The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-08-21

And with this announcement the fun
began. The old partisan and plutocratic
organs (not quite all of item, however)
commenced citing the fact that while
the Alliance had been raising a calamity
howl over the existence Of nine millions
Of mortgages the completed count shows
that there are only two and a quarter
million. And then follow eminent Oh
the wild and reckless statements Of
Alliance speakers and Alliance papers.
All the old party and plutocratic organs
are attempting to leave the impression
that this last report is a correct record
of all the mortgages that could be found
by the Investigation.
Facts concerning the matter were
kindly furnished the Reform Press Blu.
reau this week by the head of the de-
partlnent of Farm and Home Mort.
cages and Indebtedness" The tran
scripts Of 9,000, coo mortgages are still
on file in the census Office. 1t is a sad
fact that some Of these mortgages are
not in existence now, for since the record
was taken thousands have been fore
closed, and the people have either been
compelled to leave their homes Or occu-
Ply them as tenants.
But there are other facts. The report
above applies only t such farms and
homes as are occupied by their owners,
and does not apply to city OF town homes
in any case. For instance, if II man
should WI three farms, and all Of them
should be encountered by mortgages,
only the n occupied by himself is in
cluded in the above report. The other
two farms will come under the count of
farms occupied by tenants, for which
there is as yet no report. And it should
be remembered that no city property is
included at all. When the report of all
the mortgage Indebtedness is made up,
the showing will be much more appall-
ing than it is now, though justice and
Heaven know it would be bad enough
even if there were not another dollar of
debt anywhere.
The average debt for each farm and
home above reported is estimated at
81, 40. At this average the total in
debtedness on the two and a quarter
million homes is two billion five hundred
and sixty-fve million dollars S $780,
000, 000). This is an immense Gebt-just
about as much as the debt of the United
States government at the close Of the
war, twenty-six years ago. The govern
ment has not paid that debt in full. One
fourth of it is yet an unredee1ned bonded
Indebtedness. The average rate of in
terest paid on this debt by the govern
ment has been about ST per cent.
Now if the government, with its un-
limited power OF taxation. cannot pay
up a debt of this kind in twenty-six
years at an interest rate Of 81 per cent.
will somebody tell how long it will take
the farmers to pay the same debt with
an interest rate ranging from s to 20 per
cent! With the present relative value
OF money and farm products they could
never pay it, no matter what sacrifices
they might make or what hardships
they may undergo. How long, oh. how
long will the %plutocratic powers and
minions continue to oppose reforms and
readjustments in the face of such dis
a~strously discouraging and appalling sta
tistics! And remember all the time
that all the above is by no means one,
half of the actual debt on the homes of
this country. Ell. W. AYER.