Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1943-04-16
WNU Service, Union Trust Building,
Washington, D. C.

Washington, d. C.
If you see cheerful glow along
the horizon of rural America these
evenings, you'll know what it is-not
a prairie fire or the neighbours barn,
but the happy light of burning mort
cages.
The farmers of America have had
their lesson. They aren't throwing
their money around this time. They
are paying their debts. They are
becoming the solid citizens of the
nation. They are building a bull
wark against postwar depression
that can save the nation financially,
Right now, the financial health of
rural America is better than it has
been in many long decade. But
certain nervous gentlemen are be-
ginning to worry. Will the farmer
keep to the straight and narrow or
will he be tempted to put down an
option on distant hills which are be-
ginning to turn an alluring green?
Listen to what one of those eau
tious gentlemen in Washington,
Frank Wilson of the department of
commerce, has to say. Why, you
may ask, does the department of
commerce, whose job it is to look
after the welfare of the city man,
worry about the farmer? Well, when
the farmer goes broke, the city man
closes up shop. But, a word from
Mr.. Wilson:
"While the level of farm values
throughout most parts of the Middle
West has increased 10 to Is per cent
in the last year, and the transfer of
farm properties has been greatly &C.
celebrated, there is, as yet, no evil
dence of the recurrence of the de-
structive speculation in farm lands
which followed the First World
war"
So far so good. But here is Mr..
Wilson's postscript:
Farm lending authorities through
out that area, however, admit that
conditions are in the making from
which speculative wave might re-
suit unless price control measures
can be effective in holding farm
prices at or only moderately above
present levels"
Mortgage Survey
The department of commerce
made a survey of the farm mortgage
situation in 10 states where the bulk
of the food production for war is
being made.
The federal land banks and the
Farm Credit administration which
has been watching this situation like
hawk has plenty of data. One out
of every tenor more than 100000
-farmer-borrowers from the IL fed
eral land banks and land bank COM
missioner repaid his loan in full in
1912.
In the 10 states the department of
commerce studied, according to the
1910 census, there were more than
three million farms, more than half
of all the farms in the country. Their
total value is well over half the total
value of farm lands in the country.
The survey of this territory, just
made public, shows that in 1910, Al
and '42, Indebtedness of farmers to
the Farm Credit administration
dropped quarter of a billion dol
lars. This includes the drouth area
in Kansas, one of the states hit hard
est by the drouth, 10000 farmers got
out of debt and Kansas borrowers
kept right on paying until they had
deposited million dollars in the
future payment fund" to anticipate
labor installments. Similar statistics
could be reeled off for other areas.
One thing that has helped the debt
payment is the inability to get into
further debtor automobiles and
other commodities which just aren't
for sale.
Will that memory fade? Will the
farmers money begin to burn a hole
in his pocket? Will those green pas
lures just over the hill begin to lure
him beyond his means?
AS said, the cautious folk in
Washington are a little worried.
These are some of the danger sig
nails they see:
A possible rise in values which
cannot be exactly predicted or ex-
planned. But which is always a pos
sibility, if not now, after the war.
Then there will be an accumulation
of cash; there will be lot of war
bonds in the safe deposit box or in
the old sock. There will be lot of
husky young sons returning from the
war for whom fathers will want to
buy farms, there will be perhaps an
increased demand for farm products