APPENDIX D 311 



become private property. The last law provides for an 

 extra loan for extending the land and the buildings of 

 those who have been furnished with loans in accordance 

 with the laws of 1899 and 1904 respectively, up to 2100 

 kroner and 1400 kroner. The arrangement for loans at 

 a low rate, conveyance at 1 krone, bonds free of stamp 

 duty, and free registration or filing, &c, have been 

 introduced into all the laws to which I refer in this 

 connection. 



The question now is : U How has the law turned out 

 in practice ? " Those who wish to know must look into 

 the matter for themselves, and not seek information from 

 those who spy out isolated unfortunate cases or seek it 

 in the Copenhagen dailies, which state that we live in 

 hysterical, idiotic times, in which the watchword is " Help 

 for the wooden-shod small farmer," and say at the same 

 time that it is the farmers' law that increases the price of 

 land. 



When the last bill was put forward in 1908 it was 

 announced that in 1900-1 to 19078, 3820 small farms 

 had been started on which 15,172,634 kroner had been 

 lent. This number of farms is not one in every other 

 commune per annum. It takes a special Copenhagen 

 agricultural expert to understand how this could turn the 

 prices of land upside down, and the fact that the Govern- 

 ment's loss in these eight years was only 6878 kroner 

 does not tend to prove the forecast of those who pro- 

 phesied that the public exchequer would suffer a great 

 loss. 



It must be remembered that those now in possession 

 of one of these farms would hardly ever have obtained 

 one had it not been for these laws, and the advantage the 

 farms have for the owners and their children giving 

 them as they do their own land to work upon will be 

 shown in future which will give us no cause to cease what 

 we have begun. 



It has been a cause of great joy to those connected 

 with the matter to see how capable farmers have utilised 



