Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1917-02-16
FARM LOAN ACT.
!. The Cooperative Banking
System Established Under It.


reau, Washington, D. CD
The federal farm loan act, adopted
in June, 1916, and signed by President
Woodrow Wilson shortly after, creates
a comprehensive, cooperative banking
system to lend money to farmers and
prospective farmers for purposes of
land purchase, farm development, and
the refunding of indebtedness.
/ The system consists of two main di-
visions; a money-assembling agency,
/ through which the accumulation and
savings of the country are gathered in,
and money-lending agency, through
which this money is distributed for
agricultural uses.
| The farm loan act, in brief, pools the
| farm mortgages of the nation; issues
a collateral trust security against these
pooled mortgages, and sells these Sc
curities in the open market.
The establishment of this co-opera-
/ tive banking system was made neces-
! Sary by reason of the fact that banks
1 in most parts of the United States
have rot possessed the facilities to
/ properly take care of farm loans be-
cause these loans required too long
time to run; because interest rates to
farmers have been too high, ranging
| from 8 per cent per annum to per
| cent per month; and because private
| money-lending agencies had not real
| lied tie reflex advantages to them
selves of a long time, amortized loan
to the farmers.
Machinery for It's Application.
/ The machinery provided in the ap-
plication of the farm loan act has
three main divisions:
First--The federal farm loan board
in Washington, D. c., composed OF the
secretary of the treasury, William G.
McAdoo, chairman ex officio; George
w. Norris, farm loan commissioner;
Herbert Quick, Capt. w. S. A. Smith
and Charles e. Lobdell.
Second-The IL federal loan banks
throughout the United States.
Third-The national farm loan asso-
Citations, each composed of ten or more
farmer borrowers, which associations
secure loans for their members from
Il the 1eQeral lana DanKS.
The federal farm loan board is in
charge of the entire system. It's first
important duty was to divide the coun-
try into II bank districts and locate
one federal land bank in each. This
board also provides the banks with
temporary governing boards during
the process of growth. Later system
of cooperative self-government will be
inaugurated under which the aSsOcia-
tons of farmers will direct these big
financial institutions, under the super
vision OF the federal farm loan board.
Each of the II federal land banks
starts business with paid-up capital
of $4,000, subscribed by the govern
ment, If private investors do not SUBJ
scribe it within 80 days after the books
ire opened These banks have the
right to lend to national farm loan as
sociations up to 20 times the capital
stock of the banks. The lending ca
pacity of these banks is automatically
increased by requiring the farm loan
associations to reinvest in the capital
stock OF the banks One-twentieth of
the amount their members borrow.
Thus the capital stock of the banks in
creases in the same ratio as their
loans. The banks acquire additional
money for lending by selling their own
bonds to investors.
Without Profit to individuals.
When bank lends money and takes
first mortgages on farms in exchange,
1t issues bonds against these mortgages
and sells the bonds to produce more
money TO lend.
The bonds issued by one bank are
secured by the assets of all the banks
operating under this system, and the
rate of interest on the bonds is adjust
ed by supply and demand. The rate
Of interest charged to members of farm
loan associations for money which they
borrow from the banks, cannot exceed
by more than / per cent the rate of
interest paid on the bonds. This mar
gin is provided to pay the cost of
operating the banks. So, if the bonds
sell at per cent and the cost of
operating is / per cent, the interest
rate to the farmer-borrower will be
5 per cent. If the cost is held down
to one-half of one per cent, the inter-
est rate to the farmers would be AZ
per cent.
SO, briefly, the members of the as
sociations of farmers borrow from the
banks; the banks issue bonds against
the farm mortgages and borrow money
from investors; the farmers invest an
amount equal to one-twentieth of the
amount they borrow, in order to pro-
vide an increasing capital for the
, banks, and the whole process is done
| under governmental supervision and
, without profit to any individual.
No Lindranca