Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1932-05-26
Chairman GddrenStrOOm Advocates
Passage of Frazier Bill for Low
Farm Interest Rates.

Close attention was accorded c. F.
Gaarenstroom, chairman of the State
Rural Credits Bureau, when he spoke
in the village hall at Pine City last
Friday evening on the bureau and the
Senator Frazier bill now pending in
Congress.
Mr.. Gaarenstroom said that the
State Rural Credits Bureau was or
ganized in 1923 through an act of the
legislature because people felt that
there was need for lower rates of in
terest on farm mortgages and long
time loans-more security for the
farmer. But in the first years of the
bureau some politicians and bankers
turned the bureau to their own adj
vantage. This was especially true of
man like former Senator c. L. Han
sen of Thief River Falls in Penning
ton county, said the speaker. Han
sen was also president of the First
National Bank of Thief River Falls.
He loaded many bad loans upon the
state of Minnesota in the years 1928,
'25 and '26, in fact half of those
loans are now property of the state.
There are altogether about 200 farms
in Pennington county that have be-
come the property of the state, due to
excessive loans, and this is compare
lively very high for there are less
than 1000 farms altogether in the
county. This increased taxes about
11% on the property still paying
taxes, due to the fact that the state
does not pay taxes.
Big Repair Bill.
Mr.. Gaarenstroom went on to tell
that in 1929 the state paid out $780,
600 in repairs of buildings on state
owned farms while in 1880, election
year, the repairs amounted to nearly
100000. Much of this money was
paid out to John Brown" and help
ers, the helpers not receipting for
money received from the state, in
other words campaign funds. In 1881
approximately $4,000 was spent in
repairs.
A former secretary of the bureau,
H. H. Flowers, benefited to the ex-
tent of SAT. 900 which was traced in
the investigation, through manipula-
tions and commissions on insurance
premiums. During his time insur-
ance was increased here and there,
and there was even a case of insur-
ing farm buildings in 1929 that
burned in 1926, said the speaker.
The law stipulates that the farm
in order to get a state loan must be
owned, occupied, and operated by an
actual farmer. When the present adj
ministration took over the reins of
government in 1881 there were 40
farms without buildings and some
farms had only five acres under Gull
tivation. Hay and grain had laid
! around on some of the rented farms
| for two years or more, and before
1928 the records in regard to rentals
| were practically mill.
| On Business Basis.
| A good auditing system has now
been set up, said Mr.. Gaarenstroom,
for the bureau must be run on a bust
ness basis, the same as any private
loaning company. 1t must not be run
to pay political debts. In spite of the
depression the rental income for 1881
was $4,000 more than in 1880.
| Money loaned to farmers on mort
cages is secured by the state on bonds
backed by the state, and the interest
on these bonds has been between Az %
and 4s4 %. Desiring to get lower rates
of interest for the farmers Governor
Olson and Mr.. Gaarenstroom tried to
secure this through the Reconstruct
tion Finance Corporation, but it
Continued on Page 81