-14 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



principal or 6 per cent in all, will pay off a debt in thirty-six years. 

 In other words, under this acl the farmer can pay off his debt, prin- 

 cipal and interest, with a lower annual payment than he now makes 

 for interest alone. 



These two things will relieve the farmer from' the necessity of 

 accumulating money to pay off a large lump sum at one time, and 

 from the impending menace of mortgage foreclosure. They have 

 proven of great value in other countries. They have enabled farmers 

 to have better stock, to have better homes, better tools and grow 

 better crops. They have done more perhaps than any single influence 

 in countries where this system has been adopted, to better the agricul- 

 ture of the countries that have adopted them. This system of course 

 will soon have a trial here. There are one or two features of it about 

 which there has been some misgiving. One of these is the require- 

 ment that in order to get money local associations will have to be 

 formed. Ten or more farmers must unite together and the applica- 

 tions for loans have to be made by that association. There doesn't 

 seem to be any real difficulty in that because the operation is simple 

 and already over this state associations are being formed. I know 

 of somewdiere between thirty and forty associations in which every 

 step that could be taken at this stage lias been taken. I was in tin- 

 Imperial Valley at a meeting recently where about one hundred 

 farmers indicated their desire to belong to the first association formed. 



It is expected that these banks will be ready to do business early in 

 the spring. The date has not been fixed definitely, but April has 

 been mentioned as the probable date, and when that comes of course 

 it will mean a very considerable lowering of interest. 



I have always advised farmers to borrow on long time. It has this 

 advantage — it lessens the amount that you have to pay during the 

 earlier years after the loan is made — at the time Avhen the ability to 

 pay is least, before the full advantage of the expenditures has been 

 obtained; and all these expenditures must be made either for com- 

 pleting the payments on land or for the improvement of the farms. 



This act is, however, almost entirely confined in its benefit to the 

 men who own land or who at least have the money to pay for land. 

 It doesn't do much to solve this great problem of helping men of 

 small capital and especially young men, to buy farms. It is strictly 

 a mortgage credit, in which security of the money loaned is not based 

 on the character of the borrower but on the value of the security 

 offered, and is, I think, the first, step in the development of a great 

 system of rural credits. But there are certain things in this country 

 which make this only a first step. It needs to be supplemented by a 

 system of personal credit, which will help young men to own farms 

 and only the lure of ownership will do this. Now in Illinois over 

 40 per cent of the land is cultivated by tenants; in Oklahoma, 54 

 per cent ; in Nebraska, 43 per cent ; in Kansas nearly 40 per cent. 

 The percentage of tenant cultivators is growing constantly. Something 

 must be done to check it. Improvement in agriculture, political 

 stability are best secured in the country where the great majority of 

 the rural population own the homes they live in and the land they 

 cultivate. One bill intended to help in the acquirement of homes by 



