Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1893-12-15
DOES FARMING PAY2

the general impression among all classes
of people is that it represents the facts.
Nothing could be further from the real
truth. But not until the census of farms.
homes and mortgages was taken in 1870
was 1t possible to get at the truth on this
subject. These returns are now SUI
Efficiently compiled to warrant the follow
ing startling statements.
Three-quarters of all the farms in the
United States are owned free OF incum-
brance. Only one-fourth of the tota
number of farms in the United States
are mortgaged. Or, to express it more
specifically, out of every hundred Ameri-
can farms more than 20 are fully paid
for and less than 30 are mortgaged.
The average mortgage represents only
one-third of the value of the farm upon
which it is secured.
The total amount of farm mortgages
in the whole country is hardly one-tenth
of the total value of all our farms.
In $780, nearly one-fifth of the mort
gage Indebtedness rested on farms; but
in 1890 farm mortgages represented only
one seventh of the country's total in
debtedness on real estate.
Out of every hundred families on
American farms in 1890, a owned their
farms free of mortgage, 20 owned but
with incumbrance AND 30 hired the farms
they lived on and worked.
Of those who cultivated their own
I,,,;r
brance and only 30 per cent had mort
cages. OF the farms occupied by ten
ants, less than 10 per cent were incum
bered.
Four-tifths of the amount of debt on
farms and homes was incurred for the
commendable purpose of buying and i'm
proving the property, and like proper
ton of the farms and homes were mort
gagged for the same purpose.
The total real estate mortgage debt
that existed in the Uuited States in 1880 is
estimated at D billions of dollars, equal
ly divided between lots and acre tracts.
In 1890 the total amount of such in
cumbrance had more than doubled. but
only 81 per cent of it was on acres and
66 per cent on urban property.
The total mortgages on actual farms
were about 525 millions of dollars in 1880,
ana ten years later were $40 millions, an
increase of $50 millions of dollars in the
decade.
During these ten years no less than
100000 new farms were created at the
West and South. If only onehalf of
them carried the average-size mortgage,
this would readily account for the in
crease in the total debt on farms.
Mortgages on other acre tracts than
farms proper were in 1890 about | ,l63
millions of dollars, or an increase of 43S
millions during the decade.
The mortgages on lots, that Is, on
city and town property, amounted to
1850 millions of dollars at the opening
of the ninth decade, but in 1890 were
estimated at nearly 1000 millions, or
an increase of over 200 millions during
the ten years.
The total mortgage Indebtedness in
June, 1890, is estimated to have been
some 5000 million of dollars, as against
$500 millions in 1880, an increase of $500
millions.
These figures look large, but show
. that the total Indebtedness on all real
estate in the United States is only about
500 per capita. Add to this the per
capita amount represented by the public
debts of the United States ($l4.63),
of States and Territories (S3.5G). and of
counties (S2.27), a total of $2O.4O, and
it appears that the total public debt and
all real estate mortgages In the United
States amount to only SIP per capita.
In other words, in June, 1890, the sum
of SIP from each man, woman and child
in the United States would have paid all
the mortgages in the country and also
all the national, State and county debts.
IN France the national debt alone exceeds
SIG per capita, England's national debt
is nearly 800 head, while the public
debts in the older Australian colonies are
$500 for each inhabltant. There are
= good reasons for believing also that
mortgages in England, France, Germany
and Australia vastly exceed the Amerl-
Can average of S92 per capita.
The official figures for 80 States, upon
which the foregoing statements are
based, were prepared for the American
Agriculturist by George X. Holmes,
special agent in charge of division of
farms, homes and mortgages of the eley-
enth census, and are given in full in the
December issue in that magazine, in con-
nection with DIR. Myrick's article. An
other interesting fact is that the number
of families is practically one to farm in
most States, but for % States these farm
= families comprise 30 per cent of the total
number of families In this group of