The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1916-06-09

Editor Lamar Democrat:
The voters of Missouri will soon be
called upon to vote on the Gardner
Land Bank Bill as constitutional
amendment. Having carefully stud
led the bill and believing it to be more
of a Bankers Land Loan Law and
scheme to increase taxes on real
estate. than to secure low rates of in
terest to farmers, feel it my duty to
state the reasons for my conclusions.
The general provisions of the bill
are as follows:
The Legislature is to appropriate
81 100000 out of the revenue of the
State to be placed in. the hands Of a
Board of Governors, which is to be
composed of the Governor, Secretary
of State, State Auditor, Attorney
General and State Treasurer by sec
ton three Of ne bill. Five hundred
thousand Of this capital is to be loan
ed to the farmers at 4.3 per cent in
terest, plus 1-2 per cent for revenue
and expense, and deeds of trust will
be taken by the bank to secure these
| loans; that so per cent Of the land
value can be borrowed; that after
S500,000 has been loaned, the bank
can issue debenture bonds to the
amount Of 100000; that this process
can be repeated again and again UNI
til $40,000,000 worth of bonds are is
sued, which will require an expensive
State department for the marketing
of such a large volume of securities
in opposition to the Federal Land
Bank guaranteed notes; that the bor-
rowers of the $40,000,000 except the
/ first S500,000, will pay according to
| section 19 of the bill not more than
| 6 per cent; that the farmers to secure
these loans must have their farms APP
praised at their full cash value.
Seems to me this land bank bill
might we'll be considered scheme
looming as it does from a few mil
| lionaires in st. Louis) to raise the
land values in the State for the pur-
poses of increasing taxes. Ore can
readily see that these appraised val
ues on farm lands will come from all
sections of the State and will be filed
with the board of governors as pro-
vided for in section Of the bill, which
is the State Board of Equalization
thus furnishing the Board of Equali-
cation with sworn values of the real
estate in every county in Missouri.
Will not this furnish a good oppop
tunity for these gentlemen to increase
the taxes on the farm lands in this
II State?
Assuming for arguments sake tha'
he measure has been legally adopted
and is ready to be put in operation
where will the first million dollars
.ome from? By section IL of tn,
Land Bank Law it provides that on
million dollars be appropriated on
If the money of the State Treasury
But there is no million dollars in tn
State Treasury to appropriate becaus
every citizen that reads the paper
| snows that the governor of the Stat
has cut all appropriations and is do
| ing all that is in his power to kee
he operating expenses of the Stat
/ within the revenue, but with increas
I'd real estate assessment which woul
| esult from the policy of this bill
ii would be easy to raise plenty of mon
~ for extravaganza administration Q
State government. :,
What can be done to get this mil
ion dollars? This is what can b
lone, and us farmers had better watc
nut or it will be done. The Stat
BOARD of EQUALIZATION will have t
raise the valuation on all propert!
Inside of the great cities as the Gil
. es contend that they are now assess
ID higher than the country propert.
md this raise will be leveled at tn
II arm lands of the State and the resu
will be us farmers will have to pa
for these political Tricks that al
! low being worked to get our vote