The Farmington times. [volume] (Farmington, Mo.) 1874-1902, 1899-09-14
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SIGNS OF THE TIMES
Ost Of Property aaa Pats
ID late MoHey.


York paper continuing notice of a
large number OF sales Of property In
that city under foreclosure of mort
cages. In every instance the money
lender got thr property, aud generally
for less than the amount Of his debt.
OF course IN such eases the owner loses
bis property and l. stiil In debt 10 the
money lender. This is good llluatra.
tion Of tine process by means OF which
the gold standard takes value out Of
property and puts IL into money; and II
the process continues the money lend
ers will soon own both property and
money, and the masses of the people
will become their tenants and serfs,
Gays the Mississippi Valley Democrat
and Journal OF Agriculture. In one in
stance large factory aud the ground
on which /, stood were sold to New
York bank for $50 900. that being S22,.
600 less than the amount Of the hcus
on the property. We presume from
these facts that this property was worth
at least 100000 when the loans were
made. for II Il had been worth less than
that sum the owner could not have bor-
rowcd y5i, 900 on Il. Now he loses his
entire equity and Is still So 900 In debt.
In another instance four-story brick
store building was sold under mortgage
for $1,000! II this Is not plain rob
berry under the fiction Of fraudulent
law, then what ia IL? The same paper
contains au account Of the sale Of the
famous lockwood" grounds and man
sion OF Henry Probasco, IN the suburbs
OF Cincinnati, which cost the owner
s50o.0 600. They were sold at nsaignce's
sale and brought T.OCO. Some years
ago Mr.. Probnscn retired from business
a millionaire. lie wns public-spiritcd
citizen and gave away large sums Of
money TO charitable institutions, but
the gold standard caught him and
crushed him. The gold standard was
never intended 10 benefit people who
have hearts. Instances like these are
occurring every day in all the large
cities. As a rule. when one borroWs
money and pledges his property rs Sc
rurity. the property either goes 10 pay
the dent at the end Of the :crm, or the
owner burrows from some one else and
extends the agony over another period
Of years. Hut the inevitable end ~
reached Mt last, and the property owner
hnds himself a paupcr. II these were
exceptional eases they might reason
ably be attributed Ia bad management
or the legitimate results Of the iuctuu.
tinns Of trade, but when they arc the
rule, as they are and have been for
years past. they prove that n wrong
principle Is In force.
The conditions are worse In the coun-
try than In the city. for notwiihS,aud-
ing the abundance Of money" those
who have IL do not seek rural outlets
The Democrat and journal are not iu
the mGncy-icndinP business, but hare
~ day goes by that we do not receive
appeals from our country friends. who
have read accounts IN the daily paper
about the abundance Of money IN The
cities, begging III to help them secure
loans to keep their property from be
ing sold. Such letter IS now before
Us, written by man who owns one OF
the finest farms in Montgomery cnuu-
ty, this state. lie says: ''The people
here value land at $50 and 500 per acre
The bank has n mortgage on my place
(naming an amount less than half it,
saluel, and insists on payment. Money
is so scarcs-hcrc that no ono has any 60
loan" This Is the burden Of all the
letters Of this class that come 10 us.
The inevitable result will be that this
farmer will be sold out by the bank
and lose the savings Of the lifetime,
while the bank will get his property for
less than half its value. Looking al
the matter In the light Of these incl
dentE, you can readily see why money
lenders can afford 60 let their money
accumulate and lie idle. or lend IL on gilt.
edged security at rates that bring them
but little more than the annual taxes.
They are well aware of the fact that
money has no intrinsic value, that ali
value Is in property, and that money
IN merely the measure by means oi
which property is exchanged. There
fore. II you constantly shorten or CON
tract the measure, ~ we have been do.
ing for 20 years, Il / only a question OF
time when ali property viii pass into
the hands OF the money lenders. The
process is haStened by the concenirat-
ing power Of interest. for, when n man
becomes so wealthy that his interest
brings him more than he spends, or re-
turns to public circulation, he has orly
TO wait n given time to acquire both
principal and interest. The man who
imagines that he can beat the cou1bins'
tiun OF interest and steadily declining
prices and make a decent living 'ar his
family has more faith in his nbiiiiy
than experience and common sense jus
tify.