The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1917-10-05
WAREHOUSES; FOR
FARM PRODUCTS
Proposed Chain OF Them in South
Atlantic States.
UNDER FEDERAL RESERVE ACT
viii Issue Negotiable Warehouse Re.
eelpts Which Can Be Discounted,
II Desired, at Federal Reserve Bank
at AtIsnta-Wiii Conserve Immense
Crops of South.

Plans have been made by Florida
concern for establishing chain of
Warehouses for farm products in the
South Atlantic states, to be operated
under the Federal Reserve act.
If the farmer prefers to ship his
produce or hold it for n market, the
warehouses will standardize his prod
ucts us to grade, quality, weight and
package, store 1t, and give him re-
ceipt, on which he can borrow 75 per
cent of the market value of his prod
uct ut @ per cent, as the bank hold.
ing these receipts can discount them
at the Federal Reserve bank in Allan
Ia. A movement Is on foot by the agri.
cultural committee Of the rural bureau
of the Savannah Board of Trade to
have one of these warehouses estab-
lished in Savannah and managed, IL
possible, by local capital.
Cotton has heretofore been the one
cash crop that the Southern farmer
could pin his faith to. No matter
what price it brought in the market he
could always convert 1t into cash. He
has had to plant cotton to get credit,
and that, too, at ruinous rate of in
terest But there has been no encOur-
agement to plant other staple crops.
Even live stock is just beginning to
be recognized as collateral by South
ern banks.
Crop Standardization.
The Southern farmer does not know
how to standardize his food crops so
as to make the most out of them COM
mercially. 1t would take years, 1t is
believed to educate the farmer to do
this work for himself; and even If he
had the experience he has not the mn.
chinery, and 1t would be an economic
waste to devote to 1t the time and In.
Dor that he might better give to crop
production. The work can be more
economically and satisfactorily done
by the bonded warehouses, it Is
claimed.
The South now has 100000 acres
of velvet beans that 1t does not know
what to do with. 1t has 100000 tons
of cOttonseed meal. 1t has perhaps
100000 acres of peanuts. 1t has In
prospect 125,0OO,0O0 bushels more OF
corn this year than aast. There is q
big increase in the soy bean acreage
more alfalfa and more COW peas. The
South is the great storehOuse and pro-
ducer of protein feeds. But the South
is distressed about market for its
food products.
Would Mean Concentration.
Such a system of warehouses will
conserve these immense crops Of the
South, much of which would other
wise go to waste on the farm. 1t will
assemble them at points of vantage,
where they will be Immediately
available for use or held in reserve
for any emergency. This is particu.
larly important in connection with the
establishment of military camps in the
South and in the economical movement
of freight in the way of food supplies
from one section of the country to the
other.
With cash market to induce the
farmer to conserve all his products
there will be constant stimulus tC
grow more foodstuffs and thus In
crease the resources of the nation.
After the war the South can do ar
immense business in the export OF
protein foods, and the proposed ware
house company would be able to de
velop that business. 1t would also
give reliable information as to stocks
on hand and other crop data, ant
could aid the farmer in many ways.