The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-08-27
ENORMOUS LOANS TOFARMERS BY
 | INSURANCE cos.
$39O, 100000 Is Amount for Past Two Years to In
 crease Food Supply

New York, August 27. - American Life Insurance companies loaned $390, 0,000,000 to, American farmers within two years and nine months ending October l, 1917, enabling them to increase their supply of food for the Entente nations. About $270,- O0O,0O0 of this was loaned to farmers or on farm mortgages in nineteen states of the West and South. These states are supplying the bulk of Amer ican foodstuff to this country and it's allies in the war. The average inter- est rate on farm loans up to 1917 was 1-2 per cent. or less.
 These facts are shown in a report submitted to American life insurance companies today by George T. Wight of New York City, manager of the Association of Life Insurance Presi- dents. It is compiled from orignial statistics and covers 1915, 1916 and nine months of 1917.
 If this increase in life insurance 1 loans to farmers has continued since 1 September, 1917, MT. Wight indicates, life insurance companies have invest ed in farm loans about $1,000, 0,000,0 900. This more than one-half of all their real estate mortgage loans, which amount to nearly $2, 0,000,00O. The report shows. that the real es- tate mortgage loans of the companies on both farm and city property in creased from s1,7O6, ,6OOO,O0O to s1,- 892, 100000 during 1915 and 1916. During the same period,' continues l panies increased their farm mortga ges in round figures from 655 millions to 845 millions, a net increase of 190 millions. The rate of increase for this two-year period for farm mort gage loans is 29 per cent. The rate of increase of all assets of life com panies for the same period is 12 per cent. It is seen, therefore, that farm mortgage loan investments of life in- surance companies have recently in- creased about 2 12 times as much as the concurrent rate of increase of their assets generally. During the same period there was a 2 per cent reduction-20 million dollars-in the amount of money loaned on real estate mortgages on other than farm proper ty.
 "An analysis of the new data there fore indicates clearly, in this decided change in the character of their in vestments. that the American life in surance companies have been a very positive factor in the increase in the
 production of foodstuffs demanded by
 the conditions created by the World
 War and, further, may indicate { | oho i1a Iai1. ct nf
 manent character. The change not ed is the very distinct trend from
 city real estate mortgage loans to farm loans. While this change had set 1T
 sometime before the beginning of hos
 tilities in August, 1914, the statistic: show a noteworthy speeding up of tht process during the two-year period O , 1915 and 1916. If this trend has con
 tinued at the same relative rate, farm
 mortgages today form more than one
 half of all the real estate mortgage
 loans. held by such companies.
 "The great agricultural sections O
 the country were those which attract
 ed most of the new farm mortgag'
 money of the life insurance compan
 ies during these two years, the North twest leading with S6,000,000, an in
 crease of 30 per cent; the Southwes , shows an increase of SAG, 900, O T nearly 25 per cent; the Central North
 ern, $19, 100000, or 16.S per cent; tn
 Gulf and Mississippi Valley, $11,OO0,
 900, or 54 per cent. which is the high 1 est rate of increase in any section o the country The South Atlantic show
 an increase of $9,S0O,000 or 48 pc
 cent. It thus appears that while tn
 largest amounts of money have gon
 into the Northwest and Southwest, tn
 rate of increase has been greates south of the Potomac and Ohio rivers
 and east of the Mississippi.
 "The nineteen states having tn
 great bulk of life insurance farn
 mortgage money produce nearly seven
 ty-five per cent. of the country's es sential food crops. In addition, ac cording to the Agricultural Year Bool these nineteen states produce nearl, 80 per cent. of the food live stocl (cattle. hogs and sheep) of the coun try. It, therefore, appears that tn life insurance companies have loane IooiV. fr,- 0nT-f