The New York herald., 1921-09-04
How the crops are financed

our farmers were left to shift for
themselves. This was only natural.
Necessity usually precedes action. The
American farmer until comparative
ly short while ago had an abundance
of cheap productive land at his dis
posal. and there was not the great
difference between city and country
wages and living conditions to urge
him to abandon cultivation of the soil
and take up the easier and more re-
munerative role of wageworker in
town.
Now, almost in a twinkling, farm
land, except in certain irrigation areas,
has risen In price, labor for farm work
has become scarcer general farm costs
have advanced. In short, a combina-
ton of circumstances has arisen which
increases the incentive for the farmer
to emigrate to the city, with no COM
pensating incentive TO urge new hands
to move to the country.
The Federal Farm Loan act was
passed in 1916 10 make 1t easier for
farmers or prospective farmers to bor-
row money to buy land and thus miti-
gate one condition, and possibly the
most important one, which was driv-
ing farmers to the towns and con-
verting American agriculture into a
tenure of absentee landlordism, de-
pending more and more on tenant
farmers shifting from pillar to post.
This tenant army commanded limited
credit and its outlook was restricted to
gaining a livelihood from year to year.
A. c. Wiprud of the Minnesota Bar.
vice-prosident of tho Federal Land
Bank of ST. Paul, shows in this book
how the Federal farm loan system
has begun to restore agriculture to its
old position as a sound and attractive
profession. Above all. he shows that
the old theory of every man for him
self. which was always considered the
foundation of agricultural philosophy
in this country, due to the isolated
conditions Of rural life. was as far
wrong as the earlier discredited belief
that the world was flat.
The farm loan system depends on
cooperation among the farmers, be-
cause loans are made through the
twelve land banks only TO farm loan
a Ociations voluntarily formed by ten
or more farmers who agree to pool
their assets and assume mutual liabil-
ity for the pledged mortgages on
which loans are granted and against
which are issued the farm loan bonds,
large blocks of which have now been
sold. In less than four years 1896
farm loan associations were formed,
or a number In excess of the total
In the United States To the
the farmer must confide
all his business secrets and agree TO
i've up to its rules before he can boz
row money. This he has readily done,
and at the end OF last October 131.O35
farmers had obtained loans aggregat-
Ing s3e7,ss4.O14.
w. g. McAdoo, former Secretary of
the Treasury and chairman ex-officio
Df the Farm Loan Board, writes in the
to the book that the Fed
eral farm loan system lis one of the
achievements OF the Wilson
administration" BY force Of circum-
stances Il was all OF that and more.
rhe farm loan system under super
vision of the Government was on its
way, with the farmers solidly behind
{, before Mr.. Wilson took office. IL
vas bound to come. The old epoch X
had passed. Finance had
'ome up from a minor place to first
position in the list Of farm problems.
the farmer. so to speak. had
teen It's day. Some legislators, some
'ankers and some mlddlemen still
hink they can continue TO farm the
armer for the sake OF votes or profits.
IN txnu o.
'enefits Of cooperation. and he has not
lesitated to adopt that method OF get
ing what he wants. From now on
he farmer Is going to have his dag.