The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1891-08-06
Immediate Repeal Demanded.
Local Opinions On the Act.
MIR. VIM. MACKENZIE,

Ille SecGeIdfy OF Une Alliance lIuSU
company, a corporation which has
fully Fl 10000 invested in America,
was interviewed yesterday by a men,
Der of The Courier staff on the sub
ject of the alien act with view to
ascertain the effect which it would
have on his company and it's invest
ments in Texas. Mr.. Mackenzie, who
has agOod knowledge of United States
law obtained from his long experience
in loaning money and his numerous
visits to the country, was found sitting
smiling at his desk as if everything
connected with the company, ofwhich
he is virtually the handspring, were
going smoothly and without the
slightest risk of accident or danger.
Seeing that he OWNED the object of
| the visit, our representative at once
introduced the subject by saying:
Isuppose you have read the Texas
alien act, Mr.. Mackenzie? The reply
at once came: have it here, and the
office is full of newspapers with COM
ments upon it. The act came into
operation yesterday, so it must have
been passed ninety days ago.
GA great many persons are very
anxious to know if it is retrospective
in it's operation, because of the very
large amount of Dundee money sunk
in land in Texas? At is not retro
spective; there can be no act retro
spective in the United States. You
might as well try to make water run
uphill rs to make an act retrospective
! in the United States; it is contrary to
/ the constitution.
GLOW did such an act, do you
/ think, come to be passed so quietly?
Alt is quite true that the act was
secretly passed, and it was Il very
great surprise to everybody; in fact,
number of people engaged in the
loauing of money did not know any
thing about it until we cabled out.
Odd you hear of the act through
any Of Your agents? Al heard of it
however. that another of our agents
knew nothing about it until l cabled
him although he does not admit that.
e4.-L understand that the Alliance
:'.I-- 5AET has been investing money in
It-G.l:. luz z'll= time back. and that
il,,sr+ i: 3 r.'.,t deal 81 Dundee money
b, Ta,2 s1A1r4 apart from what has been
t,.-.-s II IT by the different cattle COM
;al.l,s'.a That is so.
Q.-E:A7-e you any objection to state
THE .l1+;@ar which the Alliance Com
ianT has in Texas? Awe have 400
~ $40 loans in the state at present,
aF-g ]. an perfectly safe to say that
there are not ten cases where we have
had ~ fOreclose and take over the
property. We hold some real estate
in Texas at present, but the act does
mn apply to it. 1t applied only to
any real estate which may fall into
our hands in the future, and we have |
s.I years in which to sell it.
Q.-Then what will be the effect of
lns art on your future operations, so
far a. Texas is concerned? Awe
will loan no more money in Texas I'M |
der present circumstances, but there |
IL nothing to hinder the present |
mortgages from running to doomsday |
~ long as the mortgagers continue to
pay the interest.
Q.-But if the mortgagers should |
become bankrupt, what will you do?
Ave put the property up to public
auction, and if nobody purchases it, as
il sometimes the case, we will have to
buy it in.
Q.-Then if you do that, you have
to sell it in six years? ACUTE, but
we can easily dispose of it in that
time.
Q.-But the act will restrict your
sphere of operations and tend to lower
the rate of interest elsewhere, will it
not? A.-That would apparently be
the effect of il, but we can easily find
outlets for all our money elsewhere at
M amt paf ne Of int ncf |
those which have been ruling in
Texas. The fact is, we can lend any
amount of money elsewhere. 1t is a
most absurd act, and undoubtedly has
been passed in the interests of some
local usurers, as it will affect not only
the Scotch and English mortgage COM
panies, but also some of the large
American companies, such as the
Equitable, the Jarvis d Conklin, and
the Lombard. These companies have
shareholders, and, if there is
one single foreigner in any company
it is precluded from holding real es-
tate in Texas.
OWN the act, do you think,
lower the value of the land to the
owner? A.-They say it will.
o. suppose that certain time
must elapse before the act can be re-
pealed even should public opinion be
aroused against it? A.-The legisla-
.ure meets only once in two years I'M
less there is a special session. judy !
NC from the Texas papers, there is a
great cry for special session to re-
peal the act, but that depends upon
he will Of the government.
Q.-SOme Of the other states in the Y
lniOn have already passed alien acts, f
[ understand? Ayes. Some of the t
,ther states-Nebraska for instance a
,assed such acts. but the most OF these l
tates. if not all Of them, repealed t
hem within two years. We are not il
i all concerned abOmt the new act. fl
which will certainly punish the Texas S
,e0Dle more than any other body. /
We have m doubt the act will be very il
quickly repealed. The only harm it :
.oes IL a. present is 10 keep US from fl
making new lOans, and it does not
Inconvenience US, because, il