Evening star., 1922-11-26
CHAMPIONS OF FARMERS
DIVIDED AS TO NEEDS
President Harding Ready to Push for
Financial Relief at the Coming
Session of Congress.


farmer or for the farmer in regions
| where land is cheap. but it is not
enough for farmers in the great sur
| plus producing states of the corn
| belt.
Second. to provide what may be
called intermediate credits for farm
! improvements such as drainage.
buildings, silos and for the growing
of livestock. and which will give the
| farmer time to market his crops regu-
larly. Our banking system under
normal conditions provides very salts
factory ninety-day credit. and with
the amendment in the farm loan act
| longtime farm mortgage credit can
be provided.
Need of intermediate Credits.
What is needed is this Intern ediaie
credit between short-time credit and
! mortgage credit, which will permit
the farmer to borrow at reasonable
interest rates for a length Of time.
varying from year to three years,
depending upon his needs. We need
provision for agricultural credit
hasty creation Of new organizations
to meet emergencies such as confront
ed US last year and the year before
In explaining what President Hard
ing had in mind when he told Con-
gress that no people may safely boast
a good fortune which the farmer does
! not share" Secretary Wallace says:
"A thoroughly sound and prosperous
agriculture is necessary to our con-
| tinued existence. The largest respon
| sibility rests upon the farmers them
selves, but there are some things
| which must be done by legislation and
some other things which must be done
by administrative action, if the farm
| ers are to have that free hand which
| is absolutely necessary for them 10
| produce efficiently and continuously
| and feed our people at reasonable cos.
Free Markets Essential.
! They must be assured of free, open
| and competitive markets for Their
products. There must be made avail
able to them not only longtime mort
! gage credits, but the various devices
l r." IICIi Jul sSCii aOh6 SAaNN
made available to our commerce and
| industry. In the administration OF
| our large credit machinery there mus;
| he full recognition of the needs OF
| agriculture and of the effect credi,
| policies have aon agriculture. In So
far as it is possible the effort should
be to SO adnlInister credit as to re-
store and maintain the normal rela-
tionship between the prices of farm
| prices of other commodities and ci
! wages in industry"
| Secretary Wallace has pointed Out
to prominent financiers and President
Harding has been giving close con-
sideration to the conclusion that a
careful examination of the credit ia
| cilities of the country leads to the
! conviction that they have been de-
v,sed almost entirely in the inter
ests of industry and commerce. Th.
Secretary emphasizes that he does
not mean to suggest that there has
| been a conscious purpose to develop
, a credit system to the injury of the
farmer, but rather that industry,
| commerce and business In general
have been able to work out and use
various credit devices especially
| adapted to their particular needs, and
which the farmer, because of his iso.
lation, of the individualistic charac.
ter OF his business, and of his longer
period of turnover. has not been able
| to use for himself. longtime and
short-time and intermediate money
ought to be made as easily and ae
cheaply available to the farmer a.
to industry and commerce, Secretar.
! Wallace contends.
ht-BilIion- dollar Debt.
f., Heretofore when speaking of ihe
| credit needs of the farmer. he says
we have been disposed to classif.
them as long-term. or mortgage
credit. resting upon real estate as Sc.
| curity, and short-term, or persona
and collateral credit. With the ad-
vent of the federal farm loan system
| a new and broader conception of farm
mortgage credit has been developed
1t Is estimated that the total farm
mortgage debt in the United States is
| about eight billion dollars. This debi
Is owing to commercial banks tc
the amount of approximately $500.
100000, to insurance companies to the
amount Of perhaps sl,25O.000,0O0 ano
the remainder to farm mortgage com.
panies, federal and joint stock lant
banks. various state funds ard credii
agencies and individual investors
In we'll developed farming section:
the interest rate on farm mortgages
has been fairly reasonable. although
| not SO low as on other classes of Sc.
| curities no higher in character. IL
the more recently settled regions the
interest rate has been higher THAI
| would seem to be justified by ths
character of the security offered. A:
a rule farm mortgage loans run fol
a period of five years and are gen.
orally made repayable in a lump sun
lat maturity, although companiei
which give especial attention to thi:
class of business not infrequentl!
provide for optional yearly payment:
I before maturity.
Problem Not q New One.
/ This problem is not a new one o.
giving the farmer adequate credii
facilities. 1t has been discussed fol
at least twenty-five or thirty years
Myron Merrick wrote a book on tn.
subject that shows the method.
worked out in other countries, ant
this book is being studied these day:
by members of Congress. Every onc'
in a while when the pinch comes ant
the farmers have to dump their sur.
plus products on the unready marke'
for whatever they will bring-thef
the need for legislation confront