New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-02-26
WASHINGTON GOSSIP.
THE REAL INSTIGATORS OF THE FARM
MORTGAGE INQUIRY.

wosbinrton. Feb. 2j.-The work Of the Census
pureau of the United States is at present con
duc,ad in six separate buildings. The rent pald
= about $4,000. 1t is proposed 70
hove the census made a permanent institution
md in that case the importance of its work WouId
iustify a special building. The $4,000 a year
rent represents the interest on 100000 at . per
cont. The work of the census is constantly IN
crcasing. 1t is Congress which has eNtaDIishcu
these additional branches Of inquiry. NotWlthSlahu-
ing the partisan criticism which has been p"SSeu
on the census, it is due TO its work 10 say tn"'
none of the statisticians of the country nave cll'l-
cised il or have questioned the correctness anu
the value of its work. One of the most INFER
cs;inr Investigations by the Census Once Is tme
special one relating to mortgages. Under TINS III
ou;rv an examination has been made for the
nrrnose Of ascertaining what people own Their
own homes. those who live in rented houses, ana
,hosc who have their homes partially pald ior'
Few neoplc understand how this inquiry came 10
be made. Some have charged this increase Oh
the work of the census and this special inquiry
nm 70 the Superintendent of Census, Mr.. Porter
This inquiry. interesting as it is. is the result
of tho demands of the Farmers Alliance through
ont the country. Numerous critics have attacked
the Administration for adding this inquisi'orlaI
feature of prying into private affairs to the "orF
of the Census Office. Yet, this inquiry hrSt cahle
through the Labor Bureau in the various STATES
and was then taken up by the Farmers AlllahceS'
Their object was 10 show that the country was
not proSpering, and that the capitalists were OPP
pressing the poor people with usurious r''cS U
interest, and that a large number OF mortgages
if found and disclosed, would give them afE"-
ments to use against the moneyed Glasses ny
giving colossal figures as proof OF theH EI'''
profits. There have been several al'ehipIs m""V
by local organizations in the various states . o coi
lcct these statistics. The only one which has
been recognized by the Census Bureau as having
any special value was made in Illinois by John
6 Lord This represents a valuable collection
of careful statistics upon this subject, and Its
general scope and plan have been of great as.
sistapce TO the Census Bureau in its work. In
Obio n wild estimate was made by ore Of the
labor examinations there. But not more than
s.. 600 were spent in collecting the alleged facts.
and the sO-called information represented, after
all. nothing more than mere G~uess-work and rough
estimates. in New-Jcrscy the statistics OF q few
counties were collected. In Connecticut a Mr..
HOtchkisS had examined the mortgages OF a few
selected farms. In Nebraska the inquiry plan
of the census was used by the local bureau. In
Michigan a good collection of statistics has been
mace through the local assessors.
The Farmers Alliance people through their
councils requested first that Mr.. Porter incorporate
this inquiry in the general schedule authorized ny
law. Mr.. Porter declined to DO this, as he saw
what a mountain of labor would be comprised in
such an inquiry. The demand of one lodge was
followed by all the rest. This, through telegraphic
Instructions. was made to appear as a unanimous
uprising Of the Farmers Alliance back of this
demand. When Mr.. Porter declined t. take il
up, then the Alliances appealed to Secretary Noble
and he merely affirmed Mr.. Porter's decision.
The Farmers Alliances and the labor organiza-
tons then began 70 pepper Senators and Members
with dispatches. Congress is sensitive TO any such
demands. The proposition was Immediately pre-
pared TO comply with this request. Mr.. Porter
was sent for. lie appeared before the Congress
sional committees and strenuously opposed the
inquiry unless it were made a special one. Ills
estimate made at that time was that such an IN
vestigation carried to the uttermost would cost
at least 81 5000. 900. Finally Congress resolved
to make a special inquiry to the extent Of eNpend-
ing 81. OOO. 900 in addition to the sums already
appropriated for the general census. Tins meas
ure then really represented nothing more nor less
than an inquiry formulated by the Farmers ALI
ancc. This power is 50 feared in Congress that
there were Only twenty-five OltS dEdlhS" 'N
measure in the House and only four votes in the
Senate.
Experiments were made at once, after Congress
passed this law, and q bureau was organized for
the collection of this mass Of information. 1t
was soon found that the fund was not large
enough 10 take in the full details of the mortgage
Indebtedness of the country 50 as to give the cx-
act amount of money due upon mortgages. For
instance. while il would be easy to find the
amount of a mortgage recorded in the Registers
Offices. the records there might not disclose the
partial payments made at the time of the eXamlna-
ton. Neither would it disclose the fact whether
the mortgage was fully paid or not. 4 plan WAS
finally reached to arrive at the best possible re-
suit for the amount Of money authorized for this
expenditure. One hundred inquiry counties were
selected in various parts OF the country. These
counties were taken with a view Of representing
all classes, the agricultural, the Industrial, the
sDarscly settled, the denSely populated, ana
the counties containing the leading cities.
For these counties the fullest inquiry
is made. The first work, however, is done
through the Registers offices. Some 1,50C
enumerators have been employed for this work
They 20 to the Registers Offices and make com
pletc abstracts of every mortgage on record. In
some States this work has been carried on under
great difficulties. Many Of the towns are away
from the railroads and can be reached only by
agents on horseback. In some places, particularly
in the South, the public records are kept in o
slovenly way. There are no descriptive headings
70 any of the deeds of record in many Of the
Southern towns neither are they lndeXed or di
vided in any way. This makes necessary the eX-
animation Of each leaf of the records III order K
find all of the mortgages and their amounts. Re
norts of this work are about completed.
These reports are placed upon cards. They are
,ber classified by amounts. Mortgages up t
5000 are in one bunch. from 5000 to $500 III an
other and so on. divided through the grouping o.
relative amounts, each division being separated
nv colorcd sheets of paper and all tied %compactlJ
,oro,ber in neat bundles, with the name of The
ooYntv and State upon the outside. 1t Is so ar