The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1897-03-25


aud they strain every effort to sell Il q
soon ~ Il comes on their hands. This y M
made evident by the lists Of real estato ~
offered for sale by these mortgage compan-
les at prices less than cost. which are ~
the haris Of almost every real estate agent
IN Texas. The assertion that mort8age
companies attempt to acquire land Il most
fallacious: no mortgage company wants
better security than mortgage that VIII i
pay It per cent interest without any
trouble TO itself. What folly 1t would b Y
for 1t to obtain the ownership Of real cs-
hands.
II the bill becomes q law 1t will be : N
great hardship on tho man who IL today IN 4
aebt, for though It is true that
svery m0r ssss.o company ,vo sssor secom %
ing tho owner Of land, and. as = rule.
never forecloscs AS long as there ID the
slightest probability OF obtaining the IN
terest, and Ia always willing to extend the
principal OF the debt, the receiver OF
mortgage company tand most OF the Amer
ican mortgage companies are now IN tina
hands OF receivers). Is In an entirely diner-
ent position. 1t makes no difference to him
whether the property OF which he 10 re-
ceivcr consists OF mortgages or real estate,
and he will push the debtor. though It may
result in the debtor losing his properly
and 1t passing into the receivership. The
receiver might probably prefer this. be-
cause 1t will lengthen his tenure Of office.
Therefore this bill il q blow aimed at the
debtor class OF today.
II Is not Intended to say that this BILL
will prevent altogether the lending Of mon-
ey In Texas, or entirely stop business; II
is Intended to say that IL Will increase tho
rate OF interest and price OF goods. The
rate of interest is controlled by two things
First, the demand for money. and, second
the risk which lender OF money takes IN
lending It, You can illustrate by laying
that vendor OF land or mortgagee Is sat-
siied with from Z to 10 per cent. interest
| at present. A pawnbroker, on the other
hand. will get probably 81 per cent The
reason for the difference Is that the mort
gage company. or vendor OF land has
| reasonable assurance Of getting his money
back. the pawnbroker less So
Again, money can be borrowed on tho
stock exchange In the Northern cities on
| stocks and bonds which are listed at . to
| 4 per cent. The farmer can not borraw on
| his farm at less than to 10 per cent, The
| reason Is that the man who lends on stocks
! or bonds can walk into the exchanges tue
moment his debt becomes due and sell
| the stocks or bonds In minute for All
| that he has loaned on them. The man who
holds a mortgage may. however have 70
| walt a considerable time before he can rehl-
| ize his money out Of the land II lands
were as convertible as stocks and bonds.
| money could be borrowed on lands at from
| to per cent. interest. Therefore this
| bill injects into loaning transactions the
element OF risk. which mas to DO paid for
bv increase In the rate OF interest
The bill might be aptly called bill to
dcpreciate the value of real estate; Il bill
TO deprive the poor man OF the opportunity
| of obtaining home. bill TO prevent mo
building up OF towns and cities. hlil 10
force mortgage companies to forecloso their
mortgages: II bill to prevent the sale Of real
estate; a bill destroying banking; bill to
prevent the depositing OF money In banks;
| u bill to deprive minors OF maintenance and
education; II bill to raise the price OF mer-
| chandise, a bill to induce the saving pub
lie to hoard their money In their stockings;
Il bill to decrease the taxable values In the
state OF Texas: or n bill to prevent imnli-
grafton to Texan. In this connection Vt
may be said that such bills AZ the one under
consideration have become laws In Kansas
and Nebraska. and the greatest number OF
emigrants into this State at the present
| time who are seeking homes, come from
Kansas and Nebraska. Those States are
practically ruined. Real estate has no val
ne there. owing TO such drastic legislation.
and their citizens are moving 10 free
State
II Is asd by some. who do not approve
Of the bill in It's entirety, that n law should
be passed making 1t necessary to have every
! forced sale confirmed by court OF compe-
tent Jurisdiction This will not cure the
evil aimed at 1t IL n matter well known
to almost every lawyer that at the sale
of property belonging to decedents CT
tate the property does not sell for any bet-
ter figure than II does at sale under ex-
ccution as n rule. NOTWITHSTANDING this,
the sale is usually confirmed by the probate
court, even in the face OF mn appraisement
which Axes a much higher value on tho
property
How can we get at the value OF prop
erty? Its value TO some consists In the
monov 1t will sell for. to others In the
revenue it yields; TO others In Its comfort
and associations. II measured by money IT
will sell for, the pricest brings ut forced
sale would DO the standard OF Judgment,
for the sale Is advertised and the world -
invited to buy. Yet 1t is the general opln-
, ion that property so sold Is always saort-
feed. Why7 Because there Is no compete
, tion, and you can not devise any law that
will create competition. The Peery bill
will utterly destroy It.
The bill assumes that the creditor class
Is dishonest and the debtor class honest.
so that II you owe money today you are
, honest, and dishonest tomorrow II you loan
! 1t.
II liz said that several States have the re-
! dempton law. but none Of them have tho
homestead exemption as broad as We have
| II, which preserves to every man his home.
Laws can rot be devised TO correct every
evil. There have been and always will lie
| exceptions to all rules, and hardships oc-
, cur under all systems. II you wish to ems
| courage uoHesty, pe hpHcet w WV Stvutto
,, as well as to the debtor. Under the pres
: ent system OF the millions OF forced sales
: which have taken place In Texas. can you
name one hundred where any species Of
redemption bill would help the debtor? Re-
member the debtor has period Of redemp-
, tion before the sale; he knows for months.
sometimes years what is going to happen
then is his time to sell. and then his oppor-
tuDity to sell at reasonable price Is
greater than after the foreclosure, Shall
we say. rather than one guilty man shall
escape we will sacrifice a hundred inno-
i cent. or rather than one innocent shall
suffer. a hundred guilty may escape?
4 A Correction.
Austin, Texas. March 24.--In today'x
Post in the senate routine report senatox
. Linn of Wharton Is given credit for Of