The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1929-10-11
Department
Ready to Receive
Payment on Loans
CONTINUED From Page one)

rate was four per cent. The legisla-
ture passed q measure boosting the
bond rate to five per cent and 1t has
had the effect Of increasing the total
of farm loans. Farmers. too. the
commissioner explained, r becoming
acquainted with the land de-
partment plan. Better terms are Of
fered than at many institutions
where loans are made. It was point
cd out also that the land department
operates upon an appropriation of the
while institutions regular
ly established for loaning money
operate for profit.
Not since spring. the commissioner
declared. have any loans been made
on farm property and it Is for no
other reason than the fact that de-
partment funds are low-thc money
is invested and not until the first of
the year can the commissioner know
definitely concerning further loans.
None. however. will be made before
spring. The first of the year 1t will
be determined what amount will be
available-after payments have been
made up to the first Of December.
And 1t is impossible to inspect land
In the winter for the purpose of de-
termining whether the property is
good security.
Refuse Applications
It has been necessary to refuse viz
tually all applications for loans sub
mitted since last spring. Those APP
plications which e pending when
the ban was placed have been con-
sidered as money has been paid into
the department and some loans have
been completed. Renewal loans,
merely a transfer on paper. have been
continued, the commissioner said.
1t may appear strange no loans can
be made when the department shows
a cash balance of $97,2 This sum
is divided into IA funds-an average
Of about $1,000 in each. Emergency
demands. according to the commits
sioner. require a respectable balance
in each account.
OF great benefit to the department
has been the law which made possible
private and auction sales of FORE
closed lands. This measure became
effective July l. Since that date land
sales Of Att acres for a total consid-
Grafton of ST. 1923 have been made
SAL, 1877 on contract and $24,436 for
cash. Contract sales cover 1896 acres
and cash sales 1911 acres. Actual
receipts from these sales over cost to
the state has brought III an addition
al Is per cent. Further benefit of
the law to tho state is seen in the
fact that land sales are now adver-
tised in Billings. Emmons. Dunn, Bot
tineau. McHenry and Mckenzie coun-
ties. At ToWner today Mr.. Byerly
will sell a piece Of Mckenzie county
land. Under the law effective up to
July l, sales necessarily made to
the previous record owner. Since
the land department came into being
many years ago, 10000 acres have
been foreclosed by the state.
Buy Rural School Bonds
Bonds purchased by the department
consist only of state. county, city or
school district bonds. Special attcn-
ton. the commissioner said. has been
turned to purchasing Of country
school bonds. In the majority of
cases the issue is small. If a bond
house can be found which will float
the small amount. the expense is
great. Thus far, all bonds of this type
coming to the attention Of the de-
partment have been purchased.
improvements are now under way
In the departments bookkeeping sys-
tenn. The record Of tax payments of
each piece of land m which the de-
partment holds a mortgage will be in
Guided under the new arrangement.
Heretofore. the department has
been at a loss to know whether or not
tax payments had been kept up in
many instances. The law now pro-
vides that these figures be sent to
the department. Another innovation
will be q separate account or record
Of each fund handled by the depart
ment.