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The Source of the Bank Account. Co-Operative Farm Products Marketing nu-" '? jhmhmhhvmimb How It Is Done in Europe and May Be Done in America to the Profit of Both Farmer and Consumer By MATTHEW S. DUDGEON. WILL THE BANKERS REFORM? Copenhagen, Denmark.? The Ameri can banker must, reform. If lie does not hu will he up against it as aj'e others who refuse to mend their ways. 'Hie American farmer cannot get money of American bankers upon terine suited to his needs. He is go ing to have the money from some source, if the hanker will not give it to him he will organize a new kind of a bank, for you may rest assured that the American farmer is going to have an opportunity to borrow money upon some suitable basis. The Irish farmer can get money on favor able terms: the Belgian farmer co operating with his neighbors doeB his own banking; in Germany the co operative banks do a business that is astonishing in its volume; in Denmark it is easy to get money for buying a ffirm or* for temporary investment in seeds.' fertilizers or' stock. The same is true of the farmer in Italy' and France; even in benighted Russia farm' credits are cared for by co operative organizations. I)o the banker*? of America think that the American farmer is going to .<(>it?enl to continue to he the only civilized agriculturist who has no ade quate borrowing facilities. That is not the American way. What, then, can possibly prevent the formation of cooperative credit associations all over America? Nothing, except the presence of some institution that will do for the American farmer what co operative credit is doing for the Ku ropean farmer. If the American hank er wishes to do the banking business of America so far as the farm is con cerned, he and he alone can give the farmer this sort of an institution and thus make co-operative credit socie ties unnecessary. It is up to the banker. Capital for Farming. Formerly when an American farm could be acquired by . living upon it, when horses and cows and Implements were cheap^/and when fertilizers, blooded stock, and special high-grade seeds wore unknown, a young man with comparatively little capital could begin farming. Now considerable capi tal is as necefieary to success in agri culture as it is in the manufacturing industries. Every wise farmer knows that money judiciously expended in better stock, better buildings, labor saving machinery, pr?per fertilizers, and good seed will net largo returns. Hut it takes money to do these things. Consequently there is a demand for loans. In America the farmer can seldom K'H a loan on terms that meet hint needs. In Iroland, Belgium, Germany, Holland, Denmark, France, Italy and elsewhere upon the continent the banks have forced the farmers to or ganize co-operative credit societies. In many instances the government also has aided the co-operative banks In obtaining money for loans. These so cieties are taking a safe, profitable business away from the bank. Now when It is too late the banks realize their mistake. The question Just now is this: Will the American bankers forestall co operative credit companies by meet ing the needs of rural borrowers or will they force the farmer to go Into the banking business as did the bank ers of Europe? It is up to them. Will thoy beat co-operative credit banks by beating them to it? Buying Farm Easy In Denmark. To buy a farm there are a number of different methods open to the Dan *?h farmer It must btt remembered that in Denmark a farm is consid ered as having live stock and imple ment* used in working the land in separably attached to it, hence the Purchase price to be paid includes all ?vjuipment necessary to the operation of tho farm and^alj^mort gages are se cured by a pledge of this personal property as well as of tho real estate. It tho would-be buyer bee forty per cent, of the purchase price he may annly to a credit society for a long time loan amounting to sixty per cent, of the valno of the farm and all eqmip m< ut and slock upon it. The loan may run from forty-five years jo seventy- j nine years. The borrower has Ills .j , prospective purchase surveyed and as | sessed.. He makes out a mortgage and j delivers it to the co-operative society. Tills mortgage and hundreds of oth- ! | ers like it are delivered to a trustee ; with a trust deed which pledges them i as security for a series of bonds'. The co-operative society guarantees the bonds also. It is from the sale of these )>onds that the co-operative society obtains its funds. The&e co-operative credit associations have in the beginning no capital whatsoever. Each is simply an agency whose functions are to see (1) that the real estate security of fered is assessed at its true value; (2) that the title is clear; (3) that the mortgages are properly executed; (4) that they are grouped, pledged .| and deposited with the trustee; ! (5) that the trustee issues bonds; ; (6) that the land, buildings and equip- ; ment are properly cared for and their value le not permitted to deteriorate; , (7) that the paymeuts of principal and interest are promptly met. Easy Repayment of Loans. The farmer pays from four to six per cent, of the principal amount each year. This is not wholly interest, how ever, for it includes a small install ment of principal, for the mortgages are all amortization mortgages. Pay ment of this fixed sum annually /or semi-annually for the .fixed period therefor automatically discharges the debt. A sjnall amount out of each payment is also set aside for reserve for the do-operative society and for an exi>ense account. It has been the universal experience, however, that ; the expense runs very low. Still Easier for the Farm Laborer. There aye other forms of loans evon more advantageous to th$ borrower, particularly if ho is one of the poorer i farm laborers. If such a laborer seeks , to become a land owner on 1 a small scale he may under certain conditions secure a loan for nine-tenths of the j value of the proposed purchase, being : required to advance only one-tenth of the purchase price in cash: The gov- \ ernment furnished the funds for these loans. The conditions aro (1) the bor rower, must have been engaged in ag ricultural labor for five years (women may take advantage of this law as ' wcli a? men); (2) the land must not exceed ten acres in extent nor $2,.144 t in value; (3) the borrower and pro spective purchaser must agree to crop the farm in a certain manner, dividing it up into five or seven fields , and fol lowing a certain rotation of crops, thus insuring continual productiveness and preventing deterioration of soil fer tility. Under these mortgages the borrower pays three per cent, interest - with no installments upon the princi pal for the first five years. Then he pays, in addition to the interest one per cent, upon two-fifths of the loan as an Installment upon principal, doing this until the two-fifths of the loan is entirely discharged. Thereafter he pays an annual Installment of one per cent, upon the three-fifths remaining of (It#* in Inclpul, thiw bHng In addi tion ty IiIm three per cent. iutenwt as before. 'I*tie bonds may bo issued U|?oi? uitHl t* in |???d pa p?* r and arw free from tax Does (bo Danish farmer tuko advan (age of (hesn opportunities? Are (be tenant* becoming landowners? The facts arn these- Denmark bua 2,600,000 population, soinew but les? (ban (bat of t hit aK"' II ll6 R IbOilt 600,000 fiinii Ilea, including it) 08? In cltlea and vil lages uh well as tho?o In the rural r? glonit. Th<&8e co operative credit soci eties , have H membership of over $00,000; (bat ih to May, i w?? out Of every live fhjnllioe In (he entire conn Iry uro represented in their). Largely us u result of title credit system ninety per fjQni. of (be fai innrh of ' Denmark Own their g.yv i) land. . M How Character Is Capitalized. Obtaining u loan on personal secur l(y bat) beeir euphoniously termed "QupltgU'/liiii cbutiif'lcr." It is not an ? ? ; t p|iM,w Bluet- unv farmer who hjin a. > ood cbntuctei:, \slio i<> a rob1 t> hon est, Industrious, intidligi iH, productive 'Worker, bus a < ajntal that is 'consid ered a proper baiH.ln for tn.dit and b" i'. m in fact capitalize hit character, Ilia fbaraotfi* Ih in very trull? under these conditions bin capjiill. 1.1 e r< i* ibc way if in dOtiehero in Denmark: Uy (he law enacted in I NHS tlx* >;ov ernment is au( boi ized t? tuni over t<> tin- i ii dii a. -mm iatioii $1,250,000, lor which the associations account to the government at the rule of three per cent, per 0 iin u m. This stun is placed ut the dtRposal of the farmerH' credit association in order that (best* asso ciations may bo ready to give small loans to their members. When any farmer finds, it urgently necessary to KCctrre a loan in order to meet ex- ) ponses such as (he payment oi wages, ! I lie price of bettor seed*, or of artifl- j clnl manures. or of feed tor cattle, be makes application to one of these as sociations- hi determining the amount of the loan to be granted to each man it. ik the theory that (lie earning ca pucity of the borrower should be taken into account. This is thought to be best indicated by the number of dairy cowb which he owns. A member may thus obtain a loan to about $13 per head of cuttle fed and milked on the place. The loans muBt be repaid in .from one to nine montliB. Interest must not, according to the original law exceed Al/z per cent, per annum to the borrower. Danish Bankers Have Reformed. 7 The fact that there are in Denmark j many banks which are organized for ! the sole purpose .of meeting the needs 1 of the farmers lias awakened the Dan- 1 ish banker to the fact that the rural j credit is a big business which he can- 1 not afford to ignore/ "Compared with j the American- banker the Danish banker most decidedly has reformed, j He does meet the needs of the farmer 1 in a manner which would surprise Americans. This is particularly true of the method in which he assists in financing co-operative associations, j When tho big Trifolium dairy associa- J tion was formed, for example, it y/as ! done in this way : Oiu? hundred farm- j ers, most of them owners of large farms, formed an organisation for the manufacture of dairy products and for f tho further purpose of supplying milk 1 to tho city of Copenhagen. These one I hundred farmers were the owners of i something liko 12,000 cows. While; they individually had uropcrty, real] nod per?oiia|}," they had no monejTI which they wished to inv?Mt In a co | operative organisation. They tlttrt' | font bent their leader* to the hank ' to borrow the money. They aimply j asked the hunk for u loau of $l2f>,000 i on the note signed by these leaders. The hank did not require the other member* of the association to sign tin* note, although by the terms of the agreement into Which itl I hud entered I in the formation of the co-operative ' association nil were liable, Jointly and ?severally. for 'the debt contracted at,] the hank Ah a mutter of course the! batik made the loan to these farmers at a low rale of interest, . *'? A. moat ililerebtlUK feutury uf thla transaction in the method of ropuyv ! jjnent. it was agreed that the loun should extend over ? period of twenty ' year# with the privilege on the parti or the association to repay out of its profit each year a tmfllolont eum ho thai at the end of the twenty yeara j the debt should be discharged. At i thin time the asocial itjn has been run ning for twelve, yeara und Iiuh been more than able to keep up Its amorti- ?' /.at ion puyijifuitp. At (jo- end of eight years niofe the debt wjth the bank will he discharged. At Fred'tick.; feund out Home little dfatuhce from i 'opcnhKiteii, there i'tf a < o-bperatlvo egg unsocial ion which Ik composed of lO.tual farmers, Thcae lO.OOO larmera ' bad no capital -which tht?y wmhed to j invent in an egg -packing and shipping organization. Their leaders went to ; the batik era as dUI the leaddrs of tho, Trliolhmi dairy wHOdialioh und made1 a similar loan except that in the case of (he lO.OOjLi^farmei'H.. who w lb lied to mart an egg-packing establishment the I period of repuyment was over a period of ten years rather than twenty. This r.enniR to be quite an ordinary prac tice. Can Bank? Supply Rural Credit? 1 ho-ve said It i? up to the bunker o supply the; American farmer with loans Hlmilur to those supplied to tho European former. lJut the.ro arc thogp Who Hay that the Joint stock bank can never meet the farmer^ needs as do co-operative credit societies and that co-operative credit will come in spite of all the banker** can do. Dr. C'harle? McCarthy in of this number. He bases his conclusion on these grounds: First, no joint block bank can afford to tie its money up for long-period loans as do the credit banks. These deposits are all short time deposits, They have no way of hypothecating one series of loans in order to raise money for another se ries. Their system of finance is not sufficiently elastic to lend itself to tho transactions demanded in an adequate line of rural credit. Second: No money-making concern can possibly eerve the farmfers as do co-operative credit societies whose sole aim is to aid the borrower and to pro tect his interests. Hut m agriculture a system of riyfcil credit cannot be a substitute for brains and business sense and a mar keting system. Unless the farmer pro- j duces a good product and sells it to ] advantage his farming will he :\ fail- | Ure.; HJasy loans will only make it | a bigger failure. Co-operative credit ! Is important, but with it must come \ a better system of market big either co-operative or otherwise, which will give the farmer more than half what '.3 paid fcr t heparin product. And so ??r as we ean learn co-operative n;ar.-_i Keting is tho system which will do thi? i WE CAN SELL No. 301 DeKalh Street, South Side 130 Front by 330 Deep $3,500.00 A Desirable H ome Site, A Good Investment. This proposition for immediate sale. Williams Insurance & Realty Co. Iih or|ior#lfd) CAMDEN, S C. / OFFICIAL ROUTE Seaboard Air Line Atlantic Coast Line TO ATLANTA, GEORGIA Low Rates Account Imperial Council Mysttc Shrine MAY 10-30 Travel Via The Official Route Tickets on ??)?' Mil) Tt|? u> Il'iIi, koo<I n't iiiiiIiik until May 2 0 1 !i unless extended by deposit I tin tieluVt and payment of $1.00 when limit may be extended to June 20th. Low side trip rates to va rious points. Kor full information tiee nearest Seaboard a^ent Or write Small, Division I'asHUger Agent, Savannah, (In. WANTED -To Buy Cattle Highest cash price paid for good cattle ? fat or poor? all must be frpe from cflttle tick. Camden Beef Cattle Farms FRED E. PERKINS, Special Partner E. I. 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