The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1915-05-12
changing therefor a first mortgage

changing therefor a first mortgage
on his property. Against a mass of
these mortgages the lending agency
issues debentures or bonds, and it is
these securities that are bought by
the investing public.
The debenture is simply a means
of buying credit at wholesale prices,
rather than at retail. In other words,
where the individual farmer has to
buy say, $1,000 worth of credit, it
may cost him from 8 to 80 per cent
a year; while a large number of far
mers may, through an association
and combination of interests, offer,
in the form of debentures, large
masses of security, and thus get the
low rates that all dealers in large
quantities enjoy, whether it be mer-
chandise or credit. A railway worth
$50, 1000, 900 usually has no trouble
in borrowing money at a or 5 per
cent; but a detached piece of rail-
way track worth $4,000 would GER
tainly have difficulty in getting a
loan at all. Similarly, the small
farmer alone finds it hard to get
money at any reasonable rate of in
terest, but a large number of far
mers with their interests combined
may borrow at very low rates.
The principles (1) of amortiza-
ton and (2) buying credit in large
quantities by means of debentures,
must be held in mind in attending
to work out a system fitted to our
needs. They are very essential fea-
lures of the most successful Euro
pean rural credits organizations.
and without them j. is very Doubt
full if any sort of workable plan
can ever be evolved in America.
The German Observation-Disclosures 1t
Is and How 1t Works.
The "Landschaft" is the German
rural credits institution that has
been successful above all others in
aiding the farmer in borrowing mon
ey on long time at low interest rates
and is most frequently referred to
as the model after which American
rural credit agencies should be pat
termed.
Herrick, in his work on Rural
Credits" defines a landschaft as can
association of landowners, supervis-
ed and controlled by the govern
ment, and empowered to issue de-
bentures on the joint and several IL
ability of the members and to give
them to members only, in exchange
for their several obligations, secured
by mortgages, to make stipulated
payments into the treasury at stated
intervals; it is further empowered to
receive, invest and finally apply
these payments for the redemption
of the debentures as they mature.
The real l~andschafts have no capital
stock, o do they possess any CO.
operative feature except the mutual
liability of members and the meager
right allowed them to vote for lists
of officers to be presented to the
crown for approval"
Although the German l~andschafts
are alike in the general principles of
their structure and operation, there
is a wide variation in the details. In
the province of Silesia, where the
landschaft system is in extensive 3D.
GRAFTON, the headquarters is in the
capital of the province, where gen.
eral supervision and oversight are
exercised by a royal commissioner
from the Office of the German Minis
ter of Agriculture. The province
of Silesia, which in size is a little
less than one-third the area of Ala
bama or North Carolina and has a
population of about 5,OOO,O 900, is
subdivided into nine districts, in
each of which there is a district
.landschaft, and the districts in turn
r divided into two or more circles,
the circle simply being the local
landschaft.
The central %landschaft is admin
lstered by an executive council COM
posed of a president appointed by