4f>r, 



FARM FINANCE 



store has often been of genuine service to farmers in 

 exchanging produce which farmers do not need for sup- 

 plies which they must have, yet the main evil arises when 

 merchants are in a position to dictate the type of agricul- 

 ture to be followed. 



We will now see what is the relation of commercial 

 banks to rural credits. 



329. Bank Credit. Bank credit is better suited to the 

 needs of agriculture than is store credit. When a farmer 



goes to the bank he gets 

 cash and can then buy 

 where he pleases. He 

 at once becomes more 

 independent. Banks are 

 middlemen and desire 

 short or long loans on 

 tangible security, 

 short loans of from 30 

 to 90 days, so that they 

 can often turn over their 

 money during the year ; 

 long loans, and this is 

 especially true of sav- 

 ings banks, so that they 

 can have a permanent in- 

 vestment of their funds. 

 In either case the terms 

 and conditions of the 

 loans may not fit in to 

 the requirements of agriculture. However, from a recent 

 report of the Comptroller of Currency of the United 

 States our banks held outstanding loans of $ 1,769,000,000, 

 which was mostly on farm mortgages. 



Mortgage loans, while of excellent help in securing title 



FARMERS' BANK. 



