FARM-MORTGAGE LOANS IN" THE UNITED STATES. 11 
total capital from all banks in the State. Likewise in California the 
savings banks furnish even a larger proportion of the total capital in- 
vested in farm mortgages by all banks. On the other hand, in Minne- 
sota, where there are few savings banks, the farm-mortgage loans held 
by State and private banks and trust companies constitute about 95 
per cent of the total amount of such loans held by all banks in that 
State. 
LIFE INSURANCE COMPANIES. 
The importance of life insurance companies as sources of capital 
for farm-mortgage loans in the various States is also shown in Table 
5 and in Diagram D. It is seen that these insurance companies 
supply approximately $700,000,000 for farm-mortgage loans, or 
about one-fifth of the total farm-mortgage capital of the United 
States. Practically one-half of the insurance money is invested in 
the four States of Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska. Iowa 
alone holds nearly 22 per cent of the total amount of insurance money 
invested in farm mortgages. In few of the Southern or Rocky 
Mountain States do the insurance funds invested in farm mortgages 
represent more than one-half of 1 per oent of the total farm-mortgage 
capital obtained from this source. 
The life insurance companies either have their own farm-mortgage 
departments, through which they receive and pass on applications 
for loans, or they purchase farm mortgages outright in the commer- 
cial market. The latter practice generally is limited to the smaller 
insurance companies, the volume of whose business in this field is 
not sufficient to warrant their establishing separate machinery for 
the selection of farm -mortgage securities. 
On the other hand, the larger insurance companies, which invest 
considerable amounts in farm mortgages, have very well-organized 
departments, through which they carry on a regular farm-mortgage 
loan business. They usually limit their loans to territory such as 
they can approve for this purpose, and hire salaried appraisers, whose 
inspection of any given individual loan is required before the loan is 
finally accepted. Ordinarily these companies receive applications 
through local agencies or correspondents, usually local banks. The 
application blanks and legal papers used by these insurance compa- 
nies, including mortgages and notes, have been carefully standard- 
ized and adapted to the conditions in the various States where loans 
are made. While some of the companies show a tendency to make 
loans at relatively high rates, insurance companies more often repre- 
sent a highly conservative class of investors in the farm-mortgage 
business. Their advent into any given State for investment pur- 
poses usually leads to a lowering of charges on farm mortgages. 
Local investors often are governed in their charges by the practices 
of competing insurance companies. 
