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sion ranges over a wide field of agricultural reform, 

 without any visible or concrete effect, and unless the 

 denouncing of a flagrant case is taken advantage of to 

 secure reform, later on the question will become mere- 

 ly one of academic interest, for discussion only. How 

 much faith can the average rural voter have in the ef- 

 ficiency of his deputy's action, and how little can he 

 expect from Congress needs little further proof, since 

 cases so vitally interesting to each voter in rural con- 

 stituencies have not been deemed worthy of the trouble 

 of calling the attention of the Chamber by one solitary 

 deputy . 



What are the expectations of the farmer? 



The funds necessary to harvest his crop he murt 

 have or lose the money spent in preparing and sowing 

 the ground; he has undertaken the business on the 

 basis of finding sufficient funds later on to carry him 

 through. Without such hopes half the land would never 

 be put under cultivation for cereals. 



In anticipation of a splendid crop he applies to the 

 bank, but rarely it is that he has not the customary re- 

 ply, "No hay fondos", unless he belong to the favour- 

 ed few of the bank's best clients. This is very logical on 

 the part of the bank manager, for how few of the "cha- 

 careros" have money deposited in the bank the greater 

 part of the year? Previously, he has read in the press 

 and he has been assured by official announcements, that 

 the Government has the matter in hand, that the Bank 

 directors are taking every precaution to see that there 

 is money available for all and sundry, etc., that this 

 year is to see an end to the customary shortage, etc., 

 and he hopes, too, that this year some of the money will 

 find its way down to his zone. 



He is well aware that although the local bank, (in 

 rural parts almost exclusively the Banco de la Nacion) 

 has not money to lend out to cover a tenth of that need- 

 ed for harvesting the grain in his zone, the grain brok- 

 ers and their agents have always more than enough, 

 but on their terms. 



He can turn to the local " almacenero ", to whom 

 he is assuredly in debt, not necessarily for money. The 

 customary extensive credit easily accorded farmers in 

 good years, and the stringent credit rarely denied far- 

 mers in bad years, nearly always finds our cereal farm- 

 ers with considerable balances on the wrong side by 

 harvesting time. 



LOCAL CREDIT. 



In many cases, the "almacenero" is the "acopia- 



