The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-05-13
THE TROUBLES OF THE GRAIN
STATES.

Exact figures of the indebtedness of the
river valley States are essential TO a correct
understanding of the Farmers Alliance
movement That movement originated in
the Mississippi and Missouri river valleys.
and its chief strength is still there II has
branches throughout the South, but the con-
troll still remains in the prairie States,
where successive crop failures, occurring in
localities where settlers had strained their
credit to tie utmost. have impoverished the
farmers. Almost all the grain States have
passed through this stage of growth. Some
years ago nearly all Illinois and Wisconsin
were plastered with mortgages. Now these
have been so largely paid off that only 80. IS
per cent of the farms in Illinois are under
mortgage, and the indebtedness is only 500
per capita Of the people
1t is different in Kansas and Nebraska.
These States, which may be said to be 40
years old, are still struggling against an in
deb tedness which leads to evictions, and is
a breeder Of discomfort. Some fourteen
million acres of cultivated land in Nebraska,
amounting to 1913 per cent of the total
farm area Of the State, are covered with
mortgages. Kansas is even mora deeply in
debted, the mOrtgaged area being 81 IS per
cent of the total area under cultivation.
And in both States the mortgage amounts
to nearly half the true value of the land :;
the exact figures being 47.53 per cent for
Kansas and 4447 for Nebraska. In both
States the average mortgage Indebtedness
per acre is about Sc 30. In the bulk of the
cases the mortgage was given to secure pay
ment OF purchase money and improvements.
Adding the figures together, it appears that
the total value Of the real estate in Ne
bTaska, including city lots. is S540, 700. 5O4.
on which there is mortgage debt of $780,
902, 322; and that 81. &c per cent OF this debt
bears interest at the rate of to per cent,
and 43 68 per cent bears interest at the rate
of to 10 per cent.
Summing up the case in a sentence, So per
cent of the farmers of Nebraska are deyot-
ing half their time to working for their
creditors, and have to support themselves
and their families by employing the other
half A farmer must enjoy exceptional
advantages to thrive under such circum-
stances. On land which averages a product
of - bushels of wheat or 40 bushels of corn
to the acre, the one worth on the farm 30
cents a bnshel, the other % cents, farmer
who works half day for his creditors, and
the other half for himself must undergo
grinding priyation. and be confronted con-
stantly with the danger Of losing bis farm
by foreclosure. Under such circumstances,
it is nc wonder that the prevailing hardship
should eDgender craving for relief through
new methods. Men win not starve if they
can help it, and when the alternative is
offered between starvation and revolution
airy devices. they will moi concern them
selves whether the devices are or are not in
accordance with sound economical princi-
Piles.
These prairie States were settled at high
pressure. Twenty and thirty years ago,
new settlers were offered land, seed and
farm tools on credit for sum of money
which one or two good crops, marketed at