Vol. LXXVIII. 
Published Weekly hy The Rural Publishing Co.. 
333 w. noth St.. New York. Price One Dollar a Year. 
NEW YORK, JUNE 28, 1919. 
Entered as Second-Class Matter. June 2 G. 1870. at the Post 
Office at New Y'ork. N. Y.. under the Act of March 3 . 1879 . 
No. 4540. 
* • * • • 
What Aids the Federal Farm Loan? 
Suggestions For Improving the Law 
F OR 40 years the farmers have been demanding 
a system of long-term, easy-payment farm 
loans, and in 1916, in answer to this, the Federal 
Farm Loan Act was passed and signed by the Presi¬ 
dent. This system has now been in service long 
enough to reveal some of its advantages: it also 
farmer in taking advantage of the system, and of 
the urgent need "of the system in this country. 
REJECTED APPLICATIONS.—Of the $300,000,- 
000 odd loans closed, no doubt there would lie a 
total of approximately $100,000,000 which have been 
rejected for one reason or another. The farmers 
without buildings, etc., could not borrow. (The Act 
should be made to permit loans on land without 
buildings, for the erection of buildings, thus develop¬ 
ing farming instead of retarding it). 
NEEDS AMENDING.—I.et us see how a few 
minor changes can he made with this act without 
a R 
It is a Great Combination—an Apple Orchard and a Flock of Poultry. Fig. 2S3 
reveals the need at the next session of Congress of 
several changes to make it a more valuable aid to 
our farming class. 
XEED OF LONG-TERM LOANS.-—The very fact 
that this system lias absorbed some $300,000,000 of 
(he American farmer’s $3,000,000,000 mortgage in¬ 
debtedness certainly testifies to the alertness of the 
whose applications have been rejected are in most 
instances the worthy men who for lack of some cer¬ 
tain and definite reasons fail to come under the 
present act. or the interpretation of the Federal 
Land Rank officials of that act. A goodly percentage 
have been rejected because National I arm Loan 
Association officers failed to appreciate'that farmers 
in the least weakening the act. yet advancing 
the utility of the system hy several degrees 
to American farming conditions. It is taking alto¬ 
gether too long to close loans. But how can this 
fault he remedied? Under the present system it is 
necessary for a farmer wishing to make a loan to 
apply to the secretary of the national farm loan 
