The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1931-01-23
THE MONEY LENDERS
Bv HANS RASMUSSEN

Southeast of Plentywood is School District No.
80. 1t is small district but is financially better
fixed than most other districts. Practically all its
taxes paid last fall and it has three miles of
railroad, so its finances are in exceptionally good
shape. Regardless of this fact, regardless of the
fact that the school district has plenty of money
In IT'S treasury to meet its obligations, when the
teacher takes her warrant to the bank in Plenty
wood the bank discounts the warrant three per
cent. In order to draw her pay, out of every $1OO
she must pay $500 to the bank in Plentywood.
Probably the bank needs the SO worse than the
teacher does but if teachers should divide up with
everybody in need they would not have enough left
to buy handkerchief for themselves
That's what the banks have come down to-
rObbing a poor school teacher out of a measy
three per cent. If you go and ask the County
Treasurer if he could do anything about it, all
you get out of him is that he hasn't his books in
order yet-which is no doubt the gospel truth.
Nobody would ever expect him to get that far
There time when the banks were of some
use to the county. There was time when you
could go to the bank and get horse if you needed
one. Of course you had to promise to pay two or
three prices for the old doped up plug but YOU
needed the nag and you got it and paid for it some
time later, whenever you got around to it, with
plenty of interest of course, but you didn't mind
that much.
There was time when you could go to the bank
and borrow money enough to winter over your
wife and babies and there was a time when YOU
would stick little money in the bank for safe
keeping, feeling that the money was more safe
there than in the old stocking. There was time
when you and the banker would line up along the
bar and have your beer together. In those DAYS
the banker got away with the lions share but
you got little service out of it anyway = the
banks were of some use.
Times and conditions have changed and the
little country bank has outlived its usefulness If
there were no banks in the county we would get
along very nicely-in fact the taxpayers would get
along much better without them. Not only has it
outlived its usefulness it has become an institution
that people are supporting without getting any re-
turns-a drone.
Like old people, without any visible means of
support the banks are now living on the county
and picking up what little petty graft they can get
out of school teachers and the like as a side line
Were it not for the help they get from the county
they would die a natural death
1t will only be a matter of time when our little
banks will be replaced by chain banks; that will
not make things any better-only in one way: We
will not have so many to support.
For the county money the banks have gotten
away with In years gone by the county could have
built dozen courthouses and would have had
something to show for the money AS IL is we
have nothing. There is no stop TO it yet, and why
should there be? So long as people keep on vot
ing for county treasurers and county commission
ers put up by the banks, why should there be
People get just what they are voting for-and paw
for It. r~'
Someone might ask How could that teacher get