The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1893-10-05
g A GEES II MI NNESOTA


AIORTGA GES IN MIN NTSOTA
STATISTICS GATHERED nv THE
BUREAU or LABOR.
Increase of Foreclosures on Acre
II Property Held for Speculation and
u Decrease of foreclosures on Ag-
rtcultural Holdings. 81 stSE i
st. Paul, Oct. 2---The state bureau of
labor, among it's other statistical iabors
is continuing its study, which it began
ABOUT two years ago, of mortgage in
debtedness and foreclosures. In adtli-
ton to collecting its own statistics re-
luting to the subject. the bureau has
made some comparisons between the facts
secured by the United States census de-
pertinent and those rabulated by itself
The census discloses the amount Of mort
gage debt in force in Minnesota Jan. 1,
1880. The special work of the state
bureau gives the mortgage foreclosures in
ASST, 1881, and also for 1892 and 1893.
The statistics for the two latter years
will be embodied in the next regular re-
port of the bureau. The comparison Of
the mortgage debt in Minnesota with
that OF the foreclosures i'll 1891 disclose,
the following ratios:
Ihe total amount of mortgage inle;t-
ctlness resting on acre property J.. \. l..
1880, was $75,355,562 Of this debt
there were foreclosed during the year
1891 $2,05O,301 = The total foreclosures
on acre property i'll the state were there
lore 2.12 per cent Of the face of the
ds5t On that class of real estate in the
preceding year. This ratio does not,
however, show the average amount of
foreclosures on farm property for the rea-
son that there. is in Minnesota large
amount OF acre property other than that
used for farming. In certain co;iinties.
as Ramsey, Hennepin, St. Louis aud
Washington, the land sold by foreclosure
was property purchased or held for spec
ulatlve purposes mainly. Then the land
IN many other counties is valuable mainly
Tor the timber or minerals which it con-
talns. Thus there are in the state six
teen counties in which the land sold bv
foreclosure in 1891 was mainly or OK
cluslvely held for speculative purposes OF
Tor purposes other than agriculture. The
mortgage debt Of sixty-six counties main
~ devoted to agriculture amounted to
So5,6O7, 1874, of which there was sold by
foreclosure in 1891, LAS, 9G1. This was
z.O6 per cent Of the amount of the debit
IN force On the same property the pre-
cedlng year. But while the ratio of
foreclosure in the sixty-four Agricultural
counties was as given above, the ratio
III the other sixteen was for acre Droperty
4.oS per cent, OR % times as great.
In those counties the debt in force on
acre property being $19,7F7,794 with an
amount Of foreclosure of $904,4 51,
Inc mortgage debt on city or town
lots In the state was larger in amount
than upon all acre property, both agri-
cultural and speculative timber and min
eral' The amount was 1922, 800 .4O7. on
when there were foreclosed S., 951 ,4S5.
or 1856 per cent. This ratio for CITY lots
was thus practically the same as that
disclosed by the sale of speculative acre
property in counties like st. Louis. Hen-
nepin and Ramsey.
But while the ratio of foreclosures for
the slxty-four agricultural counties was
40, that of eighteen counties. including,
Wlnona, Mower and Olmsted. which ara
devoted to- mixed farming showed in
q 1921 ratio of only 1872. These same
counties ten years earlier, when devoted
mainly to wheat, had ratio of fore
closures more than five times as great.
or greater than the present ratio on c;tv
lots for the state.
Ihe highest ratio of foreclosure in 1891
was found in Cook with percentage Of
lo.o5, and the lowest in Nicol]et Which
had mortgage debt of $456,6 and had
no foreclosures. Among the others with
small ratio are Cass, with a percentages
OF Ill and Mcleod with .16.
Ihe study of the bureau of labor " ;nto
the mortgage foreclosures of 1892 has
not vet been completed. So far as thew
nave gone they show an increase of FORE
closures on speculative acre property and
town and city lots in all the smauer
cities and of the larger ones with. one
exception. But while there is this in
crease in the foreclosure on speculat;va
property in the last two years :over
those OF 1891 there is a decrease IN tho
foreclosures of farm property in most
counties. Thus the ratio. of forrseciosnres
IN f'reeborn county in 1892 and 1893 is
approximately only about one-fourth and
one-h1th of those Of the earlier year,