WORKING CREDIT FOR FARMERS. 239 



to be able to influence the adoption of something similar 

 in his own country. He was simply astounded at the 

 enormous amount of agricultural " paper " held in discounts 

 by the Bank of France. In Canada the bankers are equally 

 busy endeavouring to solve the problem, the great national 

 importance of which they, with their keener Western insight 

 — as compared with our own — perceive clearly. And in 

 July, 1916, at a " Banker-Farmer " Conference held at 

 Winnipeg for the special purpose of considering the matter, 

 they made specific offers of enlarged credit — and more 

 particularly for credit extended in point of time — to the 

 farmers of the three great grain-growing provinces of Mani- 

 toba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. In both countries bankers 

 and farmers are now manfully pulling together for the pur- 

 pose of establishing cheap and convenient agricultural 

 credit — let alone that banker minds are also busy over 

 plans for providing easy and more accessible mortgage 

 credit. 



If you want to build up a sound system of co-operative 

 banking, what you have to look for first obviously is security. 

 Everything hinges upon that. Provide security and you 

 will find the money coming in of its own accord — not at 

 once, perhaps : because the method is new and unfamiliar 

 to ourselves ; but after very little hesitation certainly. 

 That is the common experience of co-operative banks all 

 over Europe. There may be some rough ground to be got 

 over first. Ardua quae pulchra. But the money will come 

 in. The Banca Popolare of Milan, which now has more than 

 half a million of share capital and deals out millions across 

 its counter, catering, among other things, for more than 

 three hundred smaller co-operative banks, began in a little 

 room in a back street with £28 share capital. Sound busi- 

 ness brought in the rest. There are many other similar 

 examples. 



Now, in the case of Agriculture, more particularly of 

 small Agriculture, the provision of security, such as will 

 satisfy lenders, entails rather considerable difficulties. 

 There is no calhng which — even without bringing the free- 

 hold into account, which should have nothing to do with 



