308 RURAL DENMARK 



chase from his own resources. It was further agreed 

 that those who certified the qualifications of a. petitioner 

 should hold a certificate from a magistrate as to their 

 credibility, and the Committee were ordered to inspect 

 the lots it was proposed to purchase before they promised 

 a State loan to any petitioner. 



The reader will see that these new conditions show 

 the speculation that had begun by the aid of these cheap 

 loans, but the worthy law-givers left quite out of con- 

 sideration the economic side of the matter, which there 

 had been every reason to examine a little more closely. 

 They altered some of the conditions, it is true, but in the 

 wrong way. The yearly loan limit was raised from two 

 to three million kroner, and at the same time they ex- 

 tended the benefit of the loans to " garden workers " and 

 craftsmen, ranked economically as agricultural workers, 

 also to brickmakers and others who in part earn their 

 living by agricultural labour. 



After this there was nothing to prevent loans from 

 being granted to people who had not a sufficiently 

 thorough training to enable them to manage a house- 

 man's holding. One might conclude that the legislators 

 followed the old and obsolete rule that when a man is 

 not fit for anything else he can at any rate become a 

 farmer. 



Another period of five years was necessary before the 

 legislators observed this lapse, but when the Bill was re- 

 vised during the session 1 908-1909 the above-mentioned 

 enlarged right to loans was also done away with. The 

 Agricultural Secretary even demanded that there should 

 be six years of preliminary experience on the part of the 

 applicant. But the result was that this period was limited 

 to " at least four years after the attained eighteenth year 

 of the petitioner." Women and fishermen were admitted, 

 the yearly loan limit was increased to four million kroner, 

 and the existing possessors of small-holdings were enabled 

 to obtain additional loans. 



Paspart. 



