The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1919-01-17
FEDERAL LAND BANK
HISTORY OF GROWTH
Walter Howell, President, Makes
Statement of Business.

Statement of Business.
From absolutely nothing to bust
ness of $10.000,000 in eighteeI
months is the history of one of thu
Infant" institutions of Louisville.
This institution Is tho Fedora
Land Bank of Louisville. one of the
twelve regional banks organized un
der the federal farm loan act. passed
by Congress July, 1916, and now 10
Gated in commodious and well-equip'
ped quarters at the corner of Third
and Broadway, having outgrown its
location in the, Inter-Southern Build
ing, where it began its career, March
19, 1917.
It's present quarters are arranged
and equipped to take care of an un-
limited amount of business. Over
40 office employees are required to at.
tend to the financial wants of the
farmers of the four States in this
the Fourth district-Tennessee, Ken
lucky, Indiana and Ohio-Gside from
the ten or more federal appraisers
who are kept busy In the field in
specting the security offered in con-
nection with the applications for
loans.
The executive committee of the
Federal Land Bank of Louisville con-
sists of the throc active officers, Wal
ter Howell, president, formerly bank
er of Union City, Tenn; James B.
Davis, secretary, formerly banker OF
Brazil, Ind. and L. Clore. treasurer,
widely known scientific farmer OF
Franklin, Ind. Tho above three. to-
gether with H. A. Sommors, publish
er of the Elizabethtown Nows, Eliza
bethtown, KY, and A. P. Sandles,
secretary Macadam Road Association
of Ohio, Ottawa. Ohio, constitute the
board of directors.
The capital stock of the bank at
the present time is $1,250,000. OF
this amount, $750,000 is owned, by
the United States Government, which
provided the original capital for the
twelve regional banks, under the fed
eral farm loan act.
INTENT OF LEGISLATION.
The purposes of the act were to
provide for agricultural development,
to create a standard form of invest
ment, based upon farm mortgages,
and to equalize rates of interest up
on farm loans.
The banks have been unquestion-
ably successful in fulfilling the mis-
sion for which they were organized.
The Louisville bank has furnished a
large amount of money for agricul-
tural purposes, having loaned to more
than 1000 farmers over $10,000,000
since it's organization, securing by
first mortgages on farm lands, not
exceeding so per cent of their ap-
praised value.
We have created standard form
of investment based upon farm mort
cages. This is known as the federal
farm loan bond. The bank is oper-
ated on money secured thru the sale
of these bonds, which have taken
their place among the recognized Sc
curities. To date $4,000, 900 of these
bonds have been issued by the Fed
eral Land Bank of Louisville.
These bonds are secured by first
mortgage loans on farms, and by
the act of Congress are declared and
held to be "instrumentalities of the
Government of the United States, and
as such they, and the income derived
therefrom, shall be exempt from fed
eral, State, municipal and local tax
ation." Investors, recognizing the
attractive features of the bonds, have
always been willing to pay a prem
ium for them.
The rate of interest to all farmers
on loans made to them by the fed
eral land banks thruout the United
States, is 5 " per cent. We consider
this very low rate for the farmer
at this time, considering the most
and industrial enterprises
are now paying higher rate. The
loans are made on the amortization
plan for term of 34h years, that
is, farmer borrowing $1,000 is re-
quired to pay So eemi-annual INSTALL
ments of $3.50 each. When he has
paid the last installment he has paid
both interest and principal, liqui-
dating his entire Indebtedness to the
bank.
PROFIT BOOKED.
This bank now has O sufficient
amount of business on it's books to
make profit possible and it is ex-
pected that by December, 1919,
dividend can be paid