The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1889-04-18
WESTERN FARM MORTGAGES.

have already published, to summarize,
with the substantial exactness, the ex.
tent Of mortgage Indebtedness of the
| Western farms, 1t is quite important
tn at the real facts be known, so that no
false alarm shall be created and no social
discomfort shall be eng ndered. The
| most absurd statements have been prop
agated for political effect. As is well
known, it has been positively asserted,
and wickedly and falsely as well, that
| the Western farmers of this country
were generally bankrupt, were losing
money and being eaten up by mortgages
and tskes. All this bogus calamity has
been checked up for the purpose of
charging it to Protection. We fortunate
ly have Offici figures enough from the
States forming the great central wheat
and + l belt to set at rest all these "
cious inventions, The size and quality of
the fabricatiOns in this line may be learr-
ed from single example During the
campaign the New York Times asst rted
that the farm mortgages in II inOise
amounted to $500, 100000; the St, Louis
Republic put 1t at S., 900 600 900. 1t now
| appears nom the report of the Bureau
OF Tabor Statistics, that the total mort
gage indebtedness on Iliuoise farms is
1923, 733, 09S, OF this sum SEQ 633, 072 is
for deferred payments on the purchase
money. The indeb edness for loans is
only 10 % per cent. on the census valua-
ton of 1880, and the average rate of in
terest $50 per cent. per annum. And.
what will grieve and perplex the Free
Trade alarmists, 90 per cent. of this
mortgage debt is owned in the State OF
| Illinois.
From Nebraska a gentleman of IN i
gence writes us:
Fifteen years ago Central and West
ern Nebraska were an unbrokeu prairie.
To-day they are covered with fine farms,
with industrious and energetic farmers
located thereon, Lands in this State
have rapidly increased in value. and in
order to make improvements farmers
have rather increased than diminished
the amounts loaned on their places"
From Minnesota, a prominent State
officer says:
IAN our farmers nearly commenced
without any capital and were obliged to
mortgage their lands in order to build
and improve. The low price of wheat
and other farm products, all over the
world, making it still harder for the Eng
lish farmer, though Free Trade country,
| think just and equitable Protective
Tariff, without discrimination against
the farmer, will greatly help the farmers
of this state"
From Iowa an officer in the Depart.
ment of State assures us, among other
things, that:
THE State of Iowa was never more
prosperous than it is at the present time,
/ and the people of Iowa, and especially
fl. 70 to hs IL
continue the same evils that the lee
turer' refers to as Tariff Taxes.
In Michigan. we learn from the cur
rent report of the Bureau of Labor that
there are 90'S03 farms. Their assessed
valuation is 1894 ,S54633 They are
mortgaged to the amount of $37, 456, 312
being 1872 per cent. of their assessed val
uaton,
In Ohio, it was chS rged that the mort
gage Indebtedness was 500, 900, 900 Mr..
j. r. Dodge, of the Bureau of Agricul.
ture, states that the conclusions of an in
vestigation were:
"That one-fourth of the farms of Ohio
were encountered, either slightly or more
heavily, in part TO secure debt to neigh
boring farmers or to retired farmers liv-
ing in town, 1t is questionable whether
much more than tenth of the real value
of Ohio farms is mOrigaged, Ohio farm
ers are rich. fully believe from an eX
tensive and special knowledge of the
financial situation of Ohio farmers, that
their investments in tOwnorv llage prop
erty, in bonds or railroad stock, and
shares in manufacturing and mining en-
tel prises. exceed in value the entire in
debtedness of farmers, whether covered
by mortgages or not"
Mr.. Atkinson, the well known econ
omic writer, took occasion TO Investi-
gate the matter from the side of the
Mortgage Loan companies. His con
illusions were published in BrddStreetS
for November IL, 1887. Here are some
of them:
The reduction in the rate of interest
has been from 10 per cent. annual inter
est and 10 per cent. commission on five
years mortgage to an average of 615 to
~ per cent. at the present time, with
out commission,
MANY of those to whom loans were
first made are now lenders through the
same corporations"
The present conditions indicate wide
spread and almost universal prosperity"
All the the testimony is of the highest
character, and these conclusions are
reached by sober minded. rejecting
men. They ought to satisfy and quiet
the professional agitators who are trying
to do the work of the Golden Club.
The farmer, as a rule. knows very well
that, individually, he is in no danger of
foreclosure and the sheriff. 1t will be
some comfort to him to know that his
Deighbors in the next county is exempt
from the like visitations. The lecturers
of our friends, the grangers, ought tore
joice that their own occupation is gone,
and cease their whining, which at best
is only an mputation upon the manli
ness of the Western farmer .-AmericdH
Economist