Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1884-03-29
THE MORTGAGE QUESTION.
LEXINGTON, March %, 1884

LEXINGTON, March %, 1884.
| EDITOR INTELL1GENCER - Every
newspaper in the state, so far as l have
seen, has fallen into the same mistake.
or possibly of statement (whether the
one or the other is immaterial as it is
equally harmful in either view as to
Commissioner Philips decision in the
loan matter. The republican press
make the statement for political effect;
the democratic press, without noticing
the error, repeat it, and seek to ex-
plain the republican political view of
the matter. The error is this-they
all speak of the statute and the de-
cision as applying to loans by nom
residents Gall non-residents), whereas
both apply only to nonresident COR
PoRATIONs. For instance, in to-day's
issue you say 'This ought to settle the
question as to whether or not the su-
preme court of Missouri has declared
that mortgages to secure payment of
moneys to residents are void"
Week before lasts issue contained the
same statement, though stronger. Your
professional brethren throughout the
state, as far as have seen, have fallen
into the same error of statement. They
ought to correct this impression at
once, for know, professionally, that
non resident individuals who have
loans in this state have been mislead;
and when 1 inquired where they got
this view. the reply has been from the
newspapers. The press is thus dissem-
mating very harmful error, uninten-
tionally.
The legislature would have no more
authority, and such an act if passed,
would receive no more notice from
lawyers or courts than an ordinance
to the same effect and purporting to
apply to the whole state, as to non-res-
ident individuals or citizens of another
state, than the city council of Lexing-
ton. For Sec. 2, Art. w, Constitution
declares that citizens (held to mean
natural persons) of each state shall be
entitled 10 all privileges and immunl-
ties of citizens Of the several states, 80
that the legislature could not pass such
a law against non-residents; they arc
entitled to sll the rights Of citizens of
Missouri. AS to corporations, however,
they are held to be artificial persons
merely; they exist only by the laws of
the state when created. Bu: it is an
old RUE. that by the comfy of nations,
a corporation created under the laws of
one state or nation, may carry on busi-
ness in another achen not prohibited by
the laws of the latter, and at an early
day the supreme court ef the United
States held, i'll a great and leading case,
this law as to the comfy of nations
applied to the "several states of the
Union;" that they were foreign one to
the other, and hence corporation en-
acted under the laws of one state could
do business in another, if not prohibited
from so doing by the laws OF the latter.
Previous to the war the legislature of
Missouri passed the act prohibiting
foreign corporations (not from doing
all business) but from loantng money.
The object and purpose was to exclude
"wid cat" banks with which the coun-
try at that time was flooded. The OBJ
ject of the act at the time it was passed
was wise, through oversight it has not
since these banks have disappeared, and
hence the necessity no longer exists,
been repealed. This is all there is of it.
AS to the political aspect if there he
any (and there is none) the act was
passed by democrats and wings, and
was wise and patriotic at the time;
since then through oversight, or if You
grant purposely, it has been continued.
The repub leans are as deep in the mud
as the democrats are in the mire, since
from 1861 to 1870, the republicans
never repealed or offered to repeal the
act, but as can be seen by reference. it
is found in THEIR revision of laws of
1860, and in Wagner's statutes, and
tins was continued by them for the
very reason doubtless that subsequent
legislatures have not repealed it. Let
it be understood that the statute (and
let it be also not disguised at the same
time its provisions are plain and are
susceptible of but one Interpretation to-
wit; as Philips construes iD applies
only to corporations.
j. D. SHEwALTER.