The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-09-30
SPECTATOR IS
CAUSING RISES
IN FARM LANDS
Properties Change Hands Sew
eral Times Says Sanborn-
Traces Vivious Circle.
BY WILLIAM r. SANBORN

One OF the danger signals to farm
ers now intent at selling out at high
prices, or Of buying more land as
speculation, is the fact that specula-
tors who wouldn't farm if the land
were given them are buying for rise.
This has been, and is continuing to
be done, all over the middle west
Land has been traded in and doomed
like oil stocks, in every prairie state,
for many months. Former farm own
ers have in many instances, caught
the fever and are becoming specula-
tors. to the extent at least that they
are buying land at double the prices
received for their own comfortable
and profitable home properties.
Most of these, who did not wish to
quit farming, invested in farm land at
advanced prices, and many of them
turned their money over before OBJ
tanning possession for home use, and
were again in market.
Were the spectators to pay cash,
1t would be a different matter; but
they do not. They make the smallest
cash or option payment acceptable,
with the expectancy of passing the
load on to the next man, at a big prof
1t on their small payment, and not on
the farm as an investment. If a farm
er receives cash in full he is safe, at
least until he invests at boom prices
in other acres.
That a number of these properties
are more than likely to revert to their
original owners on the mortgage, no
matter how high land values may
climb before the collapse, seems to
be foregone conclusion. In other
cases the last holder, man buying
In good faith. will hold on for years
1t may be. and finally sacrifice what
he can not profitably hold.
The Spectators Tactics.
We might cite the case of an Iowa
farmer owning 200 acres Of well i'm
proved land near a good market town.
He had been holding his farm at a
price at least $25 per acre above what
his neighbors were willing to pay for
1t.
Along came a speculator who offer.
ed him twenty dollars per acre over
the price he had long been willing to
sell for.
Within a month the Spectator had
sold this farm at an advance of $40
per acre; very neat cleanup, put
the profit in his pocket and trans
ferred the mortgage to the new buyer
Fine business. Inside Of sixty days
the second buyer had unloaded at al,
advance of $50 per acre and passed
the mortgage along to number three.
Number three refused to rent it, and
as he did not want to occupy the home
himself and the farmer had gone to
town for rest, 1t became necessary
to put caretaker on the place to
show the property and to keep the
bats and owls from taking possession
This means that the land was running
down, tht the rotation" was los
sight of, that it wasn't being fertil
lied, etc.
But it was a mighty presentable
place at that and the county clerk
was not greatly surprised when mum
Der three brought in number four te
get a deed, subject to mortgage, the
figures showing that the third pur
chaser within seven months had clean
ed up $1,000 on the transaction.
But number four was a six-cylindel
operator, running on high. About the
time the ink was dry and the wa,
used the in the seal" had cooled, he
turned the property over to the fiftl
buyer at a profit of So per acre anC
pocketed $4,000, less trifie for ex
pense. An exceptional case, you say
Well perhaps.
\ fitting conclusion would be the
statement that the original owner hat
rebought the place from number five
being convinced that he had parte(
with a gold mine when he sold t,
number one, and that he had paid {;
good stiff profit to the last buyer, a
a price which covered all the none,
the line of spectators had taken GU
of the property. But that isn't tn,
status of affairs in this case; not YET
at least.
We attended farm sale within