510 IOWA DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE 



mercial National or some of these big banks. They were putting 

 $13,000,000 in one building, and that is surely not as good security 

 as a farm, but they loaned at .75 per cent less than they would on 

 the farm. 



Member: Don't you think that it would be a good thing if the 

 Torrens system was adopted by the state of Iowa? 



Mr. Hogan: The Torrens system would be a very good thing. 

 Our abstracts are getting longer and longer each year, and it costs 

 more to have them examined each time, and it appears that every 

 lawyer who examines one wall find a new set of objections, and I 

 have found that the same lawyer found some more objections the 

 second time he looked at it. 



Mr. Doran : A few years ago the stock of the Northwestern Eail- 

 road sold for 389 cents on the dollar; today it is selling for 125 

 cents ; and yet they are borrowing money for less than any farmer 

 in this room can borrow it. It is not the security that regulates 

 the rate of interest, but the convenience of making the loan; and 

 I think the sooner we get the Torrens system the better it will be 

 for the farmers. 



R. M. Gunn : If we can establish a system of that kind so that 

 the small investor can get in on it, we will have a system that will 

 be a credit to ourselves. 



Mr. Hogan : The important thing is to throw all the safeguards 

 of the law and government supervision al)out it, so that the in- 

 vestor that buys will know it is good and that it will be paid. 



The President : The next number that we Avill place on our pro- 

 gram is President R. A. Pearson, of Ames. You men are aware of 

 the fact that President Pearson has not been with us a great while. 

 We succeeded in inducing him to leave the state of Ncav York and 

 come out here and take the presidency of our agricultural college 

 about a year ago, and possibly a great many of you men have not 

 had the privilege of meeting or even seeing him. and I am sure 

 that you will appreciate this opportunity. I now introduce to you 

 President Pearson of our state agi'icultural college. 



THE STATE AGRICULTURAL (JOLLEGE. 



By President R. A. Pearson. 



President Pearson : Mr. President, Friends, and Members of the 

 Organization, it gives me a great deal of pleasure to be here with 

 you. I just came into the hall a few minutes ago. I am soitv that 

 I missed hearing the first paper. 



