August, 1932 



THE I. A. A. RECORD 



Page Seven 



Lower Rates To Farm 



Co-ops Now In Effect 



Passage of ^^Torbeck-Steagall 



Bill Reduces Interest From 



4% to 3% Per Cent At St. 



Louis Credit Bank 



effect by e 

 eral Inte 

 This actio 

 Congress of 





Substantial reductions in the 

 rate of interest on all new loans 

 to financing institutions and 

 farmers' co-opjwative marketing 

 organizations«,hgve been put into 

 ,of the twelve Fed- 

 ite Credit banks. 

 Jllowed passage by 

 le Norbeck-Steagall 

 bill making debentures of the In- 

 termediate Credit Banks eligible for 

 note-issue and 15-day loans. The 

 bill, which embodies principles ad- 

 vocated by the American Farm Bu- 

 reau Federation, was signed by 

 President Hoover May 20 and the 

 new scale of rates went into effect 

 less than a month later, on June 

 15. The reductions range from 1% 

 per cent at the St. Paul bank, to 

 % of one per cent at Houston and 

 with the St. Louis bank, which 

 serves Illinois farmers, lowering its 

 rate one per cent, or from 4% to 

 3% per cent. 



Previously the banks had been at 

 a disadvantage in the market with 

 other securities which were eligible 

 for note-issue and 15-day loans. 

 Member banks in the federal re- 

 serve system had in the past been 

 unwilling to take intermediate 

 credit debentures at the same rate 

 of interest as other securities be- 

 cause the debentures would not 

 have this privilege. By placing the 

 debentures on the same footing, 

 which is provided by the Norbeck- 

 Steagall bill, they are now able to 

 get the same low rate of interest 

 that other securities obtain. 



The American Farm Bureau 

 Federation's Washington office 

 urged approval of the bill in hear- 

 ings before the Senate and House 

 Banking and Currency committees, 

 in compliance with a resolution 

 endorsed by delegates to the na- 

 tional Farm Bureau convention last 

 winter. This resolution was based 

 on recommendations made by the 

 National Committee on Rural 

 Credits after a survey and study 

 of agricultural credit problems. R. 

 A. Cowles, treasurer of the Illinois 

 Agricultural Association, was a 

 member of this national committee. 



More counterfeit money is in cir- 

 culation now than at any time 

 within his memory, says W. H. Mo- 

 ran, chief of the U. S. Secret Serv- 

 ice. 



In the fiscal year 1931, 1,534 per- 

 sons were arrested and $391,957 in 

 counterfeit notes were destroyed by 

 the Secret Service. 



It Said 



ooseve 



In his acceptance speech before 

 the National Democratic Conven- 

 tion in Chicago July 1, Franklin D. 

 Roosevelt, presidential nominee, 

 spoke at length on the agricultural 

 problem. While discussing the un- 

 employment question he advocated 

 a plan for converting many mil- 

 lions of acres of marginal and un- 

 used land into timber land through 

 reforestation. "There are tens of 

 millions of acres east of the 

 Mississippi river alone in aban- 

 doned farms, in cut-over land, now 

 growing up in worthless brush," he 

 said. "Every European nation has 

 a definite land policy and has had 

 one for generations. We have not. 

 Having none we face a future of 

 soil erosion and timber famine. . . . 



"In so doing, employment can be 

 given to a million men. That is the 

 kind of public work that is self- 

 sustaining — therefore capable of 

 being financed by the issuance of 

 bonds made secure by the growth 

 of tremendous timber crops. I have 

 a definite program of providing 

 employment by that means. I have 

 done it, and am doing it today in 

 the State of New York. . . . The 

 practical way to help the farmer is 

 to do something toward the reduc- 

 tion of the surpluses of staple com- 

 modities that hang on the market. 

 It should be our aim to add to the 

 world prices of staple products the 

 amount of a reasonable tariff pro- 

 tection, give agriculture the same 

 protection that industry has today. 



"Final voluntary reduction of 

 surplus is a part of our objective, 

 but the long continuance and the 

 present burden of existing surpluses 

 make it necessary to repair great 

 damage of the present by im- 

 mediate emergency measures. . . . 



"And as to the actual wording of 

 the bill, I believe that the Demo- 

 cratic party stands ready to be 

 guided by whatever the responsible 

 farm groups themselves agree up- 

 on. That is a principle that is sound. 



"One half of our population, over 

 50,000,000 people, are depending on 

 agriculture, and my friends, if 

 those 50,000,000 people have no 

 money, no cash to buy what is pro- 

 duced in the city, the city suffers 

 to an equal or greater extent. . . . 



"Rediscounting of farm mort- 

 gages under salutary j-estrictions 

 must be expanded, and should, in 

 the future, be conditioned on the 

 reduction of interest rates. Amor- 

 tization payments, maturities, 

 should likewise in this crisis be ex- 

 tended before rediscount is per- 

 mitted where the mortgagor is 

 sorely pressed. The tax burden 

 caused by expansion and inefficient 

 local government is an additional 

 factor. . , .„Our most immediate 



concern should be to reduce the in- 

 terest burden on these mortgages." 

 Further statements of presidential 

 nominees on the problems of agri- 

 culture will be carried in future 

 issues of the Record. 



Insurance Men Sign 



I 100 New Members 



"Following their usual methods, 

 Country Life insurance men went 

 over the top in the 4th of July 

 membership campaign with report- 

 ed Farm Bureau memberships to- 

 taling 1100," says L. A. Williams, 

 manager. "Headliners like George 

 Dickson of Kendall county, Wm. 

 Linker of Whiteside county, Ben 

 Roth of Livingston county, all pro- 

 duced over 20 members. Insurance 

 agents in Livingston county wrote 

 a total of 49, Peoria county 24, Ford 

 county 24, Rock Island county 35, 

 Schuyler county 19, Carroll coun- 

 ty 44, etc. 



"General agents in many in- 

 stances wrote the members and 

 gave credit to their men. Others 

 went out to win watches. More than 

 30 watches were counted at the sec- 

 tional meetings. It was to be ex- ' 

 pected that the men who have been 

 active in Farm Bureau work and 

 active in selling work would co- 

 operate in putting over a gigantic 

 program throughout the state of 

 Illinois. Our general agents from 

 Pope-Hardin to JoDaviess counties,., 

 throughout the length and breadth . 

 of the State jumped in and did 

 marvelous work. 



"Our leading producer of the 

 year. Glen Kaufman, who sold 26 

 applications on one special day for 

 Country Life, is also flashing a 

 new Waltham watch for his Farm 

 Bureau effort, which proves the 

 statement which I make that the 

 man who sells life insurance finds 

 selling membership a very simple 

 task. Ten of our men will be very 

 glad to challenge ten men from any 

 other subsidiary of the I. A. A. 

 in any one month's race for Farm 

 Bureau membership, naming any 

 prize which would be agreeable to 

 the accepting party, the losers to 

 purchase the prize. Think that one 

 over." 



Country Life Insurance Co. an- 

 nounces that it wrote more life insur- 

 ance in July, 1932 than in July, 1931. 



The Reconstruction Finance Cor- 

 poration recently loaned the Balti-- 

 more and Ohio railroad $25,500,000, 

 the largest single loan approved by 

 the Interstate Commerce Commis- 

 sion. , : .; 



Cement prices were advanced re- 

 cently by several of the larger manu- 

 facturers. ■•;::, 



The farm price index advanced 5 

 points from June 15 to July 15. ' 



