264 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



methods to enlightened endeavor, out of which 

 better live stock, better poultry, better bookkeep- 

 ing and better results are obtained. 



The improvement of the soil is our national 

 safety valve. We are multiplying in population far 

 faster than we are multiplying- our farm products. 

 Our consumption is swiftly overtaking production, 

 and it is national defense when the broad acres of 

 our farms are increasing the treasures that they 

 give to mankind. 



While the average farmer in the 

 Uncle Sam's West is more troubled trying to 

 Rules for find money which he can borrow at 



Borrowing a reasonable rate of interest than 

 Money with any other problem, neverthe- 



less he can no doubt derive some 

 good from an investigation which Uncle Sam's ex- 

 perts have just made concerning farm loans. Out 

 of their extensive studies these experts have evolved 

 three rules, which are worth while remembering. 

 The rules are: 



1. Make sure that the purpose for which the 

 borrowed money is to be used will produce a re- 

 turn greater than needed to pay the debt. 



2. The length of time the debt is to run should 

 have a close relation to the productive life of the 

 improvement for which' the money is borrowed. 



3. Provision should be made in long-time loans 

 for the gradual reduction of the principal. 



The first rule is, of course, the key to the wise 

 use of credit. Between borrowing money to spend 

 on one's self and borrowing money to buy equip- 

 ment of some sort with which to make more money 

 there is all the difference between folly and fore- 

 sight, extravagance and thrift. If the money is 

 borrowed for a wise purpose it will produce enough 

 to pay back principal and interest and leave a fair 

 margin of profit for the borrower into the bargain. 

 If it is borrowed for a foolish purpose, it will pro- 

 duce nothing and consequently there will be noth- 

 ing with which to repay the loan. From this point 

 of view it matters comparatively little whether the 

 interest be high or low. It is the repayment of the 

 principal that is the chief difficulty. 



Rules 2 and 3 deal with the most satisfactory 

 ways of repayment. Underneath them both is the 

 same principle: The loan must be repaid with 

 the money it earns itself. For example, if the money 

 is used to buy a machine that will last ten years, 

 the machine must earn enough in that time to pay 

 for itself or it never will. The loan, therefore, 

 should be entirely repaid before the ten years are 

 up or the farmer will lose money on the transac- 



tion, paying out interest for no benefit in return. 

 On the other hand, if too early a date is set for 

 repayment, the machine will not have had sufficient 

 opportunity to make the requisite money and the 

 borrower may have difficulty in raising it elsewhere. 

 Rule 3 provides for some form of amortization, the 

 system by which the principal is repaid in install- 

 ments so that the amount of the loan is continually 

 diminishing and in consequence the interest charges 

 also. 



A commission appointed by the gov- 

 Some ernment of Saskatchewan "to exam- 



Canadian ine into the ways and means for 



Figures bettering the position of Saskatche- 



on Wheat wan grain in the European mar- 



kets," has just niade a report, which 

 every American farmer should read. The report 

 will prove of particular benefit to those farmers 

 who have contemplated crossing the border into 

 Canada. The report tells a story entirely different 

 from the alluring advertisements with which many 

 farmers have been induced to leave the United 

 States. 



The cost of producing wheat as determined by 

 the commission is reported to be 55 cents per bushel 

 on the farm and 62 cents per bushel f. o. b. cars at 

 country points. 



According to the report, the cost of production 

 has increased 12:15 per cent since 1909, while, on 

 the other hand, the price of wheat to the Saskatche- 

 wan farmer has decreased from 81 1-5 cents per 

 bushel in 1909, to 66ys cents per bushel in 1913, 

 leaving a net return, on this basis, of 4^ cents per 

 bushel to the farmer. 



A. P. Davis, chief engineer of the 

 A. P. Davis Reclamation Service, has been sent 

 Tackles to China to help the new Republic 



The Wily solve its flood problems. Davis, no 



Chinee doubt, can find plenty to do among 



the wily Chinee to keep him occu- 

 pied for several years. Meanwhile, some of the 

 problems of the projects under the Reclamation 

 Service can no doubt be worked out. Davis' absence 

 will perhaps facilitate the solutions. 



THE IRRIGATION AGE suggested this Chinese job 

 for Director Newell, believing it offered Secretary 

 Lane an easy way of eliminating that person from 

 the Reclamation Service. 



\Ve are just about as well pleased that Davis 

 should have been sent, as we believe he is almost 

 equally to blame for the present terrible conditions 

 on the Federal projects and for the tremendous ex- 

 penditures for which the government can never 

 justly expect any return. 



