The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1899-04-21
DEFICIENCY DEGREES.
Lower House at Lansing Puts a
0uietus Upon Them
AS TO MORTGAGE FORECLOSURES.

AS TO MORTGAGE FORECLOSURES.
The Matter OF the Repeal of the Mich.
gan Central Railway Charter still q Live
and Prominent Topic-Biil Passed by
Both Houses Doing Away with the Pub
| LEGATION of Joint Observation-Disclosures
Over the Oieomargarine Bill.
Lansing, Mich. April 1S.-One of the
most commendable actions of either
house of the legislature TO date is the
passage by the house of the Adams
Burfoot bill which is designed to do
away with the taking of deficiency de-
crees in cases of mortgage foreclosures
In chancery. Tn Ter the present law. for
instance. A may have a mortgage for
$1,000 on BIS property which is worth
| $1,000. fails to make his payments
and the mortgage Is foreclosed. At the
sale A may bid in the property for $500.
thus securing property valued at $4,000
and may also take a decree against B
for the balance of the mortgage. to-
gether with interest, fees, etc. The bill
passed by the house allows six months
after the sale for redemption. the the
DRY being that the mortgagor will not
bid the property in at less than the
full amount of his claim and take the
chance of having 1t redeemed at the
amount of his bid. Not a single vote
was cast against the bill in the house.
and the chances are that it will have as
easy going in the senate. It was as
serted on the floor of the house during
the discussion of the bill that the action
OF building and loan associations In
some sections Of the state In piling up
fees against borrowers for every man
ner of neglect or delay, and then TAX
ing these deficiency DEGREES in cases of
sale, has made the necessity for the
contemplated law imperative.
Live and Prominent Topic.
The matter of the repeal of the Michi-
gan Central charter is still live and
prominent topic in legislative circles.
The latest phase of the matter is the
determination of the house committee
on railroads to report out the Dudley
bill which provides for the appointment
of a commission to investigate the en-
tire question and negotiate with the
company for the surrender Of the char
ter the committee to report its
recommendations and terms of sur
render late next year so that ac-
ton may be taken by the next legis-
lature. This bill will not meet with
much favor in the house, the sentiment
there being in favor of repeating the
charter at this session and forcing the
company to go to the courts with Its
claim for damages incident to the re-
peal. Whatever the house may do,
however, it can be put down as fore
gone conclusion that the repeal bill will
not pass the senate.
The two houses have passed a bill
which does away with the publication
Of joint documents for which there has
never been any use and cuts down the
number and size of official reports gen.
orally. In some respects the bill is
good one, but 1t has so many defects
that 1t is not improbable that the gov
ernor will veto it, The measure bears
every evidence Of having been prepared
with an eye single to increasing the
number Of Michigan manuals that each
legislator shall be entitled to at the
expense Of all other reports. 1t more
than doubles the number of manuals
that shall be printed, thus doubling the
number each legislator shall have for
distribution among his friends, and at
the same time practically does away
with the printing of the bulletins of
the state board of agriculture and state
board Of health, which are really of far
greater value to the people of the state
than all the manuals that were ever
published, even admitting that the
manual is very valuable publication
The publication of the bulletins re-
ferred to is not entirely cut off, but the
allowance for them Is made so small
that they might as we'll be wiped out
entirely. Governor Pingree, Of course,
has the last crack at the bill, and IL
will not be surprising If he gives the
legislature a chance to pass 1t over his
veto.
Deadlock on Colored OIeomargarine.
The deadlock over the bill prohibits
ing the manufacture or sale Of colored
oleomargarine still continues, and 1t is
difficult to tell what the outcome may
be. Inasmuch as the senate insists on
the house passing its bill, which is al
legged to have fatally defective title,
II is being charged by some Of the
friends Of the bill that the upper house
is not sincere in it's advocacy of the
measure. If either bill is passed the
indications are that 1t will be amended
so as to exempt the upper peninsula
Just at present the pure food depart
ment is putting up a vigorous fight
against the Humphrey bill which pro-
poses to limit the fine that may be i'm
posed for any violation of the pure food
laws to 500. thus taking these cases
out of the jurisdiction of the circuit
courts and giving it to the justice
courts Commissioner Grosvenor says
that such a law would render the pure
food laws practically worthless, expert
ence having conclusively proved that,
in a great majority of cases, convic-
tions cannot be secured in the justice
courts owing to local influences.
Senator Bakers log lien bill has be-
come a law and is now in effect 1t
will greatly facilitate the collection of
taxes assessed against logs as under il
they cannot be run out of the township