The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1922-07-27

tions. that a Joint stock land bank has
reached the limit Of loans it is permit
ted to make with its present capitsliEs-
tiou and therefore requires an increase
Of capital 70 make additional loans, it is
up 70 the country banker either to sub
scribe for this increase in the capital
Of Joint stock land banks, or to see to it
that it is subscribed by farmers.
Likewise, when a community, not al
ready served by joint stock land bank
is in need Of longtime money, it is the
country banker who should take the lead
in organizing such an institution to
serve that community.
Encourage Cooperation.
The Federal land bank. organized as it
is on cooperative basis, does not so
readily lend itself to close afiliation
with the small commercial banks of the
agricultural section as does the joint
stock land bank. Cooperation is a word
to conjure with, and is a principle to
be fostered and encouraged. However,
cooperation in its fundamental prinei-
Piles is still but little understood by the
American farmer. Agriculture as a
whole scarcely can afford to wait for
adequate credit until such time as the
farmer has mastered the principle of CO.
operation and has organized to make
full use of them. The joint stock land
bank affords an opportunity for the
country banks to join Immediately in
the movement for speeding up the farm
loan system and getting money to the
farmer for his long g-time needs with the
least possible delay.
And all this is good business for the
barker. 1t brings new money into the
community and releases local rloney.
which heretofore has been tied Up in
three to hse-year mortgages for use in
short-term credits. This is q much great
er advantage than appears on first
thought. To begin with, it gives imme-
diate relief by way Of liquidating a vast
amount of frozen credits, for when this
new money goes around the local circle
one dollar may be counted upon to Ii
Quidate four or five dollars of debt.
Benefciaries.
| All this suggests that the first in
vestors in the stock of joint stock land
banks should be either farmers or coun-
| try bankers who do business with farm
ers. They are the first parties at inter-
est in the whole movement, Both the
country banker and the farmer are deep
ly interested in being able to use the
money of their own communities for
short-term credit. Through the joint
stock land bank the long-term capital
investment in agriculture can be carried
in bond issues running from 20 to 35
years. Other industries long have car
ried their capital investment through
bond issues. The principle is correct
Five years of operation show that the
farm loan system has developed the ma
chinery for applying successfully thi;
principle to agriculture.
However, no organization and no fl
nancial machinery ever has been per
fected to the point where it will operate
automatically. If the farm loan system
is to function fully, the farmer mus
be encouraged to use these land banks
The farmer must be shown the advan
tages of the long-term amortized loan
Many farmers still cling to the time
honored custom of borrowing from theil
neighbors. The son, taking over his ia
theirs farm, usually has made only ,