Mansfield mirror. (Mansfield, Wright County, Mo.) 1908-1957, 1915-02-18
Address Of F. D. Gardner and Proposed Bill Designed by Him and Sub.
mhted to His ExceIency, Gov. Elliott W. Major, and a Joint
Conference o. the Agricultural Committee Of the
4Sth General Assembly, at Jefferson
City, Mo, January 29, 1915

tNiNSN u 'siN W. ~
velopment, particularly here in
Missouri, Immediately suggests
the principle of the long time, OF
amortization plan.
If we discard the system of
unlimited liability or collective
credit (which | shall discuss
later on We must. if we are to
cover the whole subject. bring
the state into its operation to a
certain extent. All other ma.
tions have gone much farther in
this respect than the plan which
| shall submit to yod.
II must be borne in mind that
the agricultural question is one
to be considered from the stand.
point of general welfare because
food supplies concern every
man, woman and child in the
state.
In a discussion Of this subject
before the Missouri Bankers
Commission, | called their atten.
ton To the following existing
conditions: Twelve of the mem.
bers Of this Bankers Commits.
sion live outside of st. Louis and
Kansas City. The census of the
counties from which these II
members come shows a loss in
population in the last 10 years Of
3l,092, or : per cent. Such
splendid agricultural counties as
some of these members come
from show the following re.
suits
Galloway G.l per cent loss in population
Saline .l2.t per cent loss in population
Platte II per cent loss in population
Lewis 90. PIPER cent loss in population
Cooper 10 per cent loss in population
Atehison Ia per cent loss in population
We might carry this thought
a little farther and show that
the whole state, outside Of ST
Louis and Kansas City, has lost
2 per cent in population, accord.
ing to the last census.
Are We not justified in asking
ourselves if we can expect a per.
manent and full measure of pros.
perity to come to the banker.
the merchant. the labOring man.
or, in fact, to any class of our
population until a remedy has
been found for the condition
cited above: Better roads and
better schools are permanent
factors to be considered; but
does not their development call
for additional finances in order
that their advantages may be
fully exploited:
Have we not failed to impress
upon the country boy the fact
that he is engaged in the oldest
and most important business in
the world? Ia a word, we want
him to realize the dignity Of his
position; and then we want to
give him the facilities for making
his position in the country profit.
able and enjoyable.
AS to the financial soundness
of the plan, | do not believe
there can be any serious ques.
ton. This cannot be Better it,
Illustrated than by the published
statement of two life insurance
companies in America. These
two c%ompaics have actually in.
vested at present in farm mort
cages 1j5 million dollars, and
they make the statement that
they have never lost a nickel on
a farm mortgage. And yet it Is
a fact that these same cOmpa.
MES will charge a higher rate
and a larger com mission for
making the loan than they will
charge for bonds, stocks or city
investments. showing plainly a
discrimination against the farm.
er simply for the reason that the
farmer has not the machinery to
place these loans before the in
surance companies in the proper
way.
Secretary Houston said in his
recent speech at Columbia. Mo:
Insurance companies have in
vested at least 600 million dol.
lars in farm mortgage loans"
He declared that more would be
invested, and at more favorable