
bloOd-curdling. We find from
our score of reports from all sections
OF the South that buying on time
prices in an average State is equiva-
lent to paying interest at the rate of
70 per cent per annum"
(The printed table gives ten states,
the rate ranging from 81 to 80 per
cent. Louisiana shows 60 per cent?
The list shows that there were
total OF l2O6 banks charging 10 per
cent, or more, of which six were in
Louisiana. ~
Controller Williams, in his re-
port. is particularly severe ana
bitter in arraigning national
banks, and says that Uncle Sam
will soon show such bankers that
their banks are public service
corporations and must serve the
public on reasonable terms.
There is no way to regulate the
slime price" merchant (who
charges so per cent in Louisiana,
according to the Controllers re.
port). but Mr.. Parker has IN.
doubtedly advanced one sound
business proposition as plat.
form declaration. that should be
forced to the front in this cam.
paign. instead of the airing of
personal differences by two office
holders, when Louisiana is so
sorely in need of instruction along
economic and industrial lines.
The farming interests of this
state need and deserve more con.
sideration at this time than ever
before, better banking and trans
portation facilities, with a bust.
ness like rural credit system, are
OF more importance than the
preservation OF any political or.
ganization or party. The defeat
OF a political organization has
never injured any country or
state, but the Uninterrupted
triumph of one political organiz,.
ton has hampered the economic
and industrial progress of Louisi-
ana too long and TOO sorelv for
her to submit to it any longer.
Conditions speak too plainly. if
the uncultured facts for men not
to see and realize what remedy is
necessary.
"You pay it, who gets i,?"-
seems to be large enough cues.
ton for any State campaign
Yearly payments to the State
seem to be fairly regular and ex.
act, but equivalents and results
seem to De rather irregular if not
altogether lacking. Ofwhat value
to the people is the opinion of one
ONCE seeker ofan other Office seek.
er's past record, or of what good
is it for one flee seeker to parade
up and down the State picking
The bones Of the Hall administra.
hon? The people are concerned |
ABOUT the future and not the dead Y
past OF office holders; they are
rather inclined to forget the fail.
lres OF the past and to live in tbp
hope CT a better future; they are t
Interested iu being free and indie.
,endent. both politically and in. T.
Iustrially; they are inclined to a
void the "fetters of freedom" a. il
'dvocated by the two primary A
lection contestants. Business 4
nen run things in a business way:
politicians run thiogs 10 a politi- b
al way. Will the people get II
ural Gre dit system for this State b
y going after it, according to 81
olittoal methods. Or will they B