191.3. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
600 
LOANS TO FARMERS. 
When we discussed realty credits— 
financing the farm mortgages—some 
weeks back, we found the essentials of 
a satisfactory system would be: 
# 1.—Ready money to place on mort¬ 
gage at any time. The man wishing to 
place a mortgage must be able to get 
the money on it when he wants it with¬ 
out favor and without apology. 
2. -—The borrower must have the 
privilege of a long time loan. 
3. —The rate of interest must be the 
rate at which debentures sell on the 
market. This will be the rate of stable 
securities at the time on the stock 
markets. 
4. —An annual payment in excess of 
the interest to amortize, or wipe out, 
the mortgage at the end of the mort¬ 
gage period. This payment would be 
about 1% annually on a mortgage to 
run 40 years. On a longer mortgage 
it would be less. On a shorter mort¬ 
gage the rate would be more. 
5. —The mortgage cannot be called 
for payment in bulk unless the borrower 
refuses or neglects to pay his annui¬ 
ties, or otherwise violates his contract. 
6. —The mortgage may be paid in at 
any time at the option of the borrower. 
For twenty years we have been at 
different times studying conditions for 
an organization or institution that 
would afford these advantages to a 
man who wanted to borrow money on 
a farm mortgage without Government 
aid. We found that the saving and 
loan banks or associations of New York 
State afford all the above privileges ex¬ 
cept No. 1 and No. 3. These banks 
have not heretofore always had the 
money in hand to make a loan, and the 
borrower in such cases must await his 
turn, and the rate of interest charged 
by these banks has not always been the 
rate for high-class securities at the time. 
While these are vital defects we found 
a simple and practical way to supply 
the requirements. Before defining this 
provision let us look at the system as 
it now is and has .ecn. 
As amended ana perfected in recent 
years, the New York State Saving and 
Loan laws provide the purest and best 
cooperative credit system in the world 
so far as we have found them, with 
the exception of the two essentials re¬ 
ferred to heretofore as lacking, but 
now to be supplied. Like most of our 
institutions in this country, the building 
and loan associations were originally 
formed for the benefit of people living 
in towns, villages and cities. They 
were intended to encourage savings and 
thrift on the part of wage-earners and 
people with small incomes, and to en¬ 
able them to own their own homes. 
They have been most successful. Be¬ 
fore the laws were amended and the 
banks brought under the supervision of 
the State Department, it was possible to 
organize so-called National saving and 
loan associations, with self-perpetuating 
boards. This offered opportunity for 
the manipulation on the part of the of¬ 
ficials, and some scandalous failures oc¬ 
curred through them. No more of the 
National associations can be Formed, 
and the half dozen remaining are now 
under State supervision. There has 
never been any criticism of the local 
associations even under the old laws. 
While we have been studying and prais¬ 
ing the European credit systems, Euro¬ 
peans have been studying and approv¬ 
ing our saving and loan system, and 
praising it, but they have applied co¬ 
operation to farm land credits. We 
have confined it to city and village 
homes. 
A member of our saving and loan 
associations paying 50 cents a month 
on a $100 share will be able to with¬ 
draw one Jnmdred dollars on his paid- 
up share in 139 months. In all he will 
have paid in $69.50. Compound interest 
on his payments will amount to the 
balance, $31.50. This calculation is 
based on an earning of 6% interest. 
Any man or woman can become a 
shareholder, and provision is also made 
for juvenile shares, which children may 
deposit and share in the profit of the 
business. There are now some 250 of 
these banks in the State of New York 
with assets of $57,000,000. They earned 
m 1911 $2,555,863. The net earnings 
were 5.73%, the operating expense only 
three-fourths of 1%. By making pro¬ 
visions in the by-laws the local associa¬ 
tion may collect the dues on shares 
monthly, quarterly, semi-annally, or an¬ 
nually, and may also specify the amount 
annually collected on each share. Of 
course the greater the annual due, or 
payment, the sooner the shares will ma¬ 
ture, and the smaller the dues are made 
the longer it will take the shares to 
mature. This is an important privi¬ 
lege in connection with the financing of 
farm mortgages. The profit of these 
associatiofis comes from loaning the 
money to members to build homes or 
on farm mortgages. In this the mem¬ 
bers haye a decided advantage over the 
savings bank depositors. The money 
is equally as safe as in the savings 
bank. The rate of interest is higher. 
It can be withdrawn as readily and the 
money is used to buy homes for the 
members who have earned it and saved 
it, while in the savings banks, the poor 
people save and deposit the money, but 
they are unable to get the loans for 
small home buildings. Savings banks 
prefer to loan to large interests and 
often to speculative builders. In some 
sections farmers have become members 
in the saving and loan associations and 
secured farm mortgages through them 
with entire satisfaction, and with the 
new provision they will afford an ideal 
system for financing farm mortgages. 
The weakness of the saving and loan 
associations has been that a member 
wishing a loan is obliged to file his 
claim and wait until the dues and divi¬ 
dends had accumulated before the loan 
could be made to the member applying 
for it. It is clear that under these ar¬ 
rangements no large number of mem¬ 
bers could be accommodated with loans 
at one time. To overcome this difficulty, 
and to adapt them to farm needs,, it 
has been decided to utilize this law for 
the organization of local associations 
in farm districts. To secure funds to 
accommodate members promptly, and 
enable the member to secure the money 
on a mortgage just when he wants it, 
a law has been prepared and is now 
before the Legislature to authorize one 
central land mortgage bank in the State 
of New York, with authority to issue 
debentures. Local associations will be 
the exclusive members of this central 
bank. When the local associations have 
called for funds in excess of its own 
holdings, it will make application to the 
ce tral bank for the amount of more;/ 
wanted, and deposit mortgages to cover 
the amount and endorse the debentures 
of the land bank for an equal amount. 
The debentures will be sold on the mar¬ 
ket, or to ether banks, and the pro¬ 
ceeds will go to the local association 
and through them to the borrowing 
member, who secures the loan on a 
mortgage on his home or farm. This 
system will give the farmer the ad¬ 
vantage of a loan just when he wants 
it, and once placed it will never need 
to be renewed. If he takes it for 40 
years he pays 1% annually on the princi¬ 
pal. The mortgage will be wiped out 
within 40 years. The interest rate and 
this 1 % payment ought to be less than 
he is paying now in interest alone, be¬ 
cause the debentures should sell for 
very much less than the present rate 
on farm mortgage loans. The loan can¬ 
not be called, and the farmer may pay it 
off at any time at his option. 
When this system is established there 
will be no want of funds for farm 
mortgages. Farmers and wage earners 
will be glad to invest their money in 
the debentures. They will fill every re¬ 
quirement of a good investment. The 
holder can get his money at any time. 
He will get a fair interest, and his 
savings will aways be safe. The saving 
and loan banks with this provision for 
securing ready money afford a system 
of mortgage credits which will com¬ 
pare most favorably with any credit 
system of Europe. 
EVENTS OF THE WEEK. 
DOMESTIC.—The licensing and regula¬ 
tion of cold storage warehouses is the pur¬ 
pose of a bill introduced March 18 in the 
New York Legislature by Senator Seeley. 
The State riealth Commissioner is given 
absolute power to deny a license to the 
owner of any cold storage warehouse if he 
thinks the plant is not in a sanitary con¬ 
dition and not properly equipped for the 
business. An examination is to be made 
by the Commissioner once each year, when 
an application is made by the cold stor¬ 
age house for a license or for a license re¬ 
newal. The license fee is fixed at $25 a 
year. The most important provision of 
the bill permits the Commissioner to de¬ 
stroy any food articles in cold storage 
warehouses found to be unfit for consump¬ 
tion. 
The Alaska Senate March 18 passed the 
House bill granting votes to women. This 
is the first bill passed by the Legislature. 
There was not a dissenting vote on either 
house. The bill exempts women from jury 
duty. 
More than 100 persons were reported 
killed and hundreds injured, severally mor¬ 
tally. by a storm of tornado intensity'which 
raged March 21 along a course of 1.200 
miles or more, over Central Western, South¬ 
ern and parts of Eastern States. Property 
damage will run far into the millions. 
Thirty-eight persons perished in south Ala¬ 
bama towns outside of Lower Peachtree, 
and more than 95 are known to be dead 
in the State. From all over north Mis¬ 
sissippi come reports of heavy damage to 
standing timber, churches, dwellings and 
other buildings. Little loss of life is re¬ 
ported from this State. Part of Hoxie, 
Ark., was demolished. Ofie was reported 
killed, 25 were injured, a new $40,000 hotel 
was blown down and many other buildings 
were wrecked. At Walnut Ridge several 
buildings were destroyed. Two persons are 
reported dead and 10 injured. Big property 
loss was inflicted at Poplar Bluff. The 
dead at Thomasville, Ala., consist of 19 
white persons and nine negroes. Coming 
out of the southwest early on Friday morn¬ 
ing the storm swept diagonally across the 
country from Northern Texas to Western 
Pennsylvania and New York, bisecting the 
Mississippi Valley and moving northeast¬ 
ward across the Ohio into the Great Lake 
region. The property loss was heavy all 
along the track of the disturbance. Besides 
demolishing or unroofing buildings and fell¬ 
ing trees, the high winds, rain, hail and 
sleet did serious damage to early crops, ac¬ 
cording to reports from some of the af¬ 
fected sections. Estimates of loss by dam¬ 
age to property of all sorts from Indiana 
and Michigan alone total $2,000,000, about 
evenly divided between the two States. 
Early reports of losses ranging from $25,- 
000 to $500,000 or more from various cities 
and sections scattered over the storm re¬ 
gion indicated that the sum total would 
reach large figures. Wires fell in all di¬ 
rections before the blow. Not in many 
years has there been such prostration of 
telegraph and telephone service. Chicago 
was cut off for hours from communication 
with points East. The wind attained rec¬ 
ord velocities at some points. Detroit re¬ 
ported 88 miles an hour, the weather bu¬ 
reau high record in that city. A velocity 
of 84 miles was recorded at Toledo and 
85 at Buffalo. Cold weather accompanied 
the destructive blow, in many places the 
temperature dropping 30 degrees. Ex¬ 
tremes in temperature appeared to be a 
corollary of the storm. In Montana it was 
20 below zero. At many other points there 
were blizzard conditions. March 28 another 
terrific storm visited the Mississippi Val¬ 
ley. At least 309 persons are known to 
have died and 1.000 have been injured. 
Omaha, largest city in Nebraska, was hit 
hardest. There 1,200 houses were destroyed 
by wind or fire, including 11 churches and 
eight schools. The latest total of dead is 
200 there and of injured 500. The prop¬ 
erty loss is at least $5,000,000 and may be 
double this. Fifteen persons were killed at 
Waterloo, Neb.; 20 at Yutan, Neb.; 12 at 
Ralston, Neb., and 12 at Council Bluffs, la., 
opposite Omaha. Dozens of hamlets were 
ruined. Fifteen are known to have been 
killed in Terre Haute, Ind., and 200 were 
injured. Entire streets of houses were 
swept away and the damage will exceed 
$1,000,000. Almost every house in the town 
of Perth, Clay County, Ind., was wrecked, 
but no one was killed. Several million 
dollars flood damage was done in and near 
Indianapolis. The city of Kokomo was 
without lights or fire protection. 
Reports received March 25 tell of the 
greatest flood disaster this country has 
known, chiefly in Ohio and Indiana. Gen¬ 
eral rising of streams has followed the pre¬ 
vious storms, and damage has been increased 
by breaking dams and levees. The known 
dead in Ohio is put at 3,000. At Delaware 
it is said the death list may reach 100. 
In Indiana there are 100,000 homeless, 
but the known loss of life is 196. 
The property damage in*Indiana is said 
to exceed $20,000,000. Flood conditions 
even extended to New York State. Hor- 
nell is partly submerged, and a farmer 
was drowned. The flood situation in 
Northern and Western Pennsylvania is 
growing serious. In Dayton the flood ex¬ 
tended three miles beyond what was con¬ 
sidered the danger line, and rescue boats 
cannot live in the current. The four days 
continuous rain filled every reservoir in 
the State and a number of them under¬ 
mined dams and poured their contents into 
the valleys. A wall of water seven feet 
high rushed down into the Miami Valley. 
The levees along the Miami River broke 
and the residents of Dayton along the river 
were forced to flee for their lives. The 
rush of water was so great, however, that 
houses were undermined and ecarried along 
with the swift current. Hundreds W'ere 
drowned before they had a chance to seek 
places of safety. The water crept higher 
and higher until finally it was 13 feet deep 
at the Union Station. Some parts of the 
city were under 30 feet of water. 
Memorial services were held in New 
York March 25 in memory of the 145 girls, 
women and men who lost their lives In the 
Triangle fire. After the services there was 
a discussion of factory conditions as brought 
out in a report by Miss Perkins of the com¬ 
mittee of safety. The report states that the 
committee has made studies of fire con¬ 
ditions in 2,365 factories in all parts of the 
City of New York and the conclusions 
reached were therefore illustrative of ac¬ 
tual conditions; 433 buildings have been 
visited and the stairways are said to be 
unsafe in more than one-half of them. 
In three-fourths of the buildings the emer¬ 
gency exits, outside lire escapes and outside 
stairs were found to be unsafe. About 
three-fourths of the buildings disclosed such 
a poor system of maintenance, the com¬ 
mittee reported, that a fire might occur at 
any time in piles of rubbish, paper and 
inflammable material. Regarding the fire¬ 
proof loft buildings visited the committee 
declared that 80 per cent of them presented 
a condition in which the discrepancy be¬ 
tween the exit capacity and the occupancy 
was a glaring one. 'This kind of over¬ 
crowding, which was one of the main causes 
of the Triangle fire, still offers a meuace 
to life in New York factories, according to 
the committee’s report. 
Frederick A. Betts, formerly insurance 
commissioner of Connecticut, who is said 
to have fraudulently obtained almost. $150,- 
000 from fellow employees in the Metropoli¬ 
tan Life Insurance Company, pleaded guilty 
to grand larceny March 24 before Justice 
Seabury in the Criminal Branch of the Su¬ 
preme Court. Betts, until November, 1910, 
was an assistant secretary of the Metropoli¬ 
tan Life Insurance Company. Dozens of 
persons connected with the company were 
found to have suffered by the confidence 
they placed in him because of his official 
position. Betts pretended he was engaged 
in syndicating real estate. Almost every 
one he approached was willing to chance 
from $500 to $3,000 in the scheme. After 
several months of activity, which is said 
to have netted him almost $150,000, Betts 
fell under suspicion, and his employers 
started an investigation. Most of his vic¬ 
tims were employes of the same company, 
but one exception was a poor bootblack 
from whom he had taken a small sum. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—In a message 
sent to the Wisconsin legislature March 17 
Governor McGovern recommends the pas¬ 
sage of a bill creating a State market 
commission to enable farmers to sell their 
products to better advantage and at the 
same time lower the cost to the consumer. 
Accompanying the message was a bill 
drafted by the governor which he desires 
enacted into the law. The measure was 
submitted to the Legislature because of 
the insistent demand from the rural com¬ 
munities of the State for assistance in or¬ 
ganizing and establishing cooperative enter¬ 
prises to protect the farmer against unfair 
business practices and methods of compe¬ 
tition. The bill also seeks to improve con¬ 
ditions surrounding home life in the coun¬ 
try and prevent the constantly increasing 
influx of persons from the rural communi¬ 
ties to the cities. The proposed law cre¬ 
ates a State market commission composed 
of the. Dairy and Food Commissioners as 
ex-officio members and two other members 
to be appointed by the governor. 
Senator Ramsperger of Buffalo intro¬ 
duced March 19 into the New York Legis¬ 
lature two bills intended to place stock 
yards and corporations controlling stock 
yards under the supervision of the Public 
Service Commission. He explained that 
there was a great deal of complaint among 
commission men to whom cattle were con¬ 
signed as to the conduct of the stock 
yards and the prices charged for feed and 
other accommodations. 
Great preparations are being made at St. 
Louis for the annual convention of the 
Third Drainage Congress, which will con¬ 
vene on April 10, 11 and 12 in the Plant¬ 
ers’ Hotel. From three to five thousand 
delegates are expected from all parts of 
the United States, including Governors, 
members of Federal State, Territorial and 
insular commissions, and other officials. 
The purpose of the congress this year is 
to have the Federal Congress create a na¬ 
tional drainage commission, with ample 
powers and funds immediately available to 
evolve and put into effect various important 
drainage and reclamation projects. 
Plans for the organization of the Divi¬ 
sion of Markets, which is to try to dis¬ 
cover methods for more economical market¬ 
ing of food products are being made by a 
joint committee of chiefs of division in the 
Department of Agriculture at Washington. 
The new division, for which Congress pro¬ 
vided $50,000, will be able to begin its in¬ 
vestigation in a few weeks. 
OBITUARY.—Captain nenry Augustine 
of Normal, Ill., for many years president 
of the Illinois State Horticultural Society, 
was killed March 8 by a train near Bloom¬ 
ington, Ill. Captain Augustine was 73 
years old. He had charge of the fruit 
exhibit at the Chicago World’s Fair in 
1S93. 
Francis Brill died at Hempstead, L. I., 
March 24. He was 76 years of age. Mr. 
Brill was born in Newark, N. ,T. He came 
to Long Island in 1870 and settled in 
Suffolk County. He became one of the 
largest growers of cauliflower and cabbage 
seeds in the country. He represented Suf¬ 
folk County in the Legislature at one 
time. He was Town Clerk of Hempstead 
for several years. Last Christmas he and 
his wife celebrated the 55th anniversary of 
their wedding. Mrs. Brill, four daughters 
and a son survive. 
“ Save Our Souls.” 
A short time ago one of the city papers 
had a notice of the death of an elderly 
woman and stated that gathered about her 
deathbed were her 13 adopted children, all 
grown men and women. More than half 
of them having been adopted by her when 
little babies. Shortly after this I was 
told of an elderly couple who were left 
to the care of strangers in their old age, 
and who died among strangers, although 
they had a number of children who had 
pr«*pered and were “doing well” from this 
world's standpoint. And then people say 
they do not dare to adopt a baby unless 
they have its family history, and offer as 
an excuse, that they are afraid it will not 
turn out well. So they will not give the 
child a chance to make good. If it falls 
after you have given it the chance, no one 
can blame you, but what if it fail and 
you did not give it a chance? It is stated 
that records show a much larger percentage 
of successful men and women from adopted 
children of unknown parentage than from 
those of known parentage. 
And yet good people will say “How can 
I take a baby of whom I know nothing?” 
And why not? Is it that little innocent 
baby’s fault that you can find out nothing 
about its parents? Is it any less a liv¬ 
ing human soul to be helped? One’s own 
children love us, but add to this love a 
sense of gratitude that must come to every 
young man and woman, when they realize 
that but for you, who took them in un¬ 
known and uncared for, they might be 
among that fearful number of poor souls 
drifting about our great cities trying to 
keep body and soul together, and often 
ending in our prisons. Think of the sense 
of gratitude of this thirteen gathered about 
this woman's bedside to call her blessed! 
Thousands of babies in this land are 
waiting for homes. Have you got room 
for one of them in your home, and will 
you listen to their cry, as the brave cap¬ 
tain of the Carpathia did when the Ti¬ 
tanic sent its last call across the dark 
waters of the Atlantic, “S. 
Our Souls. 
O. S” 
R. 
Save 
w. 
Wheat, $1.06 per bushel; 
corn, 56. 
To- 
matoes are being contracted for at $9 per 
ton by the canners. Potatoes, 60 cents per 
bushel: butter, 30 to 35; milk, $1.20 per 
hundred pounds; cream, 36 cents per pound 
of butter fat it contains. This varies as 
the price of butter goes up or down in 
Washington, where most of our cream goes. 
Dairy cows, from $35 to $100, according 
to quality and breeding; lambs, $5 per 
head. j. 
Easton, Md. 
