The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-08-05

Dickinson" the Kansas correspondent of
the american Wool Reporter, who quotes
the state valuation as follows, over twice
PETERS figures:
Land. SIS, 81, 199
1own .z's i'5
Ealiloau ots9o'-,a
Personal 4s,fJ1,9i5
TOTAL. .sSff.fl9'zL4
The state mortgages whose estimated
amount PETER quotes are on their tace less
than half, but Kansas valuations are made
on basis of from one-fourth TO one-fifth
(seldom as much as one-third) of the real
valuation. Hence the value of the farm
lands alone reaches s672, 900, 600, while the
total for the state is at least 81 500, 900 900,
instead of Sl6S, 600 900, as PETER misrepre-
scented it.
Dickinson" further confouds PETER
by quoting his declaration of August sd,
1883, when denying the assertion that
mortgages footed up $235, Co., 900, he said:
Think OF s2S5 O0o,ooo for farmers who do not
number more than $4,000 even now. The
actual amount of present Indebtedness for
which the farms of Kansas are mortgaged does
one-tenth of the amount published by Demo-
cratic campaigners.
According to PETERS last utterance
every farm in the state is mortgaged up to
its full valuation, when it is notorious
fact that thousands of farms are free, and
others but lightly burdened. 1t is only
in the western third of the state, where
drouth and grasshoppers have prevailed
in the past, that farms have been mort
gagged up to their full value.
The Topeka Capital reports that the
higher prices for farm products last year
permitted large reduction on the amount
of farm mortgages In the state. In East
ern Kansas since May the amount released
was S129, 490, or 20 per cent. decrease; Cen
trail, $66, 27s, or 80 per cent; and Western
Kansas. 1858, or 4S per cent. This was
in addition to the amounts paid as interest
on the use of money. The total amount
of newly recorded mortgages was $67O,5S1,
and the total of released mortgages,
1855, 1862.
The Longobardian PETER would appear
to belong to the unfortunate class of agri-
cultural demagogues whose untrustworthy
and reckless statements convict them of
not having been judiciously "manured for
public speaking" But PETER is a cheap
and stupid fabulist compared with the
'free trade" fgurehead who has been re-
Gently vivisected by the Philadelphia Press,
in the shape OF Mr.. Frank Wilkeson, au-
thor of "The Recollections of Private"
that never ought to have been made
public as authentic history, This person
furnished the New York Times, in the
campaign Of 1888, with an estimate of the
mortgage indebtedness of Ohio, Indiana,
Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota,
Iowa, Nebraska. Kansas and Missouri,
which contained in 1850 1,6S0,53S farms,
0ne-half of these farms were then, accord
ing to Mr.. Wilkeson's estimate, mortgaged
for 81, zoo, o00, 600, carrying at per cent.
an annual interest charge of $3.50, 900 600.
The value of the annual production of
these encountered farms was estimated at
s502, 4i9,0l2, out of which sum had to be
paid this annual interest of $1S9, 900, 900 on
their mortgages. The average amount of
money the farmer earned by working Ii
hours per day through the year was
placed at 1913, or So cents day, outside of
this interest money.
From these figures Mr.. Wilkeson drew
the conclusion that 1.-THE farm mortgages
of the West have been created directly bv
the operations of the protective tariff
which had enhanced the price of every ar
ticle consumed by the farmer" This elab.
crate campaign lie had wide circulation
IN 1855, but the census figures have come
since and have completely eviscerated the
fair, round belly Of this elaborate false
hood. Michigan, Iowa and Illinois have
osl5 loo of the l,6S0.5S3 farms in these ten
states named by Wilkeson. This was over
one-third in 1850. and they hold over ona-
fourth today. The Labor Commissioners
OF Michigan investigated the mortgage in
debtedness of Michigan in ISIS and fopnd
II 10 be about $65.00o,O0O. The Federal
census returns the total existing real ed
tate mortgage indebtedness of Iowa on
farms as SiiS, STA CAS- The Bureau of l.
Dor Statistics for Illinois reports the
amount of farm mortgages in that state a.
sl25, lSS,09S. This is total of 1851. AZ IA
for three states holding from one-third 20
one-iourth of the farms included in this
famous statistical campaign lie of The
Democracy in lSSS.
The ten states have not 1880. 0no 600
farm mortgages or half the orsc,Io-
guess OF lSSS, and they probably have
not over sl,00o,ooo,OO0. This Democratic
partisan actuary estimated" that il took
over one-third Of the product to nav the
interest, but he is put to confusion bv the
returns which show that in Illinois the
annual product is 90 per cent. of tha min.
eipal or nine times the annual interest
that the Iowa farmer pays of his mort.
gage on the average in Eve years and the
iAlinols farmer in three years. The censps
found total of 100000 of MORTGAGES
on farms and homesteads had been re-
corded IN the last ten years. ON the lows
AVERAGE Of reduction there are today ONLY
hail this total; on the Illinois one-tbira
In lows oae-fourth Of the MORTGAGES A.,
on town lots. Taking $50 900 AS tine total
number, and deducting one-fourth as ON
town lots, and there are left 2 2-5 ~,
separate mortgages on farms for the entirs
country, en- the Iowa basis. On the I'M
nois basis there are not over a.elone
mortgages standing today on the. about
e,Waoo farms in the country.
The Democratic Statistical fah,l;.,