Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1916-10-20

is harder to get an extension than it
is to get an original mortgage. l met
a friend recently who had been in
the mortgage business in Kansas,
where he SAID the charge on farms
was 10 per cent. interest and IL per
cent. commission, and sometimes a
cash bonus besides.
Of course, you know that one of
the objects of an efficient Rural Gre
dts Law is to wipe out commissions
and bonuses and make long term mort
cages, running, if you like, all your
/ life, with the privilege of amortizing
loans.
There is a lot of good in the law;
it could not be otherwise, because, you
know, about 80 per cent. of this law
is the direct result of Republican ac-
ton. it all comes out of the Farm
Life Commission, appointed by Presi-
dent Roosevelt in 1908. That COM
mission had as its only purpose to
ascertain farm conditions all over the
country. 1t held hearings and had
farmers tell about their difficulties
and then it made report, in which it
called attention to the Importance of
legislation which would give farmers
better means of financing their farms.
President Roosevelt emphasized the
report with a special message to Con-
gress, urging that Congress take steps
to study the subject.
Then President Taft showed his
lively interest in the matter by send
ing instructions to all of our amt&ssa-
dors and ministers in Europe to make
special study of European methods
of financing agriculture. He also sent
a special commission of three promin-
ent men to study the subject, in 1912,
and when they reported he sent their
reports to every Governor in Ameri-
ca, with a personal letter, urging the
Governors to give the subject serious
study and be prepared to discuss it
at the next meeting of the House of
Governors, which was held in Decem-
Der, 1912. About that time farmers
began agitating the subject in farm
meetings. Leaders of agriculture
made speeches upon the subject more
or less hazy and in many instances
unsound, because the subject was not
understood clearly even by econo-
mists. 1t was discussed by the Ma
tional Grange, then by the Farmers
Union and by the Southern Congress
"a non-political farm organization of
the South. So much were they i'm
pressed in the Southern Congress that
they appointed an American Commits
sion of 100 representative farmers to
go to Europe, at their expense, to
study the subject in company with
pointing a United States Commission
Prior to that, President Taft had
secured from Congress an act ap-
pointing a United Setates Commission
| to go to Europe for the same purpose
\ as an official body representing the
/ United States Government. So these
/ two commissions went together, and
as a result they urged the passage of
"a Rural Credits Law, based upon CO.
operation of farmers.
But | want to emphasize to you
the fact that not one step of this pre-
paratory work is to be credited to the
Democrats, it was all done during the
Roosevelt and Taft administrations.
President Taft signed the law author
izing the United States Commission
just before he went out of office. The
only thing that can be credited to the
Democrats is the BUNGLING LAW
i WHICH THEY HAVE PASSED
which you will find absolutely inopera-
tive, because it's makers don't know
farmers nor farm conditions, and re-
fused to take any advice from the
Roosevelt Farm Life Commission or
from the real farmers who investigat-
ed the subject in Europe, unless they
, happened to be Democrats. They
were so eager to make political capt.
tai that they forgot to study real farm
J conditions.
: Just as an illustration of the poll
! tical poppycock of this Democratic
; measure, look how it's expensive Fed
, e~al Loan Board started it's work
Without even waiting to establish
, headquarters, the first thing the
! Board did with salaries of over ST.
900 weekl was to junket up to
, Maine. What for? They had nc
power to change the law and no inten-
tion to establish one of the twelve
J land banks in Maine. All they could
do was to go up there and make a
, noise like a hearings" before farm
ers, for its effect on the political cam