Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1916-10-19


have been chuckling for a weel
over your dismay (asI saw you In
my vision of Rural Credits) wher
you discovered that all three farmers
on your appraisal committee must
agree upon each appraisal, not by q
majority, but unanimously. Farmers
have hard work to get together, but
mutual interest will finally get all the
appraisals fixed up somehow
So you hold a meeting of your Cred.
1t Union, and all ten appraisals are
approved and lot of blanks are filled
out and mailed to the Federal Land
Bank. These are applications fol-
your loans, duly approved and en-
dorsed by your National Farm Loan
Association. 1t took lot of talking
to show the fellows about why they
had to buy stock and it was a trem-
endous job to fill out all those blanks
but you clipped in and paid Squire
Brown $25 to fill them all out, ship
shape. He spent two days on the job
and charged $25-the old hog. So
that cost you $3.50 apiece. But 1t is
| all done now and the papers are mail
ed to the bank, and you ten farmers
and Squire Brown sit around for two
hours swapping stories of your early
lpioneer days, until it is way past
| feedin' time before you get started
back home. You have calculated that
the bank ought to get your papers
next day, and, allowing a whole day
for the bankers to read your papers
(if he doesen't Just o. X. them with
out bothering to read Squire Browns
handwriting) you ought to get the
cash by the end of the week at the
latest. That will come Just right
between the having and cultivating
the corn, and you lay your plans to
go right to work with some help, dit
ching that swamp, as soon as the
money is here.
Well, in about ten days the secre-
tary of your National Farm Loan
Association calls you up by phone
and notifies you that there is to be a
meeting of the Association next day.
He says he has heard from the bank,
but the pesky phone buzzes so you
can't understand clearly just what he
says the banker wrote. Anyhow, the
money must have come, so you will
knock off work and go to the meeting
and get the money and put II into
bank where 1t will be safe until you
use it.
When you get to the meeting you
find that there is just a short letter
from the banker, saying he has re-
ceived your ten applications for loans,
together with your appraisals, and
that as early as possible Federal ap-
praiser will be assigned to visit your
locality, and pass on the appraisals,
and II he certifies to your National
Farm Loan Association and the loans
be made.
None of you had understood about
this carpetbagger's coming to do the
appraising. Why didn't they tell you
before, instead of your spending all
that time appraising each others
farms? Both appraisals necessary?
Bosh-why that's foolish, for when
Ben Samson put a mortgage on his
farm he went to Squire Brown and
filled out a statement which Squire
signed under Ben's name, and the
Squire sent it to the insurance COM
pany he was agent for. and inside of a
week Ben had his money. There
wasn't all this appraising and double
appraising.
When is that carpetbegger coming?
The banker says that there has been
such flood of applications that their
appraisers are unable to keep up with
the calls on them, and as there is
none within three hundred miles of
you. it will perhaps be some months
before any appraisers will reach you.
In the meanwhile any of the members
OF course not. When a farmer sets
out to borrow money, any old time
will do-if he is in no hurry.
But what puts off the improve
ment you intended, until harvest and
ten threashing, are upon you-in
fact you decide not to start the i'm
provement until next season. Any
old time will debut II you do not
get the money this season, the inter-
est begins right away, you know.
About three months later a Gifted
chap steps off the train, takes the bus
to the hotel and after registering and
getting a lot of mail he inquiries for
Bill Davis, the secretary of your local
National Farm Loan Association, and
introduces himself with a letter of
credentials as the Federal Land Bank
appraiser-the "carpetbagger," as
Bill calls him.
Next day he gets livery team and
driver and starts to visit your farm.
He can't inspect over two farms a
day for they are scattered all over
two townships and so 1t takes him
nearly a week to get all around your
ten, and you can see how 1t is going
to take long time for the carpetbag-
gers to appraise all the farms to be
mortgaged in America.
This chap takes lot of notes in his
book and asks you lot of questions
about what you raised each year for
the last five years, and how much
stock you keep-not double liability
stock but real four-footed critters
oh