Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-07-27
SIMPLY MISINFORMED
WERE THE MEN WHO FORMED
THE ALIEN LAND LAW.
The Notion That the Foreign Money Lend
ers Want to Get Possession of Our
Land All Wrong.


Special to the Gazette.
AUSTIN, TEX, July 26.-Dissatisfaction
with the foolish alien land law continues
undated among all classes of business and
professional men here. the most practical and
conservative no less than others All con-
denim it alike, and feel that it must be got
rid of somehow, or amended so as to take
the devilment out of it. That the law is
unconstitutional is hardly a matter of
doubt. The writer has the first lawyer 10
meet who thinks the law has one chance in
a thousand of passing favorable judicial
scrutiny. They all appear to agree that the
title and the enacting clause of the law are
both fatally defective. But that does not
help the situation The law remains on the
books menace to foreign capital which is
here or wants to come here, not to fight its
way through legal barriers and impedi-
ments, but TO earn a reasonable interest on
an unfailing security.
The notion entertained by many that the
object of the Scotch and English who loan
money on land over here, is to get ultimate
possession of the land, is based entirely on
transformation, or
WANT OF KNOWLEDGE,
and therefore foolish. The transformation
is doubtless largely due to the pernicious
teaching and lecturing of the sub-treasury
class-leaders and orators In their Alliance
meetings, where the most preposterOus rot
Jul W Lilc tIcuulOuS anu SlHiple-
minded. If the farmers knew how this
British money gets here, they would not be
so ready to swallow the miserable lies told
them about it The truth of it is, generally
speaking, that the money is raised in Great
Britain by syndicates
ORGANIZED FOR THE PURPOSE.
on debentures guaranteeing a certain rate
ofainterest, say 81 OR per cent The
money SO raised is brought over here and
loaned out for a term of years at double the
rate of interest, and mortgages on land are
taken as the only reliable and acceptable
security. The money is loaned purely and
simply for the interest earned. and not
with any sort of intention to get possession
OF anybody's land. No land is wanted. for
the foreign syndicate has itself borrowed
the money, and must make regular returns
of interest payments to its creditors, and
when called upon at maturity of its obliga-
tons must refund the principal To he
compelled TO foreclose many mortgages
and take the land would be
positive misfortune and hardship for the
syndicate or lender of foreign money for it
is 10 that extent disabled from meeting its
obligations to home creditors. Besides it Is
making too good a thing on the money
loaned. 1t bolTowS money at per cent and
loans 1t to the Texas farmer at S or per
cent. That is an investment that returns a
profit of 100 per cent to the loan syndicate
How much better is that than sinking the
money in land when it must lie idle for
years. As was said above, the last thing
these
BRITISH LENDERS OF MONEY
want is land. 1t is burden and source
of loss. and therefore most undesirable
How utterly foolish and nonsensical there
fore the idea that the object of these for
eign loan companies is the gobbling up of
land.