The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1891-03-05
The Farm Mortgages.

Some of our exchanges continue to take
q lively interest in the tremendous burdei1
which is being carried by The people of
this country on their homes and farms.
Tn our view this is the most solemn
question Of our civilization. 1t outranEs
any other question, and we are not free.
men in the best and highest sense so long
as this enormous Indebtedness of three
thousand millions rest on the farmers Of
The country.
AS long as our farms are under bonds
we are in bonds.
There are some facts which the present
census returns are disclosing which our
people would do we'll to consider.
a bulletin recently Issued by the Cen
sus Bureau shows the mortgage indebted.
ness of the State of Iowa, on January lst,
1891, to be s199, ,034 ,957; that of Alabama,
SSO,027, ,S93.
These two States are incipiently taken,
as having very nearly the same area and
representing pretty accurately the agri-
cultural interests of the West and the
South.
According to this statement the aver.
age per capita Indebtedness of the two
States is, for Alabama, s26 Iowa, Sl04,
which would 60 to show that Iowa's
mortgage Indebtedness ia exactly times
that of Alabama. To the average family
of 6vc, Alabama's Indebtedness is $l30,
while Iowa's is $500.
This does not exactly keep on line
with the estimated mortgage indebtedness
of the North and Northwestern States
aud the Southern States, which, for the
former, exclusive of the Eastern and
Northern Atlantic States. is S2,043, ,300,-
600, and for the latter $685. 600, 900,
which would put the debt of the North.
west something over threefold that of the
Southern States. It is a fact that in the
Western and Southern States 80 per cent.
of the mortgage debt of the whole coun.
try rests on their farms and homes. This
is tremendous fact, which is going to
shape the future policy of the country,
let cuts 60 as they may. These two sec.
tions constitute the great debtor sections
of the country, and they will surely not
forget it, and it is going to be difficult for
the politicians to keep them from taking
counsel with each other and shaping such
financial policy as they deem best for
their condition.
But it has interested as to see how much
it would cost the head of family of FIVE,
at the rate of interest this Indebtedness
bears, to meet the annual interest on his
debt. The rate of interest the Iowa far.
mers pay is given at from 1 to 20, which
would give an average of about Is per
cent.
The Alabama farmers pay, as stated,
from to 40. which would show an aver.
age of 25 per cent.
The Iowa family of five has to meet a
debt of $500 at Is per cent, which shows
SIS to be met in interest. To pay this
would take 251 bushels of corn at Iowa
prices, or the product of ten acres; I; to
meet the same with wheat would require
1923 bushels, the product of 1913 acres or
325 bushels of oats, the product of 10.6
acres.
The Alabama farmer, with debt of
$3.50 to the family of FIVE would have to
meet $3.50, to pay which would take him
about 400 pounds of cotton, or the pro-
duct of % acres; some sixty bushels of
corn, or the product of four and half
acres some thirty three bushels of wheat,
or the product of five acres.
1t would thus seem that the average
Alabama farmer is in far better condi-
tion financially than The average Iowa
farmer; and that the prospect of the Ala
bama farmers throwing off their burden
of indebtedness is far more promising
every way than that of the Iowa farmers.
-C6lun,6ia Register.