Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1891-09-30
uNADulrEaArEp GALL.

ONAOOIIkHAT6O GALL.
The Kansas City star 'sDoes Itself Proud'
With Some Headlines which Are . Mkt
uRs Of Gan and 11isrspresentation-
From the Kansas City Star of Septem-
Der 10 We clip the following article,
head lines and all as fair illustration
OF the mendaoious partisanship which
characterizes the average daily pluto
cratic juournak
The Money Kansans Owe-A Substantial
Rebuke to the Alliance Calamity Howl
ers-Ths MOrtgaged Indebtedness Of tho
State Shown by . Census Bulletin to be
Greatly Less Than the Alarmists Have
Tried to Make Out.
WASHINGTON, Sept 1.-THE much
talked-about census OF Kansas mort.
There are. or rather were when the
facts were gathered. Kansas mortgages
TO the amount Of S236, 4S5, 10a This in
cludes both farm and city lots-every-
thing In the form Of real estate mort
cages The total assessed valuation of
real and personal property in 1890. not
including the value of railroad propety,
which is placed at $50. 500, 233, was $780,
593,711 1t appears, therefore, that the
mortgages on real estate amount to
within ffty-fve millions of the total
assessment on real estate and personal
property Of the state. The statement
is made at the census Office that the real
comparison Is not nearly 30 bad as
that Il Is said that the assessment
does not represent one-third or one
fourth Of the real valuation, and that
this true value Is over $500, 900, 00e. The
census officials think it is fair to saw
that the land mortgage debt of Kansas
is about 81 per cent. of the estimated
true value of all taxed real estate. The
average amount of debt per mortgaged
acre Is put at $685."
Here follows the itemized debt by
counties, showing a total on lands of
S167, 145, ,o39 and on town lots of $685.
$40, 069.
'sItU must be borne in mind that the
above Is the mortgage debt of Kansas
in force January 1, 1890. Since that
time the mortgages have been con-
siderably reduced in number and
amount There is an unpaid debt on
state and railroad land contracts, which
are equivalent to mortgages, not in
cluded in the table, as follows:
estate contractA A..........e3.e Ga. .e67 735
"Railroad contracts. s........ 8 e93 Sss
"Total. .......... .................s7,6s 6sl, ,7ls"
In order that the richness and au-
dacity of the monumental gall ex-
hibited in the Stars headlines may be
apparent to our readers, we reproduce
the statement as published by the
National Economist, for the publica-
ton of which c. w. Macune was
branded as liar by John H. Rice, of
Fort Scott, Kan. ''The mills of the
gods grind slow. but they grind exceed
ing fine" c. W. Macune is now trf-
umphantly vindicated and Mr.. Rice is
convicted Of ignorant Justification. The
Economists article was as follows:
"The following is synopsis of the
report Of Kansas mortgages given to a
member Of congress by the chief clerk
of that division II will no doubt be
read with interest by all, and settle the
question in favor Of so-called calamity
howlers:'
"a real estate mortgage debt of S4s2,.
69e, $40, excluding state and railroad
contracts was recorded in Kansas dur.
ing the ten years 1sso-s9. of which S247,.
214, 522, or 5L21 per cent, has been
paid; $34S. 26S, 234, or IL II per cent, in
numbered acres, which are almost en-.
tirely agricultural real estate, and
S13s, 431, 400, or % 80 per cent, incum-
bered village lots and other real estate.
THE total number of mortgages re-
corded during the ten years was &C.,
o4s, Of which 415. 622, or e. 03 per cent.
OF the total, we're acres; 204, 427, or 80. 81
per cent. on lots These do not include
interest and commission mortgages
which were converted into additional
rates of interest borne by first mort
gageA
''The total existing debt Of the people
Of Kansas. secured by real estate mort
gage, aside from state and railroad
land contracts January 1, 1890, was
$235, 485, 10S, of which the debt on acres
Is S167, 145, oS9, or 20 9s per cent. of the
total. The per capita existing ebt was
S165.
considerable land has been sold on
credit in Kansas by the state and rail-
roads that have received government
grants On railroad contractA There Is
an existing Indebtedness of S3, 993, 9s3
on the state land sales An existing in
debtedness of So, ,667. 735, added to the
recorded existing debt, makes a total
existing debt of S17o, ,s12, TIA; S1s7, ,65s,
900, or Is 50 per cent of the total
amount of recorded debt, bore 10 per
cent interest; usurious interest was
paid upon 9. 80 per cent. of the total;
30. 40 per cent of the total number of
recorded mortgages during the ten
years 1SS0-16S9 were for $500 and under
81 ,000."
It will be noticed that the figures as
given by the Economist are precisely
the Same as those given out officially
by the census bureau. except that the
Economist omitted to include the item
OF IS. 993, 9sS on account of unpaid rail-
road land contracts. Now add to the
figures given out by the census bureau.
state Indebtedness Of ST. lis. .66s and a
county indebtedness of S14, S17, 7sO. al
ready officially published by the GEN.
sus bureau. and private chattel mort
gage and personal indebtedness of al
least $50, 600, 600, and we have a total in
debtedness against the state of Kansas
amounting to the enormous sum of
S319, ,0S3, ,274. without counting railroad
stocks and bonds. It must also be
borne In mind that the total of S319.-
os3, 274 does not include city or town.
ship Indebtedness, which two items
would add at least $50, ,0oo, 600 more to
the sum total Of Indebtedness. Mr..
Rice has only succeeded in making him.
self supremacy ridiculous
GEORGE c. WARp.