The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-09-05

ever offered such inducements 70 settlers as
this has, and land has been obtained easily
and cheaply, and the prospect has been that
| IL could be paid within two or three wears
IL crops were good. The failure of crops in
| the new west for some time previous 70 last
year had the character OF what lawyers call
"the act Of God for which mortgages have
in nowise been responsible, and vet the bur-
den of the mortgage, even when the debtor
| Is in bad straits, has been grossly exagger-
Ated. The average annual interest burden
upon the farmer who mas a mortgage on
his farm has been asoertatued by the census
office, and tie smalluess of the amount is
noteworthy. In several counties in middle
Kansas, for which the results have been
published, Of each mortgaged farm the an
nual interest amounts 70 STA, which is
easily taken care Of by the natural increase
OF farm stock. In several counties in Ohio
tina average annual interest charge on each
farm is S97, or not much less than in Kan
sas, the state thathas gained some notorlety
on account OF its mortgages. In Maine the
/ average amount of annual Interest per farm
is only S33.
CONTRAST BETWEEN NORTH AND SOUTH.
The most striking contrast Of all is be-
tween the north and south. In the north
the mortgage lie often the first thought of a
man who sets out to own real estate or to
carry on some undertaking, and a greater
or less amount of success generally folio Ms /;
but In the south, outside of towns, a real
estate mortgage is a rarity and almost any
other kind OF security is preferred, because
agricultural land has too low a productive
ness and little or no sale on this acoOunt
In looking over the figures for the south
and the north the hastily popular conclusion
will be that southern farmers are in much
happier circumstances than the northern
and western farmers, be>ause very few of
their farms are mortgaged, while, il the
truth were known, this Is SO because the
southern farmers cannot mortgage their
farms, since creditors will not take farm
security until they have exhausted crops.
farm stock and other personal property as
securities.
So far as the popular abuse Of the mort
gage is concerned, the sum of the census in
vestigation is that a mortgage debt incurred
by man OF good judgment in a legitimate
pursuit is good thing. It would be better,
OF course, that the wealth that he has Dor
rowed should be owned by him, free from
obligation to repay; but since he has not
saved his wealth, it is his good fortune to be
able to obtain the use OF is, and by using it
return the interest which be
is under obligation to pay
the lender, while leaving him some sur
plus in large majority Of instances. The
just comparison Is OF between the condi-
ton OF the mortgager as such and his con-
dition as 1t would be if he owned his prop
erty free from debt; but il is between the
condition OF the mor5gsgor aad his condi-
ton as it would have been had he not Dor
rowed. The mortgage has been abused just
as commercial credits have besn abused ::
but, at the same time, both mortgages and
commercial credits are conducive TO the in
terest of the people and merely forbid that
there shall be stupidity or reckle5suess.
The vast amount Of statistics that will be
derived from this investigation will eventu-
ally pass out of the hands of the politicians
to be considered by social scientists The
information Ia so novel that it opens up q
new field in social science and will throw a
vast amount OF light upon some Of the
questions that have not yet emerged from
abstract theories.