Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1892-08-31
Calamity HOMlers.

mors, and turn to the cold record of IN
deniable facts. We have done so, ant
this is what we find: This statemen
is not fully correct as in many case
the record does not show the exact fig
ures required. Such cases have beer
omitted. We omit also all mortgage
on town property. With these omis
sions, the records from April l, go Il
April ], 81, show $3.50 acres of oul
land has been sold under foreclosure
This land was sold for the aggregate
sum of $10S, 457, or an average of SIG
per acre. The amount of the Judgments
for which this land was sold was 1927,
97l, the costs were $500, makinga to
tai of SAG, 1874. This leaves uhsatisfieC
Sl3S,477. In many of these cases the
balance is in the form of a persona,
| judgment. Where 1t is not, the debt
still remains and on it an action may
be brought at any time. It.follows the
debtor, like Banquo's ghost, to the ut
termost corner of the U. S. 81 So
acres equal 1865 square miles. The
area OF Barber county is 1,134 square
miles, SO per cent of the county has al
ready been foreclosed, and this does
not include town lots and several Other
tracts in which the description is by
metes and bounds. About the same
amount is now ready to be advertised
TOR sale or in process of foreclosure
which will make; the total 1876 pei
cent. If we add IA per cent for town
lots and irregular tracts, we have Il
per cent. Thus the mill of the gods
has been grinding for the past two
years. In the course of this grind
many of the best farms of this county
have been passed into the hands OF
British capitalists and a large proper
ton of our people are tenant farmers,
with no further interest in the county
or it's prosperity than what they can
get out of it as a makeshift until they
can move to some moro favorable loca-
ton. Suppose in the next two years
the grind is only one-half as large, and
we have then three tenths of the coun-
ty passed through the mill. Add to
this the tax sales in the same length of
time, this year about one fifth, but in
the aggregate we will say four tenths
for four years, and we have seven
tenths of our land titles passing
through the mill of the gods-the money
gods-in four years.
To be fair however, many OF these
sales are redeemed and some of them
are duplicated by subsequent or preyi-
Gus fol eclosures, and small portion
of the land foreclosed is repurcliased
by actual residents, so that probably
one half or more of our land is now
owned by residents of our county. In
giving these facts we do not believe the
records of our county traduce the coun-
ty, for we have one of the fairest, most
productive and healthiest counties in
the state; but the records do traduce
the extravaganza financial system,
which has compelled the people in
hours of necessity to borrow money at
rates of interest higher than the profits
of productive industry, aud which has
in consequence prevented them paying
either interest or principal, and forfeit
ell s:fe fruits of their labor to unpro-
ductive capital. Capital is an advan-
tage to any country, when invested
in competitive trade and productive.
but otherwise it becomes a leech upon
honest trade and productive enterprise.
Instead of traducing the county, our
records, when we consider the vast
quantities of grain aud stock shipped
to foreign markets, speak words of
praise Of natures bountieS and the in
dustry and push of our people; but
they do traduce the Infamous system of
market wrecking which has caused
prices to rise only when the farmer
has no produce to sell and to lower as
soon as he moves Oh the market, to I'M
profitable figures, thus placing the pro-
fits of industry below the interest on
capital. Our records do traduce our
infamous railway system which prac-
tees discrimination, makes secret re-
bates, and charges outrageous tariffs,
thus absorbing so much of what ought
to be the profit of the farmers, 80 much
of what ought to go to buying wire and
plows and nails at the hardware store,
coffee, rice, bananas and so called lux
ures at the grocery store, new suits and
new hats and ribbons at the dry goods
store, new chairs, new sofas and car
nets at the furniture store, lumber and
lime at the lumber yard. so much OF
what ought to be expended for individ-
ual comfort and building up our mer'
chants and improving our farms ano
towns, that the margin OF profit Is far
less than the rates of interest, and bus
mess stagnates. To be sure there are
some people who croak about these
things and call them luxuries, but II
they are luxuries are we not entitled to
them? 1t is just these little so-called
luxurles that make life pleasant and
agreeable, and we ought to have them
We might attribute all this to loca
causes were it confined to Barber coun'
ty, but we find other counties the same
We might attribute it to local causes
if we found it confined to the state OF
Kansas, but We find 1t spread over the
United States. The causes are WORLD
wide; the remedies must be the same
The power of privileged classes, tt
play the part of the flea on q dog:
l. ~.
tive labor under the hypocritical plea
of vested rights, must be forever ant
everywhere abolished. The anarchy
of special privilege has become the vir
MS of society. Nothing but absolute
abolition Will effect permanent cure
The only bets republicans were will
ing to make at Anthony were that the
peoples ticket would not carry in thai