The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-10-22
Agent Arranging for Com ing of Board to Birming-
 ham Explains Details
THE SYSTEM IS
 NOT COMPLICATED
Interests of Farmers Thoroughly Safe guarded--Everything to Be Bone for Legitimate Farmer and
 Speculation Impossible
Nv CLARENCE G. THOMPSON

Frank R. Wilson. advance agent Tor the federal farm loan board, which will visit Birmingham next Saturday, spent yesterday here arranging for the meeting and comforting with the local farm loan committee. MT. Wilson was rendered luncheon at the Tutwiler hotel yesterday at 1 o'clock to which only the members of the committee were invited. During the morning MT Wilson spent most of his time with newspaper men and meeting members of the committee. .. Next Saturday Birmingham's claim for the location of one of the 12 fed ara1 farm loan banks will be made to the farm loan board, composed or George W. Norris, Herbert quick Charles B. Lobdell and w. S. A. Smith Oscar Wells and the local committee, of which he Is chairman, have been working on the data that will be sub- nitted to the board in the way or ar guments for Birmingham. Meetings or the committee have been held daily for more than week and much prog ress has been reported.
 Just what will be the nature or the briefs being prepared has not been given out, but 1t is the opinion of MT. Wilson that the most important Tea ture of the hearing will be in impress ing the farmers to come out. Polit- teal pull will have no effect on the decision of the board and the loca- tions of the banks will depend en- tirely upon the merits of the proposed locations.
 WANT TO HEAR FARMERS
 .aphe farm loan board had rath-
 CT hear one farmer tell of his
 needs than to hear dozen bank
 CTS tell what the government
 should do for the agricultural ln-
 terests." Mir Wilson said. "As
 suggestion. I would say that the
 thing for the Birmingham con-
 mittee to do would be to get as
 many farmers as possible to at-
 tend. and lett hem tell the board
 some of their needs. The real pur-
 pose and the only purpose of the
 organization of this chain or banks
 is to lower and equalize interest
 rates on first mortgage farm loans,
 to provide longer term loans with
 the privilege of repayment in in-
 stallments through a long or short
 period of years; to assemble the
 farm credits of the nation to be
 used as security for money to be
 employed in farm development; to
 stimulate cooperative action
 among the farmers; to check land
 monopoly by making it easier for
 tenants to get land, and to pro-
 vide safe and sound long-term in-
 vestments for the thrifty.
 There Is a very common under standing that the federal farm loan act recently passed by Congress was designed for the benefit of the farm CTS of the far west and the far south, and that little benefit would come from 1t for the farmers of the east.
 While 1t Is true that the farmers of the east have enjoyed a lower in- terest rate than the farmers in the newer sections. it is also true that every dollar loaned to the eastern farmers has produced a profit to some body.
 .sUnder the federal farm loan plan a cooperative banking system is to bt createA tor the use of the farmer exclusively, to be owned and con trolled by the farmers. If the agencies which have been lending money to the eastern farmers in the past have been able to make a profit out of the low rate, it stands to reason that the profit will come back to the farmers when they begin financing themselves under the rural credits act
 PLAN IS SIMPLE
 Explaining the workings of the new fed eral farm loan act, which, when under stood, are so simple that anyone may un- derstand them, Mir Wilson said:
 s'The terms under which loans will be made are so advantageous to the farmer that they would be preferable to the old. time loans, even at the same rate of in terest.
 "Under this act, all the farm loan value: of the country are assembled, to be used as security to attract money for the use of farm development and lifting farm burdens.
 Under the federal farm loan act, | federal banks are to be established 1T the F districts now being outlined. Eacf bank will have capital of $750000, whicf will be subscribed by the government. These banks lend money to the farm CTS, but not to farmers individually. Thi. is one of the phases of the act that hal caused some confusion, many thinking