Seventy-Third Annual Report 1227 



commission merchants. We believe that we should have uniform- 

 ity in the ajiricultural laws of the several states so far as local 

 conditions will permit, and in the enactments by congress, and 

 suggest that the Commissioner of Agriculture of this state lend his 

 best endeavors to gradually bring about such a condition. 



The President : The chairman of the Committee on Banking 

 and Legislation is not able to be with us, and in addition to that 

 fact the matters we are taking up at this session, which are not 

 entirely clarified in the minds of all, arc in such shape that the 

 ether members of the committee deem it best to give the matters 

 growing out of this convention more careful attention and scrutiny, 

 and report at a later date on matters of farm finance and rural 

 credits. So we will ])ass over that report at the present time. 



We are now ready for the address on '' The Practical Applica- 

 tion of Agricultural Credit Systems to American Farm and 

 Market Problems," by John J. Dillon, Esq., of Xew York, the 

 publisher of the Rural ISTew Yorker. Mr. Dillon was abroad last 

 year and it is very fortunate for this society that one of our mem- 

 bers has had opportunity to study at first hand the subjects to 

 which we are giving our specific attention this year. 



THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF AGRICULTURAL CREDIT SYSTEMS 

 TO AMERICAN FARM AND MARKET PROBLEMS 



John J. Dillon 



This is a subject that is new to many of us, and none of us 

 have gotten to the bottom of it as yet I think, and anything that 

 we can say is more in the way of a discussion than of a dictum. 



During the past year cooperation has been distinguished above 

 other subjects in the volume of printed and verbal discussion 

 devoted to it. Some of the discussion has been intelligent. Much 

 of it serves only to reveal the ignorance of the authors and to 

 confuse the public mind on the subject. Some has the merit of 

 evident sincerity ; but a large portion of it has been mere brag, 

 bluster and buncombe. Impressed with the sudden popularity of 

 the subject, designing men have espoused it in some cases to 

 pamper their vanity and egotism, and in other cases to feed their 

 pockets. Men claiming to be inspired authorities on the subject 



