Cavalier County farmers press. (Langdon, N.D.) 1920-1921, 1921-04-14
COMMUNICATION.
Editor Farmers Press

1t is agreed by all political factions
here in North Dakota that it is a
borrowing state that needs to borrow
money for improvements on its land,
and on its homes, its schools and pub
lie improvements on its towns gener-
ally. The difference in the idea lie
how the money is to be borrowed
whether the individual banker or the
state shall borrow the money. Since
the Bank of North Dakota was estab-
lished the matter of borrowing would
have been easy as the credit of the
state would be behind the bonds and
the money would be represented by
real estate mortgages and elevator
and milling properties and loans
made TO other banks that would have
needed to borrow money. So the In
dustrial commission went to work and
contracted for the sale of the bonds.
But when the money powers in the
east saw what was happening they
went to work and through their local
agents-ths 1. V. A. leaders-who
had always been their plant tools,
and stopped the sale of those bonds
by starting the famous lawsuit
through "The AZ Tax Payers" And
when it turned out that the state had
won the suit, then the panic was on.
Another thing that added to the scar
city of money was that the federal
bank. instead of sending the money
that was to move the crop into North
Dakota and distributing it among the
different local banks, as they had
done throughout the war, % left it
in the Minneapolis banks, with the
understanding that none of it should
be loaned to farmers, but that .specu-
lators were to have it to pay for the
farmers crop. From then on by cupl.
dity and through political manipula-
ton the price of the grain crop was
hammered down until it was way be.
low the cost of production and the
farmers refused to sell. The result
was that money did not come into the
local banks as freely as usual, owing
to low prices and farmers holding
their grain. So the banks run short
and some of them had to- close their
doors while it left others gasping for
their life.
Those two points: First that the 1.
v. A. leaders stopped the sale of
the bonds. Second; That the federal
bank strained a point to keep money
out of the state, are the main factors
in the money situation here in North
Dakota today.
Now for the results: In times o f
money stringency there is nobody
that snffers so cruelty as the local
banker, being the custodian of other
peoples money and a man of integrity
and personal honor he passes through
a regular inferno before giving up
the ghost as a banker. And at the
same time the businessman sees his
savings of years swallowed up when
he finds he cannot meet his creditors.
The farmer is the one who finds him
self best off in this respect. If he
can only hold onto his land he do es
not lose his capital, but may suffer
through inability to provide the com.
forts of life for his family, such as
clothing, fuel, etc
Anyone that has lived in North
Dakota knows how great has been
the suffering OF many bankers, bust
ness men and farmers that had obi.
cations to meet all on account of the
unholy combination between the I. v,
A. leaders and the money powers in
the east. In the past practically all
real estate mortgages were sold in the
east and we had to depend upon the
tender mercies of a man down on
the Atlantic coast as to whether we
were able to get u mortgage re-
newed or not That is the n big
reason why the farmers wanted the
Bank of North Dakota to handle
| their real estate loans through bond
: sales and thus create a revolving
fund and at the same time give the
tax payers the profit on his own
mortgages.
The old system of where the indi-
vidual banker is to borrow for his
own clients is so broken down that in
certain parts of the state you canno
borrow even to the extent of a two
cent postage stamp on a quarter sec
ton of laad though the land may be-
worth from SIS, 600 up to Sc, 00G
1t hardly needs an argument tt
chow which of the two systems W.
have mentioned liz the better. 1t is a,
old argument to show which of ths
two keep the dollar at home and tina
is what the banking system of tn,
Nonpartisan League would have done
Now the out look 10 that the bond
will be sold during the coming sum
mer in spite of all the opposition o