The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-07-18

90 and % cents, this being In the places where
farmers feed rather than sell their corn.
There are few farmers wbo arc behind nm IN.
terest payments on mortRares. Monev was
never more plentiful in Iowa than IL IN now for
loaninR purposes. The ruling prioes for nonov
are now Q and z per cent, rarely g per cont.
which n the legal rate. Some money In large
quantities and on long time has been loaned ON
real estate security for o DOR cent. which was
unbeard of until recently. There IA n scrnmble
among money lenders TO pick up GOOD loans.
That Iowa mortgages are fewer now than thew
wore n fov years aQo IN admitted Inv all mopcv
lenders. Tho hard times baye oauscd soma pco-
plo TO no into debt, but there has been preatar
economy practised and there has boon n dosiro
to settle nm and berin even with the good timea
that are felt all over Iowa to-day.
Sioux FALLS. s. d., July 1.-THE loan apents
OF Sioux Falls all agree that the last four years
have been years Of wonderful debt paving. d..
L. Mckinney said that $50, 900 600 would mat
about cover tho aggregate of tho debt lioui.
dated in that time. When tho hard times struck
| South Dakota four years ago people stopped
| going into debt, because they could find no ono
of whom to borrow. Thon came an era of closc
economy, followed by a superhuman effort to
get out of debt. For the last two years crops
have been good, and for the last year have sold
for q good price. Tho creamery industry has
brought into the State $3,O DOC, 900 a year. and
1.-Two stock SIS, 900, 900.
Loan agents here are unable to place one half
| the amount they are willing to loan, even Mt n
reduced ratio Of interest. Mark Russell, whose
company has 1 500 loans In South Dakota. says
that over 80 per cent. are paying UP in full at
maturity Of the loans and most Of tho rest are
making partial payments.
Figures from several counties show that where
! ona ,nnrt0ape has been recor5e1 fy, ho,,o hoa,
paid. Some OF the liquidation has been enforced
through foreclosure, but this is on city property
which was mortgaged in the days Of imitation.
There have been very few foreclosures on farm
lands.
1t is estimated that In 1897 the product from
the South Dakota farms, including the live stock
and creamery industries, will aggregate 800.
DOC, 900. This, distributed among $50, 600 people
is enough to give a comfortable living and. in
addition, to make q great inroad on their in.
debtedness.
ST. PAUL, Mimi, July 1.-THE MORTGAGE and
loan business on farm lands in Minnesota has
fallen OF more than SO per cent. during the las,
three years, principally In tho last year and a
half, OF all the loans that were In existence I'm
Minnesota on farming lands three years ago
the various concerns differ slightly on the per
centage that has been paid. The lowest cstimat,
places IL at 10 per cent. ard the highest a,
25 Der cent, while the average seems to be 10 &c
20 per cent. This Is held by the mortgage aud
loan concerns to be a wonderful showing. wher
IL is taken into consideration that a vast amount
of money was loaned in Minnesota during tn,
boom times. II means that that much has beer
paid back over and above whit has been bor
rowed. There have been practically no fore
closures.
That the State has felt tho pinch of hare
times was one of the great factors that kent tn,
farmers from going further into debt, Nhe,
the bottom fell out of the boom the farmer wa
the first man to take to the woods. He i'm
modiately cut his expenses and practised tn,
closest economy. The farmer incurred no ney
debts.
Although dfyersi9ed farming has gone a prea
way toward relieving tho Minnesota farmer q
his debt, by fnnthe greatest factor has been In,
dairy interest. There are hundreds of cream
cries and half az many cheese factories In Mime
sofa, and the majority of them have been estat
lished since 1892. The effect Of tho establish
ment Of these creameries has been almos
electrical. 1t has been the principal cause of tn
large payments Of mortgage loans. At the en-,
of the month the farmers get returns from
the creameries. A great many Of them, in fac
almost all the larger creameries, arc COOPER
alive concerns, owned entirely by the farmers
who share tho profits among themselves. II
this manner they have always enough money u
buy their groceries, clothing. and such neces
sary commodities OF lie. while on the farm the,
produce their own -four. vegetables, and meats
The result is that from the sale OF their whoa,
oats. corn. pork and beef they realize a net prof;
and it is this money that has been used to pa,
- - " IT.