The Globe-republican., 1891-03-25

VOYAGE. Provision is made for deduc-
tons on account of omitted voyages or
delays: for the transportation of mail
messenger on each vessel; for carrying
apprentices or cadets of American birth,
one for each thousand tons; for the use
of the vessels by the United States as
transports or cruisers Upon payment to
the owners of actual value at the time
of the taking, and for the assignment
to duty on the vessels under furlough
pay Of naval officers who may volunteer
for the service.
Farm Mortgages in the south and West.
The widest statements have been
made by the advocates of a free-trade
tariff about the mortgage indebtedness
of the agricultural states. Fearful
pictures of the miseries of the farming
population have been drawn, and elab-
crate demonstrations made of how fast
the country haa been rushing to the
demnition bow-wows under protection.
Recent figures from the census bureau on
farm mortgages annihilate this mass of
falsehoods, together with the arguments
DdStO uDOu TIOIu tuC OuAACtA VIC
get the following facts:
1.-THE total real estate mortgage debt
in Alabama, in force January I, 1890,
was s39, OF. 9S3; in Iowa, in force Janu.
airy 1, 1890. S199, O34, 957. The average
amount of debt to one of population in
Alabama was, therefore, 500; in Iowa,
S1O4;. In 1889 the number of acres mort.
gagged in Alabama was 1.744, 400; total
number of acres in the state, 32, 9S5, 600;
per cent. of acres mOrtgaged, So; num-
Der of acres mortgaged in Iowa, 3, 24O,-
432; total number of acres in the state
SIS, 5O4, 900: per cent. of acres mortgaged,
OIL.
''In jefferson county, Ala, it was
found by inquiry by special agents of
the census bureau that the motive for
95 81 per cent. of the Indebtedness was
the purchase of the encountered and
other real estate, Improvements and
business. In Greene county, Ala, for
the same purposes, 6s.S1 per cent; in
Cass county, Iowa, GLIB per cent; in
Crawford county, iowa, 90 3S per cent;
in Delaware county, Iowa, $3.50 per
cent, and in johnson county. Iowa,
93.47 per cent"
Thus it is shown not only that the
mortgage indebtedness is not nearly SO
great as the Performers" have repre-
sented. but also that the greater part of
the debt is not of long standing, and
was incurred for legitimate purposes,
so that the mortgages are rather an in
dication of prosperity than otherwise.
A Free Trade "Hedge'' on Free Sugar.
Free trade in sugar will commence
on April l, and so great is the increased
demand for the article likely to be that
holders hope to obtain an enhanced
price for their stocks. The benefit, of
course. will not be a lasting one, for. in
accordance with the usual order Of
things, a greater activity in all produc-
ing countries may be expected to follow
an increased consumption. The Lon
don Financial Times.
The logic of this is little commingled.
1t seems that the price is going up be-
cause the demand will be increased. and
the consumption will increase because
the price goes up! Thoroughly intelli-
gent political economy such as is dealt
with in the shop on the other side and
by their agents in this country is little
hard to understand.
What will they say if our remission
of duty should pan out merely present
to German and Cuban sugar growers?
The industries which have been most
highly protected in this country are
those in which not only the greatest
improvements have been effected, but
the greatest reductions of prices have
taken place. Such reductions, however.
are not those that result from the
cheapening of men or the crushing out
of humanity. They arc the result of
the cheapening of methods by requir-
ing less sacrifice to be expended in pro-
duction. The truth of this is evident |
from the fact that wages have not only |
not declined, but have risen.