The times., 1897-09-10
wheat ami Farm Mortgages.


1t Is sl-gays good thing to get ou OF
debt, and probably there are reasons for
believing that many Western farmers arc
TO enjoy tnat pleasure, in whole or in part,
before tie beginning OF the new year. II
the prIo- of wheat should mold until after
the Pre- rtseLt crop has been marketed. and
there Is no present reason to doubt that
it viii, hundred million dollars. or per.
haps more, viii be in tie hands of the
agricultural class practically by the time
snow flies. Then, it may be assumed that
a very Barge share Of 1t win be devoted
to paving the principal OF farm mortgages
and other debts.
Connected with this prospect there is an
economic ooonsiderationthat possibly neither
the farmers nor their friends and we'll
Eishers have thought about, but which
the financial people with whom they are
in contact have ror,dered very carefully.
We all Enow that such a prosperity
boom as the present one, founded, as
it is, only on the temporary miseries Of
other peoples. cannot ou1ast its basic
causes. The reaction must come with the
restoration OF normal crop conditions in
Russia, India and South America. A re-
turn To- practical biInetaHisna, in the mean
plying other and greater causes OF pros
perity; but such contingency is not to
be counted upon, since, under the present
control of the country by the gold and
bond syndicates, nothing short of for
eign war would be likely to bring 1t about.
So, foT anything now discernible TO the
contrary, the reign of wheat prosperity
must be short and in ali probability lirn-
tied t. the present year.
IN TIE few fat months of dollar wheat
the fa4Iners via get their benefit and pay
it over to their creditors Suppose that
next year Russia, Irdia and South America
should turn around and produce enormous
crops Nobody OF average intelligence ard
knowledge VIII say that then American
wheat would not go tumbling back TO
| Ter. Then the American farmer would
have his nose on the grindstone and want
to borrow money again. new condl
ton would confront him. Whether to his
surprise or not, he would discover that
his security had become good only for
| about upe-thlrd OF the amount for which
1T was acceptable when he made the loan
that the dollar wheat OF 1897 paid off
| II he then had a mortgage OF So, 900 on
500 farm and improvements he
would find that the same farm In 1898
was only sufficient for a loan OF 81, 500;
and so on through the chapter.
AS a matter Of fact mortgage com
panies and money lenders generally whc
have invested heavily in the West OF late
years are drawing in their lines wherever
and whenever opportunity offers. The
shrlnkage Of farm values, the necessary re-
suit OF gold contraction and the impos
sibilitg of American agricultural competi
ton upon gold basis with silver cereal
producing countries, must ontinue until L
different financial policy can be secured
As a consequence capitalists will be less
and less willing to put out money Oh farm
security, and those who do take the risk
VIII pinch the margin OF safety closer
and closer.
Under these conditions it is sOmethin.
of a question just what net advantage thu
Western farmer is TO realize out Of tht
Collar wheat prosperity.