St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-10-12
Farm Mortgages Decrease,
While Mortgages in
Cities Increase.
SHOWING OF THE CENSUS.
Eortgage Debt Of Minnesota
Compiled by Commits
SiOner Powers.
FARMERS SHOULDN'T KICK,
For They Are in Far Better
Average Shape Than the
City Folk.

The United States census department
IN 1890 gathered q great mass of in
formation relating to the ownership OF
and mortgage debt on homes and farms
in the country. a summary OF the
information thus obtained for Mime
sofa and the United States has already
been given to the public. 1t was found
that the real estate mortgages placed
on record in 1850 were in Minnesota
%. 1877 in number. and involved an
amount of SIS. 093. orc. Those for 1889
were a, 616 i'll number, and were for S59,-
7Sl.53S The total debt in force Jan. l,
1890. was S!97, 1855. From the fore
going it can be seen that the mortgages
placed on record increased in ten years
in Us per cent, and their amount
increased 296 per cent. Many persons
learning this vast increase i'll the mort
gage debt placed Oh record in the ten
years from 1850 TO 1890 have III
ferred that the state was less pros
porous in the latter than in the earlier
year. Does this increase prove the eX-
istence OF any such misfortune for Min
neSota? What light do the United
States census statistics of mortgage
debt throw on the relative prosperity of
Minnesota farmers in 1880 and 1890? To
throw all the attainable light upon this
point, the state commissioner Of labor,
l.. Il. Powers, secured from Wrshing-
ton detailed statistics, not yet printed.
showing the mortgage debt of Mime.
sofa by counties. He also secured in
the same manner the detailed agricult-
ural statistics of the state by coun-
ties. These statistics will be pub
lished in full for eech county in the
next report of the bureau of labor, to-
gether with statistics of mortgage fore
closures in the several counties from
1880 to 1898, inclusive. Commissioner
Powers in presenting these statistics
will, in addition to an exhibit of the
facts By countieS and for the state as
whole, present them summarized by a
series of groups of counties. This pres
entatiOn by groups of counties is to
show the relation of mortgage debt to
the various interests of the state. agri.
cultural, timber and city. 1t is also to
show in what parts of the state the
mortgage debt has increased and where
decreased, and the cause of each change
and its relation to the changing re-
sources of the counties included i'll the
several groups.
The first group is that of the city
counties, including Hennepin, Ramsey
and st. Louis. Tie second includes
twelve timber and mineral counties nr
counties having ONLY Il very few farms
within their borders. The third group
includes the balance of the state and is
comprised of the SXty-fiye counties,
whose acre property is largely devoted
to agriculture. For further analysis
of the facts about mortgage debt in Min
ncSOta, The counties included in groups
two and three are arranged III four other
groups according to the extent of their
settlement in 1881. The first of these
additional groups or group four, is COM
prIsed OF twenly-three agricultural
counties that in 1881 had at least 80 per
cent Of the present taxable land report
ed for taxation. Group five had at that
time from &c to 80 per cent. Group six
from 30 to GO per cent, and group seven
less than SO per cent of the present lax
able land thus reported for taxation
For the purposes of showing the reia-
tive increase or decrease of mortgage
debt placed on record in these several
groups in ten years. in this article com.
parsons are made in each case between
the average of the first two years with
that of the last two years given in the
tables.
Farms Increase Faster Than Mort
cages.
In the siXtY-five counties whose acre
property is almost exclusively devoted
to agriculture the number of mortgages
increased on acres from an average of
1928 TO that of 20.31S. or Is per cent.
The number of farms increased from
ST, $50 10 los, $50, or % per cent. From
this ii can be seen that while in the
newer counties the number of farm
mortgages increased some faster than
the number Of farms, yet, taking this
state as whole, the number of farms
increased about One-tEird faster than
the number OF mortgages.
III 1880 the average farm debt placed
on record in these siXty-sIx counties
WAS SlJ.212, SOS. or {. 81 per cent OF the
value Of the farm lands and buildings,
which was then SlS1, 0jl, 344. In 1890
that debt was S14. ,7S0. or 40 per
cent OF the value of the farms, which
was then :3U7, 743. 1856. By comparing
these two percentages it is seen that in
ten years the mortgage debt of the farms
of Minnesota decreased when compared
with the farm wealth, about 20 per cent.
To that extent also was the burden of
debt decreased.
In these ten years the average amount
OF mortgages placed on record on the
farms of the state, just given above, in
creased 40 per cent. The value of
farms Increased in the same period 70
per cent. The value of farm lands in
Minnesota thus increased one and three
fOurths lines as fast as the farm mort.
gage debt. In ten years the farm mort
cages annually placed on record
increased ABOUT s4,0O0,0O0. Had lie
amount of that debt increased in the
same ratio as the value of the farms.
that annual increase in farm debt
would have been 100000 instead of
S4,000,000
The burden of farm mortgage debt
was both in 1880 and 1890 heaviest in the
newer counties. In thu newest group if
was III 1890 about 33 times as great as
in the oldest group. The tables for
mortgage foreclosures have not yet
been fully completed for the state.
Enough work, however, has been done
upon this to show that foreclosures on