Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1920-03-10
BIG BUSINESS
HERE LAST w.
Banks Of the City Transacted Around
A Five Million Dollar Business
Here Last Week.
FARM TRANSFERS
MADE THE BIG TOTAL
All Transaction Put Through i'm Fine
shape and the Banks Had More
Than They Could Do Almost.


The banks of Decorah did around
a FIVE million dollar business last
week. The first two days of the week
three and three fourths millions were
totaled up. The farm transfers were
one of the big items and holders of
Winneshiek county farms are not
worrying. EVERYTHING went through
in fine shape, without any defaults,
and why not with the best farm lands
in the state.
The first of March has come and
gone, and Iowa is down as usual do
ing business at the old stand as un-
concernedly as if it had been the first
of December or August or any other
ordinary month, says the Des Moines
Register.
Some of the bankers have few
new gray hairs over the ears and a
feeling of having. gone through a
wringer, but business is sound as a
dollar, the country is safe, and
everybody's happy
So quietly did the day slip by that
outside Of bankers, real estate
agencies and buyers and sellers, few
persons realized that closed up the
sales of approximately $500 Iowa
farms sold during 1919.
In the majority of cases. this
means the heavy balance of the sale
price, and when it is considered that
the farms averaged about 16O acres
and the sale price ran around $500
an acre it can be seen that Iowa had
putentialities for a first class home
made panic on March /. That the
ominous date has gone past without
casualty will mean not only financial
security but another big farm land
boom for the coming year, realtors
declare, besides giving eastern busi-
ness new and more admirable con-
ception of Iowa business.
SO that you may enjoy the Joke,
it can be stated that New York fore
cast a financial panic in Iowa on
March L." Now where can that panic
be Nobody, including the biggest
and best informed bankers of the
state, has seen any signs of it. In
stead the word is, Prosperity, con-
tinued fair and more So
There are no defaults so far as
we know" comes the report from
Laak after bank"
Money is tight over the state,
but everybody's solvent and the day
passed off better than we could pos
sibly have imagined" one banker
added. The only dissenting voice is
of another banker who said that
money is not tight.
It is possible, OF course, that the
Eext few days may bring forth a few
hidden casualties, but as practically
all of the settlements were dated
for March /, it is certain that the
majority were settled then.
So enormous was the sum of money
which changed hands that the bold
est banker of them all will not even
attempt to make an estimate of 1t
The Iowa Loan and Trust company
is authority for the statement that
more than 19,600 Iowa farms were
sold during the year. There are no
figures as to size OF farms or price,
but it is no secret that Iowa land
hasn't been going for song. Ur-
doubtedly the sum goes into billions
and there wasn't even ripple on
the surface March l.
The banks have been preparing
for this for months" said big
banker. That's the whole secret
OF course. We've been tightening un
on loans and exercising care about
calling them in. There has been un-
bounded confidence in the other fnl
low, too With little caution against
rocking the boat, it has been CON-
paratively easy task"
When the Iowa state real estate
boards, comprising realtors from
every city in the state of any size,
met in Cedar Rapids two weeks ago.
says Burt German. "a man came
from Omaha just to ask this quest
ion. How many of the men here are
going to close their farm sales!
Twenty men got up at the same time
10 tell him that they would close
every one.
He asked another question
HOW many of these farms will bs
placed on sale againg' And num-
her OF men answered that they had
farms for resale at an advance over