Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1908-12-16

saving. banks were at most it can
net him but four per cent. Then.
too. the figures given above prove
that the net income under the new sys-
tenn at five per cent will be as much
as the net income under the present sys-
tenn at six per cent.
Real estate mortgage taken upon
business principles is as safe as a
bank deposit. because the safety of
the bank depends upon the invest
ments held by that bank. and one of
the favorite bank investments is real
estate mortgage. If it is safe for the
bank to invest your deposit in real es
tate mortgages, why is it not safe for
you to invest your own money In such
mortgages? If the proposed measures
are passed and become law it is rea-
sonably certain that the interest rate
on real estate security will be reduced.
We have considered the case of the
farmer who has bought farm and
given a mortgage on it. Against this
stock and tools and other personal
property. We will now take up the
case of the laborng man in the cities
and villages who has become ambitious
to own a home of his own but who
must run in debt just as much as the
man who bought the farm. This Ia
borer works for wages and has abso-
lutely no personal property to offset.
You must remember too, that this
class of people are as numerous as the
farmer and that together they repre-
sent large portion of the population of
the state. If this laborer buys home
on which he owes $500 he still has to
pay taxes on full value of the place
both under the present and under the
proposed system. The offset question
does not affect him one way or the
other. but if his mortgage were not
taxed he would certainly get some
benefit by reduced rate of interest.
Since he has no offset. his grand list
would remain the same under the new
system and he would get the benefit
of reduced rate of taxes. Even the
most strenuous opponents of the new
measure do not question this propo-
sition.
Does the offset system under which
we now live benefit the poor man?
Does it benefit the farmer who owes
$4,000 or $4,000? Does it benefit the
honest laboring man who is ambitious
to own his own home? The town of
Brattleboro is not what might be
called poor mans town. and yet this
town has only one-third of the grand
list of Windham county but it has
more than one-haif Of all the offsets
in that county. St. Johnsbury is not
a poor mans town Eand yet with one.
third of the grand list of Caledonia
county it has more than one-half OF
the offsets. Bennington with only
one-third of the list of the county has
one-half..the offsets. Newport with one
seventh of the grand list of Orleans
county has one quarter of the offsets
Bear in mind that these are towns
where the laboring, man who has
mortgage upon his home has no off
; sets because he owns no personal
property. One of the opponents of the
!. measure stated upon the floor of the
house that we must not abolish offsets
, because it would seriously interfere
, with the dividends of the Vermont
Marble company. who. as he said. were
, enjoying the privilege of offsets t.
. the extent of one million dollars
The member from Bethel opposed the
. bill because he said it would cripple
: the great granite concern that makes
two million dollar contracts anC
furnishes granite for state capitols
/ throughout the country. One of the
largest savings banks in the state
wrote their attorney, who is a repre-
, sentative, to oppose the measure. A
large telephone company wrote thei,
| dCLOIUCy, WIN 10 010O q ACpACSCAI0
, tive, to oppose this measure or send ir
hts resignation as such attorney.
TWO Of the leading and most earnest
opponents of this bill are bank direc.
tors. The statistics gathered, at state
expense. prove that the farmers OF
, Vermont can offset only about thirty
per cent of their debts while the mer-
chants and manufacturers Offset about
, eighty per cent of theirs.
Now then are we right when we say
that the honest man who owes an hon
est interest bearing debt upon his..farm
or upon his home would, if he under
stood the matter, demand that his
representative in the legislature vote
, in favor of these new measures? One
of the representatives told US in con-