Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1915-11-27

President Wilson to gather facts be-
fore financial legislation along that
line was undertaken.
Mr.. Diffenderffer explains the sys-
tenn and the working of the rural credit
plans of Europe and particularly of
Germany, which has forged ahead of
other countries in social legislation
such as workmen's compensation acts,
accident and health insurance for the
working man, old age pensions, and
farm loan systems.
Speaking of the systems of European
countries for lending money to the
farmers, Mr.. Diffenderffer says, in
part:
European Rural Credit Systems fol-
low division of short-time personal
credit societies and longtime land
mortgage associations. For short-time
credit, cooperative societies are formed
and in lieu of capital credit is pledged,
sometimes with limited liability of its
members, but often unlimited; that is,
when a farmer becomes a member of
a cooperative society he pledges his
entire worth for the debts of the So
ciety. In Germany these societies have
reached their highest state of devel-
opment.
These short-term credit societies
throughout continental Europe are gen.
orally federated. The organizations for
the provision of personal credit faci1i-
ties are as highly developed as are the
systems of commercial banking The
prevailing rate of interest paid by the
farmers for the short-time loans is
from four to five and one-half per cent.
The terms offered European farmers
are generally better designed to meet
the peculiar requirements of agricul-
turiStS than are the terms obtainable
today by the American farmers.
1.-THE personal credit organizations
have the form of cooperative socie-
fnc hn <>f
cieties assume unlimited liability for
the debts of the society while in other
cases the societies take the form of
limited liability. AS a rule, in Euro
pean countries, the law makes little
or no provision for exemptions of any
kind. These short-time credit socie-
ties furnish cheap, safe and elastic
credit to their members by reason of
their control by farmers and all organ
izations exclusively in the interest of
farmers who operate them at nominal
cost and without seeking dividend
profit to such societies.
Land mortgage credit has been or
ganized so as to place a collective Sc
curity back of bonds issued by land
mortgage societies in contrast with the
system of marketing individual loans
upon individual mortgages. Without
discussing the form of the organization
employed for this purpose, it may be
stated that the land-mortgage instftu-
tions bring to European farmers low
interest rate, but not any lower than
the short-time credit societies; the priv
ileges of repaying loans in small fixed
annual installments extending over a
term of years-in some cases as long
as seventy-five years under the amor
tization plan, although provision for
the earlier payment Is made If the
borrower SO desires; protection from
advance in interest rates; and the
practical elimination of commission
charges. Many of these personal credit
societies and 1and-mortgage associa-
tions are fostered by government
grants, loans or special provisions of
law. Mortgage bonds issued by COM
mercial banks and by private joint
stock land-mortgage banks sell substan-
TALLY on the same basis with like Sc
curities issued by government favored