Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-03-12

HidH III the city tdu LoiToW ulO'iNS ~
real estate but the farmer cannot do
that. As a general rule, he must be
good outside of his property. II ne can
go to his neighbor and borrow his
money, it is going TO be a beneht to
him, and it is going To be benefit to
the community and to the state al
large.
As the senator from Franklin says,
and he is absolutely correct in his
reasoning, exemptions are not favored
in law nor in the principles of taxa
ton Here is common instance OF
exemption; here are certain wealthy
men who have money and go to =
town and say IF you will exempt us
from taxation for ten years, we vii!
open business here. They hold town
meeting and are glad of the oppor
tunity TO exempt them. Why? Be
cause the money expended there IN
wages and the money the employers
put out in that community increases
the trade of the community and benc-
fits them indirectly. AS / understand
1t, it is the indirect benefit to the
State as a whole which this law cx-
emptin9 real estate mortgages places
upon our people.
You take any city or Town and if thu
people cannot invest their money in
mortgages, the people who have mon
ey, what do they do IT is stocks and
bonus and lock them up in safety de-
post box and get nothing from them
ana the money is not doing the commu-
atty d cents worth of good. They are
Buying stocks of railroads that do not
touch our border ut all, and that mon
ey is absolutely useless TO the State Of
Maine. But if inducements are offered
them. such as cXempting them from
taxation, they are willing To invest
their money AT home / understand that
is TIE prime object OF tins law. II has
only been in operation two years, and
| Should feel that al least We ought
to lot Ii stay two years more and see
how II works.
Th6 senator from Franklin spoke OF
eXempting mortga ges which bore =
certain rate of interest Any real es-
tate mortgage that bears more than :
or pei cent. interest should not be
exempted from taxation. That Will
COM in time. # it is thought wise to
keep the Statute on the books. q.
Looking at it on the broad lines, /
feel myself that it is wise to keep the
LAW as 1t is.
Mr. REYNOLDS of Kennebec: Mr..
President. | believe as Mr.. Bailey says
on this mortgage business. / think
there is Il great deal of money that
goes out Of Maine and there is some
that says H. that they get of, paying
taxes on as it is invested in bonds.
| have been in touch with these mat
tiers quite good deal, and while |
voted. four years ago. against this
bill, | think il is argued out and
proved u be a good law to have. II
has been up to this time almost i'm
possible when a man sold farm for
$5000 to get $500 on ii because it was
going te he taxed. You go to them and
they would say: I'VE cannot get five
per cent. on bonds. and we cannot af-
ford to pay the tax and we must have
six and seven per cent. And lot of
those mortgages made out and record
ed in the office of the register of deeds
ale brought about this way: A man
sells a farm and in order to sell the
farm, he gives a bonus of $500 To have
the mortgage rate six per cent, and
he gets away with 5000 and the in
terest is six per cent That is the way
a good deal of money was let. Now
YOU can go out quite often and get
money at five per cent. under this new
! law, and ii seems to me that while
we have tried it but is months, We
ought to give ii test and try il two
( years longer.
People say that we cannot get money
To develop our towns. But some one
| comes down from Massachusetts and
| they organize a little corporation and
1 then there is lots of money to develop
their business. But a farmer cannot
do that. There are lots of farms that
| four years ago you could buy for
! $4,000 and today they are mortgaged
| for $4,000 and on the books as worth
! $4,000 There are hundreds of those
cases, and it is because some of these
! farmers are beginning to believe that
this land is worth something. There
are acres and acres that are worth
/ 500 to till. You 90 not have To go tc
| ArooStook county; they are coming
this way. | talked with man from
! there Yesterday and he probably has
a 100000 invested at eight per cent.
We do not hear about it here until
someone wants to buy farm. ANY man
who has a house mortgased for $1,000
| today. has To sit up nights tn pay in
terest. This five per cent helps him.
And, today, men are coming here and
making this their home, coming here
to live, and this is encouraging the
people To buy a home. think it
| would be q sad mistake to pass this
| by.
tThe remainder of the report will
| appeal later)
LNIICE