Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1916-07-28

dit banks. The passage OF the Hollis
bill determines prematurely a ques-
tion most vital to the nation, commit
ing it to policy on a subject which
the great agricultural and business
interests have hardly begun to study
and understand. The measure in its
present form is as unsound as the
free silver propaganda of twenty
years ago and as dangerous. Time
has convinced the country of the un-
wisdom of the free silver project and
time will demonstrate the inherent
danger of this rural credit measure.
Without going into an extended dis
cussion of the Hollis bill, l may say
that there are many important as
well as minor objections to it. 1t es-
tablishes system of twelve govern
ment rural credit banks at the start,
with an unlimited number of addition
al ones, all under the direct control of
a federal bureau authorized to alb
stract money for private individual
from the public treasury at two per
cent. or for no interest, and to involve
the credit of the United States in the
issue of unlimited millions of dollars
of bonds bearing interest at rate as
high as five per cent. per annum and
running for indefinite periods, even to
several future generations.
This bureau and the banks and as
sociations which it is to establish, are
not to be obliged to use the money so
obtained in making farm loans, but
may use it all in Government enter
prises if they wish to do so. Moreover
the system thus devised could loan
only up to one-half the value of the
mortgaged farm. The borrower could
not use the money according to his own
judgment, but only for some designat-
ed and sworn-to purpose under the di-
rection of Federal officers, while he
would have to spend five per cent of
his loan in buying shares in the land
credit system.
The farmers of this country need
organization much more than they
need Government intervention and as
sistance. If there were rural systems
of finance and business especially de-
voted to the particular needs and re-
quirements Of agriculture, formed and
managed by the farmers themselves
and serving only their own interests,
the problems of financing the farmers
would be readily solved.
The systems should be cooperative
in every sense of the word. Cooper
alton is based on individual initiative,
private Enterprise, self-reliance, mu-
tual help, and trust and confidence in
one another, and it manifests itself in
the formation of associations and of
system out of those associations. AL
ready Ohio farmers practice co-opera-
tionin many places in purchasing
supplies and in manufacturing certain
products. They should extend the
practice by forming associations
through which they may use their
money and credit for their common
and individual good and organize and
finance systems for utilizing their re-
sources for agricultural purposes.
If Ohio farmers were so organized,
they could get capital on easier terms
than at present, especially in outlying
districts away from the large cities.
That result would come from the fact
that there is less risk in lending mon
ey or in according credit to a group
of fifty or more farmers than to just
one farmer. In this simple fact lies
the reason for the wonderful success
Of the organized farmers of Germany,
Austria, Belgium, France, Holland
and Denmark.
So Ohio farmers should carefully
consider the object of organization,
especially in respect to their credit and
resources. When they have thorough
/ ly studied it, they will realize that any
plan of government aid and interven-
tion is only a makeshift that could
bring but temporary advantage at
most, and will decide that the plan of
mutual self-help and cooperative or
ganization is the true way to gener-
/ al and permanent improvement of
their financial condition. The building
and loan associations, so numerous in
Ohio, are striking examples of the sue
cess of cooperation and the organi-
zation of credit and resources for
banking or credit purposes, either on
small or large scale.
Though / have opposed as unneces-
sary and undesirable the plan of Gov
ernment aid which the Hollis bill en-
bodies, yet it seems inevitable that
this bill be accepted as the expression
of the national attitude on land credit.
But the Hollis bill contains no appli-
cation Of the cooperative principles,
4 nor does it solve the need of farmers
for short-time credit for the current
expenses of running the farm. Ac-
cordingly l believe there is room in
Ohio for the development among the
farmers of cooperative organizations
through which this important need for
short-time funds can be met. Some
legislation is needed to open the way
for such organization. Governor Willis
has appointed Mr.. l.. j. Taber, Master
of the Ohio State Grange, Mr.. o. N.
Sans, head of the Ohio Bankers AS
sociation, and myself as members of a
committee to suggest the legislative
steps necessary to bring about these
results. With the aid of societies and
Lra.4.-AI -. n