The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1892-01-14
PITIFUL LETTERS.
EXTRACTS FROM RIDDEN CENSUS
OFFICE RETURNS.

:
The Truth shouId BE Dragged On. OF
the Secret Archives 1t Washington.
Not long since there was little gath
er11g OF men N one OF the hotel Iobbies
IN Washington. One Of the group was
= clerk in the farm and home mortgage
department OF the census Office. Con.
versation was general and while various
matters were being informally discussed,
the census clerk remarked, "If the mort
gage and interest statistics of the country
could De put before the people, the facts
shown would inevitably plunge the
whole country into a social and political
revolution.
"Hou know" continued the clerk,
that we are engaged in collecting such
Statistics. We sent out official blanks
containing various questions to be an
swered by occupants Of homes and farms
II making these answers majority OF
/ the people voluntarily send letters in
/ which they try TO state the condition
/ they are N more particularly than is de
| handed by tha blanks.
Some of these letters are pert; some
defiant, bat the great majority are SO
| pltiful and sad that while the clerks in
| the Office read them, they cannot help
! shedding tears of genuine pity and SYM
! pathy. These letters practically consti-
| tute one long, earnest, desperate, beseech-
nlg-almost despairing effort for relief
in some form. They show a condition
that IS both pitiable and appalling. ]
| honestly think that the information con-
| tanned in these communications should
| be collated into some form and put be-
fore the INDEPENDENTLY before con-
gress. Nothing could so fully open the
! views to the real condition of things as a
! procedure of this kind. There are mil
lions of these letters on file in the office
archives, all easily accessible under
proper authority"
The above statement was heard by a
representative of the Reform Press
! bureau. The official letters being mac
| cessible under the rules of the census
| bureau, other measures were resorted to
| to secure such information as was said
by the census clerk to be contained in
/ the communications he spoke Of. There
| has not ye0 been sufficient time to secure
| d wide range of information, but some
| letters received touching upon mortgages
and interest are worthy of note and
| study.
| The following is taken from letter
received from q farmer in New York
| state:
q bought my farm in 1879 at $50 per
| acre. 1t contained 178 acres, making
| the price $9,79O. | paid 81 500 down.
Prices of produce were then good, and
| equal to the price Of the farm. At the
expiration of twelve years, or the year
1854, had reduced the principal to
| $5,3S7. Two thousand dollars of the re-
ductlon money came from other sources
than the farm. | then took a deed and
gave d mortgage. / am what is called
a prosperous dairy farmer. My wife
and have worked hard and been saw
ing, and are about worn out paying in
terest and taxes. We have had to stand
the depreciation in the price of land and
products and will have to give the farm
up at last TO thu man who holds the mort
gage and pays no taxes on his share of
the farm. l pay mine and his too. l
| stand all the depreciation in value or
sink! All gone! Youth, health, prop
erty in old age! The final resort poor
house, then death. All is over; rest at
lastr'
The amount now due on this farm, &C
cording to the writer's statement, is
$G,O0O-after twenty years hard work
and economy.
The following extract is from letter
from farmer in South Dakota:
las to the value of the land, I cannot
say that it is worth anything. and one
more crop failure viii clean this country
OF Inhabitants. Many are leaving now.
There does not appear to be any hope for
the distressed husbandnan here. Only
those who have depended on robbing
and Specializing have made a success.
Three to 10 per cent. a month men are
the owners of all the property. Loan
companies viii soon have it all"
The following piece of information
country regards as being singularly
GUESSED ana prosperous:
eff the mortgage is twenty-fvedollars
per acre or more, the mortgage holder
viii have to take the land. Two years
ago the banks refused ell farm security,
and there is no sale for farms. Men
who have money don't want such prop
erty. It won't pay labor and taxes.
There is not farmer that know but
what wants to sell. The farms here
will not sell for their assessed value. My
farm is assessed at sc, 200. The only,sale
for farms is q sheriff's sale"
The extracts below are taken from an
other letter from New York state:
1--WE bought our farm four years ago
and laid fifty dollars per acre; have Of
fered to sell it for the same price, but
get no buyers. There has been no buy
ing or selling of farms in the pastEtwo
years except those sold at sheriff's sale
or decided back to the man who holds |
the mortgage. Excessive rain, then |
drought have caused crop failures. Many |
farmers have not raised enough for their |
stock. We have had nothing to sell to pay |
taxes on land or school tax and interest |
money. We have hired $3.50 each year,
expecting the next year to pay it all up,
but each year is worse than the one pre-
vious. My husband says he will not try |
to pay interest next spring.
1T Will take nearly all our stock to
pay our notes. Our farm is a good crop
farm, and part Of it was sold twenty
four years ago for 800 per acre, but there
is no profit in farming now. II farmers
wives and daughters could not do shop
sewing they could not have suitable
clothing for any members of their fam
lily We live fourteen miles from SYRIA
cuse, but can get shop work even at this
distance. In one hours drive west
from our farm we passed eight all sold
under mortgage or decided back to the
holder of the mortgage, and nearly all
of them were sold during the past spring
So, you see, the census of 1899 does not
give the true state of affairs, for people