Durant weekly news. (Durant, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 190?-1944, 1915-07-23
oxE-cRor CREDIT MENACE
Evils Of the Present System In the
South--key TO the situation in ia
Hands of BANKERS and Credit Mev-
chants Of the states.

In an address before the Bankera'
Association Of Louisiana. Arkansas.
and Mississippi an official OF the L.
s. Department Of Agriculture stated
that before any sound system Of IL
versfied agriculture was possible in
the South bankers and credit mer-
chants must take an active part In
promoting It. Int heir hands, he
said. was the key to the situation.
For many years cotton has heen
the one money crop in large sections
OF the country. In consequence II
has come to be regarded as the one
security for farmers loans. II a
man grew cotton. he could obtain
credit; II he did not. he could not.
What Is now needed is to put the shoe
on the other foot. to refuse credit to
the man who persists in risking ev-
| erything on the chance OF good
cotton crop with a good market for
it. and to extend credit to the man
whose farm under the worst circum-
stances is certain to feed his family.
Under the present system it is the
custom to live off next years crop.
The farmer who grows nothing else
must nevertheless live while his cot
ton is growing, He obtains his sup
plies on credit from the merchant
and pays for them after his crop l.
in. This Is credit Of most unfor-
tunate kind The borrowed money
is used for no productive purpose.
and for the interest which he pays.
either directly or in the form OF
higher prices for his supplies the
farmer gets nothing in return. He Is
perpetually in debt. and, in conse-
Quence. perpetually compelled to
seek cash in the most obvious way
gambling on a good cotton year
The power to break this vicious
circle rests with the banker and the
credit merchant. "Can you blame
the farmer" ii was asked. especial
ly the little OF tenant farmer, II he
does not follow the advice Of agri-
culturists and does not diversity.
when he well knows that when he
goes to the small banker or supply
merchant of the South the basis of
his credit is fixed on the number of
acres of the one cash crop that he
is going to produce 80
The present reluctance to advance
money on any other crop than cot
ton is to be attributed largely to the
lack OF reliable markets for other
products. The establishment Of such
. markets Is. therefore. a necessary ac-
compartment OF a successful cam.
pagn for diversification. On one oc-
casion a carload OF hogs. had to be
marketed in the North. although the
state in which the hogs were grown
buys S20.O0O.000 worth of northern
pork each year. Much. however. Is
already being done TO remedy thi;
condition. In Texas a number OF
counties have marketing associations
and one southern city was mentioned
in which a produce association had
been formed by the merchants and
two men employed TO help the far
mers in marketing by showing them
what the markets want and by as
sembling and shipping farm products
Underlying this cooperative activity
is the principle that only by sound
profitable. safe farming can money
be brought into the country and tbs
whole community made prosperous
Through their ability 10 grant oil
withhold loans according to the pur
pose for which the money is 10 bC
spent. local banks have an opportun
ity to demonstrate in the most prac
ticable OF all ways the value Of SOUND
farm management. Not only car
they give advice: they can see tha
IL is taken. During a protracteS
drought in Oklahoma. for example
Il was found that some of the grair
sorghums. such as kafir corn, wer'
much more certain to produce anC
yield than corn. In consequence. tbs
banks insisted that farmers wh'
wished loans should plant a certain
number OF acres TO these sorghums
In the same way in North Dakota
wheat farmers have to plant enough
corn TO feed their live stock. II
sections of Mississippi and AlabaI:
the appearance OF the boil weeyi
leads banks and merchants to insis
that farmers grow their own supple
in order to minimize the amount o
money they were compelled to Dor