The representative., 1894-05-16
The Condition of the Western States.

results or their work from the public gaze.
In this state you can tell to a dot how
many horses cows, apple trees and grape
vines there are, but If you ask how many
mortgages or judgments there are against
the citizens the state reports furnish you no
answer. These facts can only lie obtained
by the inquirer going into the register of
deeedS office of his county and ranSacking
scores of record books and tabulating the
results for himself. But that great review
The Arena, of Boston, Mass, has had a
series of very interesting articles recently
under the caption Are We a Prosperous
People"' in which the editor took the ground
most emphatically that we were not; where
upon a Mr.: j. d. Evans of Stockham,
Neb., wrote letter to the Arena to deny
that the state of Nebraska was poor or
even embarrassed, but on the contrary he
asserted, with great positiveness, that the
mortgages were few in number in that state
and were being rapidly extinguished. But
Mr.. F. M. Howard, of Aurora, Neb.,
published reply to Mr. Evans in the May
number of the Arena from which we make
some extracts. He says:
l yield to no man in my admiration for
Nebraska; but l thoroughly execrate the
condition of bad government into which
men of Mr.. Evans class have brought our
state, both politically and financially.
Whether these men deceive themselves, as
we'll as others, is an unimportant question
to the people who only wish to ascertain
pose of getting at the truth, 1 shall ex-
anime the character of the proof offered in
the article spoken of.
The Arena is in error in assuming that
Mr. Evans is a national banker. He is
cashier of the Bank of Stockham an in
stitution organized under the laws of the
state of Nebraska. He formerly edit
or OF Republican paper, received a good
appointment at the hands of the optimistic
class, started bank, shared in the bene-
fits of the same class, and absorbed his
share of the labor of others.
So much for the interest he might have in
taking a roseate view of the conditions. In
addition to this, Mr.. Evans has been some
thing of a politician, has had the selection
or census enumerators and other appoint
ments; and ambition as well self-inter-
est lies in the direction of making a strong
case for his class and party. In regard to
his statement that partial payments are
made on mortgages which do not appear
as releases, the writer desires to say that
such course is almost unknown. Some
mortgages contain option clause that
the borrower can pay 500 or any multi
pie thereof when interest payments are
due; but l asked several old residents in
regard to it, and whether they had ever
known of a mortgage being paid off in
that way. They could call to mind a few
very few.
Regarding his statement that mortgages
are paid and not released, it is only neces-
sary to cite recent law of our state (see
the Cons oldated Statutes of Nebra ska
section 1858, page 92S) which provides that
release shall be filed by the person hold
ing the mortgage, under a penalty of $l0o.
Under this law the loan companies are
responsible, dare not risk this fine; and it
follows that all releases are promptly filed,
and that this statement is incorrect. On
the contrary, it is true that the census TAX
er for Hamilton county treated all over
due farm mortgages against which no lis
pendens had been filed actually paid,
making an error of many thousand dollars
on the other side, which, strangely enough,
our banker friend fails to notice.
His letter speaks of the benefits of build
ing and loan companies, and / notice that
the editor Of The Arena indorsas his views.
Both are right under most circumstances.
but in Nebraska the state board has final
ly driven from the state the last associa-
ton having concessions where they can
give low interest on money: and the local
Western companies are either frozen out
by the mortgage pool forced to make
their rates high as to be oppressive
BY this time your readers can get an idea
of the firm ground on which Mr.. Evans
would have you stand while 'hurling thun-
der-bolts.
The statement that mortgages placed on
Nebraska farms are, in nine cases out of
ten, evidences of thrift and not proofs of
poverty is in a certain sense true. They
classes that farm the farmer and are
proofs that those classes neither experience
nor fear poverty. The truth is that, outside
of the rise in the value of land-the un-
earthed Increment which they get as re-
suit of law and not of labor-farming la has
not been profitable even in this, one of the
best counties of Nebraska. Mr. g. a man
who has owned 200 acres of fine land in
Hamilton county for 20 years, sold his farm,
the other day. He got $1,000, $50 an acre.
The optmists gave him an instance of
the prosperity of the country. Mr.. c.. has a
wife and four children. He is now compare
lively old man. He has always been in
dustrious, had no bad habits, is a good
manager and has an unusually able and
saving wife; yet when Mr.. G. came to figure
the results of the labor and saving of the
whole family for 20 of the best years of his
life in one of the best counties, in one of
the best farming states Of this nation, he
found that the net result was 100 spent
for needed improvements on the farm,
which went in at the sale, and $500 increase
in the value of his stock. To his own
words, I'VE have lived, worked like slaves,
and have saved less than a hundred dol
lars year.
The Mr.. P. he speaks of is a well-known
old soldier of this county. He'was lonely and
disabled, and last year sold his farm as
of Aurora, who is said to have
bought it for the purpose Of saw
ing taxes, in way peculiar to West
ern money loaners. Though the law says
that Nebraska property shall be assessed
at fair cash value assessors who wish to
hold their job have fallen into a habit of
getting valuations lower and lower, until
it is now listed al from one-fourth to one
seventh of it's real worth. Debts are de-
Quoted at full value; consequently the
thrifty Mr.. w. can loan $4,000 on chattel
security, have the same listed for taxation
thing but a poll-tax. This is only equalled
by a nice little habit the Bankers AL
lance" have of saving up greenbacks nom
taxable paper money, for the day when
the assessor makes his appearance 1t hap
pens conveniently that the Iowa assessors
come the 1st of March. The non-taxable
money can be there at that time, in Ne
braska on the 1st of April and in Colorado
or some state where they list the 1st of
May, if they choose to have it so. All this
Mr.. Evans could tell you far better than 1,
but he doubtless forgot to mention it.
1t is needless to give personal instances
or to follow them, they prove nothing;
but we cannot refrain from mentioning one
more of the cases cited by our predecessor.
Mr.. G., he says, bought a farm that had
never had a mortgage on it, and, lacking
enough to pay for it, plaStered the same
for part Of purchase money. All this is
true, but he neglected to mention that Mr..
G. also borrowed $500 of his son, for which
he gave no mortgage, and that he has not
added to the farm nor in any way improved
it. The purchase therefore is, as he says,
IAN evidence of healthy growth and pros
porous condtion''-of the banker, who will
carry these loans and live for years on the
proceeds of the labor of others.
Any one familiar with the history of our
country will tell you that at an early day
Nebraska gave special advantages to SOL
diers in the amount of land they could