The Globe-republican., 1891-04-22
KANSAS MORTGAGES

KANSAS MORTGAGES.
Superintendent Porter Replies to CRU.
clsms-The Census Once Oeslrous Of the
Aid Of Farmers.
WASHINGTON, April l7.-Some DAYS
ago Superintendent Porter. Of the CEN
sus bureau, received from s McLallin.
editor of the Advocate. . Farmers Al
lance paper published at Topeka,
Kan, a letter criticising the work of
the bureau in its farm mortgage inves-
tigation. alleging among other things
that it was being conducted for party
purposes.
In reply to this letter the superin-
tendent has written Mr.. McLallin:
''There is no evidence nor Is il a fact
that the census Office has conducted
the mortgage investigation for partisan
purposes The desire has simply been
to ascertain the truth, and as far as
possible the whole truth, In regard to
the recorded Indebtedness of the people
of the United States Insinuations
against the integrity of the census office
expressed in your letter are entirely
without foundation or plausibility. 1t
would be foolish to claim that the
amount of existing mortgage indebted
ness can be ascertained without error,
whatever the plan may be. 1t is simply
. question Of choosing the method that
can be practically employed with the
least degree of error; and it is expected
that the plan adopted by the census Of
fee will be regarded as such a ono
when it is fully understood and its re-
suits are known. A bulletin contain
ing results for Alabama and Iowa will
be issued in few days, and I shall take
pleasure in sending you a copy, conf
dent that it will convince you that you
have treated the census office unjustly.
The amount of mortgages uncanceled
of record but paid in full is everywhere
an implement of description. L reli-
ance is to be made upon the face of the
uncanceled record then are the partial
payments that have been made upon
the mortgages in force and if allowance
is made for these there will be an aggre-
cation of the existing Indebtedness to
the extent of probably 10 per cent or
more. although the percentage is much
lower in Kansas.
I'm the efforts of the Kansas alliance
to ascertain the amount of existing
mortgage Indebtedness, 1 understand
that second mortgages given for the Sc
curity of interest and commissions have
been taken as principal instead of being
converted into an addition to the rate
of interest they should be. If this mis-
take has been made another large ele-
ment of error or exaggeration has been
added to the other errors mentioned.
What these errors of investigation are
doing for you will appear in Lyon coun-
ty where the census Office made q special
investigation and ascertained the
amount unpaid upon every uncancelSG
mortgage recorded during the ten years,
1ssO-9O, a period including all of the
mortgages in force. 1t was ascertained
as a matter of fact that the debt Of that
county January 1, 1890, was 1891, 464.
The face of the uncanceled records
not including interest and commission
mortgage exaggerate this Indebtedness
6. Al per cent, and the inclusion of in
terest and commission mortgage ex-
plains the remainder of the exaggera-
ton shown by your debt of S., 466, 476.
allowing also the debt incurred during
the first eight months of 1890. With
such errors as these underlying your
estimates of existing mortgage indebt-
edness upon farms in Kansas do not
understand why you place that indebt-
edness at only sl47, 200, 600. which is not
likely to be very far from the existing
debt established by the census Office,
estimating from an examination Of
partly made tables. At the present
time the census Office is completing the
collection of facts in regard to farm and
home ownership in Kansas and neigh
boring states and needs the cooperation
of the farmers, at whose request the
investigation has been undertaken"