22 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



Not wholly discouraged in this quest, the seekers for money 

 went to one of the largest commission houses trying to secure 

 a loan on 175 bales of cotton which had all been graded and 

 which averaged strict middling. The best arrangement that 

 could be secured promised to result in the following monthly 

 charge against each bale of cotton, estimating the bale as 

 worth $70: 



2 1-2% commission $1 75 



Insurance 25 



Interest at 10% 58 



Warehousing charges 25 



Charges per bale per mo $2 83 



This represents 57 points or more than 1-2 cent per pound 

 per month, which is' more than any grower who is holding cot- 

 ton from a purely non-speculative point of view could consider. 

 It should be remembered that the purpose in holding this cotton 

 was to get a sufificient number of bales of even-running grades 

 for commercial transactions. 



The farmer suffers not only in the securing of money loans, 

 but also in securing the necessary store credit for carrying him 

 through that part of the season when he has no considerable 

 product to market. This is especially true of the cotton farmer. 

 Part of the difficulty can be obviated by diversification so that 

 something may be in hand for sale at any season of the year; 

 but even so. capital or credit is required to carry on any busi- 

 ness. Store credit comes high, both on account of the rate 

 of interest charged on store accounts (particularly in the South) 

 and because prices are elevated to an unreasonable extent to 

 this class of credit purchasers. Work is necessary along many 

 Imes. 



The plan of the Office of Markets at present in view includes 

 the following : 



(i) The study and promulgation of market 

 grades and standards. 



(2) Market surveys, methods and costs. 



(3) Investigation of transportation and storage 



problems. 



