The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1919-05-03
0UAMME REPLIES
10 ATTACKS ON
FARM LAND BANK
Shows Where St. Paul lnstitu-
tion Is Leaning Money for
Less Than State Can .,.,
INDEBTEDNESS DISTORTED
Townley Organ Has Every Acre
in N. D. M0rtgaged for $3.50 /
How Plan Works

But the federal land bank has thus
far reached only small fraction of
the farmers OF North Dakota" says
the Fargo Courier-News, Townley's s
daily newspaper organ, in recent at
tack upon the federal land bank sys
TEN. THE average interest rate on
the states $3O9,O00,O0O in farm mort
cages is over eight per cent" contin
ued the Courier-News, editorially
The governments rules are SO strict
that most farmers cannot secure fed
eral loans. The state rules will be
more liberal, and without question the
state banks loans will bring down the
interest rate appreciably. At the very
least, it will enable many more farm
ers to secure cheaper money"
Quamme. Makes Reply.
In reply to the Courier.News, +. G
Quamme, president of the federal land
bank of St. Paul, in a letter to the
editor of The Tribune has the fol
lowing to say: 81 #'s.'
"The federal land bank of St. Pau
was two years. old on the first day Of
May. During this period of operation
the bank has loaned $2S,500,000 tc
over 1000 farmers of the seventh dis
trict OF this amount we have loaned
over $14,O00,00O to over 5000 farm
ers in North Dakota. The rate OF IN
terest charged the first year of opera
ton was five per cent, and during
the last year and at the present time
we are charging IL per cent.
"DO you consider the growth OF tht
federal land bank of St. Paul slow &C
cording to these figures? Have yol
ever seen any other financial institu
ton render such service and grow 81
rapidly? We must also keep in mint
that this was the organization periot
of the bank. Not only did we have tt
organize the bank and the system
with all that this means to one wht
understands, but we have also organ
lied and chartered over 500 farm
loan associations in the. country. ND
Very 'nsarly half OF all the none!
we have loaned in the four states 3
our district has been loaned to tn
people in the state of North Dakota
This looks to me like: We have bee1
|
farmers of .tHat state. 'N,-'s. 'T' ---'
s- Always Opposed. o.
Townley, BrintOn and other socia
lists in control of league affairs il
North Dakota have always opposed tn
federal land bank system Where tn
Townley press obtains it's authorit
for it's, ar Dttrary statement that tn
farm mortgages in this state %aggre
gate $3c9, 900, 600 cannot be discovered
This would mean an average incuml
rance of $15 upon every tillable acr
in North Dakota, and the average a:
sessed valuation of all farm lands /
less than that amount. 1t would mea
an average mortgage indebtedness o
$3.50 per acre upon every acre Of lam
in North Dakota, tillable and until
able, cultivated and wild, and this, Q
course, is a condition which could no
exist The tax commission has bee
reticent when asked for an estimat
as to the total mortgage indeotendes
of the state, but it has placed its wild
est guess at not much more than
third of the aggregate asserted b.
Townley's organs, and this woul
mean an average encumbrance OF 5
per acre on each acre/o tillable Ian
. in the state. ..,.. -, >, .nc.,.... *
The Nonpartisan press statement
in re- mortgage Indebtedness in tn
state have never been challenged, an
the league organs, organizers and ag
tators have been permitted to bull
Continued on Page Three.)