Middletown transcript., 1898-02-05

1
late as he year 1892. Then the hard
times set in. Crops were light the
farmers had liltie money 10 spare foI
debts, and Eastern investors were cal
| led upon. under tue double liability act.
to put mure monty into the Safe. Some
| of them did So, in the hope of saving
part uf What they had invested. Most
! of them let their Investments go at
once, and took what satisfaction they
could by denouncing the people of the
State indiscriminately as swindlers.
Few denounced themselves publicly for
lending money foolishly, and fairly
forcing other people to take it. OF the
nearly 400 loan companies only seven
survived. They were those that had
refused to guarantee interest and prin-
cipal. They paid lower interest than
the companies which went down. In
stead of pay ing ten aud twelve per cent.
they paid only eight aud ten. They re-
ceived only two per cent. commission
for placing loans, instead of four per
cent. One Of these surviving com.an-
les actually kept $50 900 belonging to a
Philadelphia clerGyman-money that
he insisted on investing at high rates in
Kansas-froIn April to August, and
then sent 1t back 10 him. Ole easily
understands now how those seven COM
panies survived. They did business on
business principles.
AL business was prostrated. Money
stopped coming in. Some of the swind-
lers sent forged papers East, and then
pleaded for time in liquidation, hoping
to escape prosecution through the stat
ute of limitations, which provided that
two years was the limit of in which
action in such cases could be taken.
Thousands upon thousands of farmers
had paid their just debts, but the monty
had never reached the East. Eastern
investors wers called upon to pay
a double liability, and Western farmers
were called upon to pay second time
debt-money, and then each side began
to call the other names. The Eastern
men called the y estern men "repud-
iators," and the Western men called
the Eastern men "Shylocks" heartless
money barons, "other things, and 81 all
m eanwhile army of swIndIers and ad-
ven urer, some of whom had sprung up
in Kansas itself,a some OF whom had
hurried to the State to plav their game,
went scurrying here and there,t to make
away with their ill-gotten spoils, or to
escape the wrath of the raging Eastern
investor or the swindled Western
| farmer.
The poll tical demagogue then grew
and fiourished as a natural outcome of
all this. He went up and down the
country telling the farmers that the
people of the East were not as other
men; that there was no patriotic middle
class in the East; that we were all mil
lilo naires OF paupers; that man who
had money was the natural enemy of
those who had been unfortunate; that
the way to remedy the evils was to elec-
him to office. And the people of the
East read these appeals and began to
believe assertions that were also unjust,
to the effect that ths people of Kansas
were dishonest in spirit;t shat they were
practically all cranks; that they did
not believe in debt paying; that they
were volatile, and followers after ever
new bauble aud foible that came up;
that they were disgrace to American
principles and American spirit.
Men in the East raised their hands
and cried, "Can any good thing come
out of KansasP';
| Men in Kansas lifted their voice in
reply, and shouted, "Have the men of
the East any god but money!"
So the misunderstanding continued
until the great crops of 1897 came
along and spread blanket of prosper
iiy all over the State The effect has
been like refreshing sleep to strong
but physically exhausted man. The
State has awakened in good humor. II
has ceased to rail at the East. 1t is eager
to pay its debts. It even has money to
of it's ownloan. 1t wants the East &C
change its views to some extent also.
1t wants hearing to show that it is
not community of cranks and repudi.
ators, and it has some figures, such as
have never been printed before. to
prove it.
| In the State of Nebraska and in The
other States of the Middle West the
loan business, as it was formerly con,
Quoted, is over. Hundreds of thou
sands Of dollars of Eastern money have
been sent back since last fall because
there was no market for it. Only re
Gently bank official in central New
York received letters of inquiry from
Kansas asking as to thevalue of certain
investments. Some persons in Kansas
had money to lead in the East. 1t is 8
fact that beyond dispute that Western
mortgages are being paid off far in ad'
vance of maturity. One agent of 9
loan company ,old me that from the
West alone returns on unmatured loan'
were coming IN at his cfice at the rat,
of $50, 1000 week faster than he couli
put out the money again. He said b,
was simply sending back all the E isterr
money that was coming to him. HI
could not find market even for BIZ
Western money.-Harp er's Weekly.
Hoods sarsaparilla is prepared by expe
risnced pharmacists who know precisely y
the nature and quality Of all Ingredient:
used.