22 UNITED STATES - CO-OPEKATIOX AND ASSOCIATION 



and is more often 7 or 8 per cent., while the average cost to the American 

 farmer of marketing his produce is probabh' not less than 10 and is fre- 

 qiienth' as high as 25 per cent. 



(Summaiise 1 from the CaU/ornia Cultivator. IvOS Angeles. Sejitember 4, 1913)- 



2. — A BII.I, FOR THE ESTABUSHMEKT OF A CO-OPERATIVE I^AND 



BANK IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK. — Senate Bill 1,693, at present under 

 consideration in the New York legislature, proposes " to amend the bank- 

 ing law in relation to savings and loan associations and to empower the 

 estabhshment of a Land Bank. " In Section t of the Bill the Bank is 

 defined as "a co-operative institution for sa\dngs, whose membership 

 is composed of savings and loan associations, estabhshed for the purpose 

 of issuing and redeeming debenture bonds secured by first mortgages pled- 

 ged by its members. " 



Section 4 provides for the granting of power to any legally constituted 

 savings and loan association to hold one or more shares in the proposed Land 

 Bank, and for the incorporation of the Bank on the application of at least 

 ten associations whose aggregate resources are not less than five million 

 dollars. Each member-association would be entitled to one vote for every 

 share which it holds of the capital of the Land Bank. Each share is of 

 one thousand dollars ; and no association would be permitted to hold 

 shares the aggregate value of which exceeds ten per cent, of its own resources. 



The Bank would be administered by a Board of not less than seven 

 directors, but all bye-laws, or amendments of bye-laws, would have to be 

 submitted to the Superintendent of Banks and receive his \vritten approval. 



It is proposed that the Land Bank should be authorized to issue and 

 sell debenture bonds and notes, when secured by the bonds and first mort- 

 gages of sa\angs and loan associations, and to redeem the same from time 

 to time. The indebtedness of the Bank upon bonds and notes would be 

 limited to twentA^ times the amount of its paid-up capital. The Bank 

 would have power to invest its capital in bonds secured by first mortgages 

 on real estate, and to own such real estate as might be necessary for its own 

 permanent place of business, and such as came into its possession through 

 the foreclosure of mortgages held by it. The Bank would be compelled 

 to maintain, out of its revenue, a sufficient sinking fund to pa^^ its debenture 

 bonds as they fell due, and to place, in each year, to a reserve fund a sum 

 equal to one-half of one per cent, of its capital, imtil such fund is equal to 15 

 per cent, of the capital. 



The debentures issued by the Bank, and the Land Bank itself, together 

 with its capital, accumulations and funds, would have the same exemption 

 from taxation as other savings institutions 



(State of New York: Suate Bill 1,693). 



