Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1934-03-15

DdDsOu was SOD o. TIE SOL. tnrlR~
t.. shrewd. rapacsous. competent.
From banking he reached out and In
terested himself In such local enter
prises az ereameries. q lumber yard,
the largest local garage with the
agency for popular cheap automobile
and pumps; be sold insurance Of all
kinds.
Only once had Babson lost his per-
epectiye on values and that was dur.
Ing the World swar. and for this IL
would seem he was not TO be blamed,
since all his fellow countrymen lost
theirs simultaneously. The rapid adj
vance In the price Of farm commodI-
ties had brought the usual boom Of
prosperity 10 FOrlorn Valley. The
bank. sharing IN the general and un-
usual prosperity. presently had a glut
OF money on deposit and, since banks
exist By IoanIng the funds deposited
with them. BabsOn, with so much
money on hand, and faced with the
problem Of making that money pay
dividends. let down bis guard. so TO
speak, and loaned money on farm
mortgages.
The postwar defation period ar
rived and the values Of farms and
farm products dropped almost over
night below the pre-war marks. As
he contemplated the banks unsecured
notes and frozen assets In the shape
Of mortgages on farms for 80 per cent
Of their present value and that value an
exceedingly doubtful one. Babson had
a very clear vision Of hard times In
the immediate offing.
If he foreclosed his mortgages he
would have the farms on his hands
likewise their taxes and the loss Of
interest.
For the succeeding four years Mr.
Babs0n's commercial progress was
tinctured with caution. Then the
pendulum commenced to swing the
other way very slowly. and one day
a brilliant thought leaped into bis har-
ried brain.
He decided TO transfer his financial
burdens 10 the capable hands of the
rightful receiver Of all gold bricks, TO
wit, the government. From the joint
land stock banks established by the
government to aid the stricken farm
ers and stock raIsers he would induce
his debtors 10 borrow on mortgage. at
81 per cent. sufficient funds to pay
of the existing mortgages at s per
cent held by the Bank Of Valley Gen.
ter. In order to sweeten the deal Mr..
Babson even considered waving the
accumulated and unpaid interest for a
couple OF years. All he wanted back
was the principal Of his foolish loans,
for with that in his vaults he knew
his bank would be quite safe.
Promptly he bulldozed a farmer
into making application for such q
loan. and with commendable celebrity
a government farm appraiser came
up from San Francisco to inspect the
proffered collateral. II required
something less than thirty seconds for
this Individual to make his appraisal
and decision.
"The government" he said. will moi
consider loanlng money on California
farms which are listed as dry-farmlna
lands"
"But these lands are irrigated" Mr
Babson reminded him.
ayes. so ! observe. but from deer
wells. But as more and more wells
are bored and the farming In this
valley tends more and more toward
intensive cropping. thus requiring more
and more water for irrigation. the wa
ter levels will recede and the cost oi
pumping the water to the surface will
Increase proportIonately with the III
until a point will be reached where
the water will be tinctured with rec
ink. Hence, such lands as these are
listed as dry-farming lands and con
stitute a loan risk the government Il
unwilling to assume II will loar
only on lands that are surface irri
gated and with an assured and con
tinuous source of water supply"
80 I've loaned money on dry FARM
because I was jackass enough to con