The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1917-03-16
FARM LOAN ACT.
Nv. From the Point of View Of
the investor.


(By Frank r.. Wilson, federal loan pu-
reau, washington, d. CD
Farm lands have always been re-
garded as the safest security In the
world. But loans made against farm
lands have generally exacted a higher
interest rate than loans or other good
security.
There are several reasons for this.
Such loans are not readily transfer
able. /. e., marketable. Farm loans
are usually desired for long periods.
A loan for less than five years Is usu-
ally Of little value to the farmer. III
| the loan is made for the purpose Of
buying land the farmers chance to
nav 1t off Is to make the money out
OF the land. 1t is against reason to
expect that land will pay for itself
In five years.
Well-managed commercial banks
cannot make a business OF lending
money on farms and carrying the loans
themselves. 1t Is not good banking.
1t ties up their funds In permanent
investments and If persisted in con-
| tinually would ruin any baAk. This
fact limits the supply of local money
for farm loans, and partially accounts
for high interest rates on them.
Provides Needed Agency.
The farm lands of the United States
constitute a great mass of valuable
assets against which money ought to
be borrowed at fair rates of interest.
But 1t has been a chaotic mass of
value. No agency has ever undertake
en- to assemble this mass Of assets into
negotiable form SO that it could be
readily handled as a marketable Sc
curity.
Now the government steps in and
provides this agency. 1t says to the
farmer who wants to use his land as
security:
"You join a national farm loan as
ISOLATION and contribute your mort
gage to a great federal land bank pool
Of mortgages. We have provided the
machinery for this purpose and adopt
ed rules for its operation so that the
interest Of all will be safeguarded.
When your mortgages are massed to-
gether, u federal land bank will take
these mortgages and issue bonds
against them; sell the bonds to inves-
tors, and re-lend the money to farm
ers. The pooled mortgages of the
farmers of the United States will be
security for every bond. The high
character Of this security means that
people who have money to invest will
Jump at the chance to put their saw
ings up against your security at 0
low rate of interest. We will let you
have this money at actual cost to us
, plus not to exceed 1 per cent to covel
the cost of operating this money-as
sembling and money-lending ma
chinery."
Attractive to the Investor.
Then Uncle Sam turns to the In
+ weston and says:
eve have enabled the farmers 0
t the United States to give us thei
massed mortgages. We are Offering
!. you bonds which are in reality frs
mortgages against the farms of al
who join this pool. 1t is the best Sc
curity In the world, because every dol
. lar a farmer borrows is Represented
by 50 worth of land plus the stool
each farmer has purchased in his loca
( association. To make these bonds eve
more attractive, so as to eventual,
give the farmer a lower interest rate
| we have exempted them from all form
!. of taxation. Even Uncle Sam will no
2 collect any tax from them, nor fror
the income upon them. No state 0
municipality may tax them. We hav
made these bonds in small denomina
lions from $25 upward so their pun
e chase will be easy among people wit
t small savings, and we will have tn
= bonds printed and engraved by tn
:. government bureau of engraving an
u printing to protect them against couI
terfeiting, and the United States 81
n cret service will watch over them"
So the farm loan act, in additio
to providing money for land purchas
and farm development, provides a ne
d form of security which ought to b
t come one of the most popular in exis
Il ence, because 1t Is based on the lar
d values of the entire country.