Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1918-01-25

association, or borrowing group,
provided under the Federal Farm
Ian act, be given another year of
trlal before any consideration be
given to amending the act to make
the method of borrowing more
direct;
That the maximum loan limit to
the individual borrower be increased
from $4,000 to $4,000;
That the denominations of Farm
Loan bonds be changed from S25 to
500 and from $50 to $40 to elimin-
ate the fractional cent in the compu-
tation of sem-annual interest;
That the provision enabling Dor
rover to pay all or any part of his
Indebtedness after it has run five
years, in multiples of $25, be amend
ed to enable him to pay all or any
number of annual amortization pay
ments on any interest paying date.
| Ihese mortgages are retired by
fixed annual payments and limiting
| advance payments on Indebtedness
to the size of these fixed annual
amortization instruments would elm
mate bookkeeping;
That the provisions governing
Joint Stock Land banks be amended
to allow such banks to operate in
more than two states: to increase
their limit of bond issues to 20
times their capital stock instead of
10, and to raise the authorized rate
of interest from to 6R per cent.
This is not to be confused with the
authorized maximum rate of 6 per
cent allowed the Federal Land banks.
A most interesting feature of the
annual report is the discussion of the
cooperative National Farm Loan as
sociations and the acceptance of the
principle of cooperative borrowing
by the American farmer. 1t is point
ed out that up to December /, 1917,
1889 Of these cooperative associa-
lions had been chartered by the Fed
eral Farm Loan board; applications
had been filed for $219,75O,740 of
loans; the II Federal Land banks
had approved loans amounting to
sos, 1876, 529, and loans had been ac-
tually paid out to farmers amounting
to $29,824 ,655. In addition to the
1893 associations actually chartered
1888 such associations were in pro-
cess Of organization, getting ready to
be chartered.
The obstacle pointed out in the CO.
operative association is not any fail
ure on the part of the farmer to par
ticipate in this first nationwide eff.
fort at agricultural cooperation in
America, but rather one of efficient
} administration. The board raises the
question of whether or not the ad
| vantages OF cooperation, as thus
- provided, outweigh the disadvant
| ages of greater delay in the time o
5 closing loans resultant from cooper
5 atiye group action. The report says
l 1T is impossible for this board t.
t express, at this time. any unanimou
2 and well considered opinion on these
t subjects. The matter is alluded Il
F. only for the purpose of calling it tC
/ the attention of the Congress, in view
of the possibility that year hence
the board may feel called upon t.
= make some definite recommendation
for such an amendment to Section
: > as would permit prospective Dor
J rowers to resort to the method of in
J diyidual contract rather than to the
, cooperative method"
, Another important phase of the
annual report is the discussion O
, land titles and their investigation. L
is pointed out that the Federal Lane
banks, in line with all conservative
, farm mortgages operators, have re
= CURED each borrower to furnish al
abstract of title. The cost per loaI
for abstracts averages not less thar
/, $40 each which, on a basis of SO, 00C
loans to be closed during the first
year, aggregates at least 100000
The examination of these abstracts
by the Federal Land banks costs 50
each or another $3.50, 900, making q
grand total of $650,000 expended tC
eliminate hopelessly defective titles
One Federal Land bank found only
two incurably bad titles in 1856 eX-
aminations. The board cites this as
an economic waste, which should be
eliminated if it can be done with en-
tire safety, and promises to make
further Investigations and submit
recommendation at later date
Regarding the cost of operating
the II Federal Land banks the re-
port calls attention to the fact that