Year: 1878

The New York Sun has an interesting arti- cle on city real estate, in which it is estimated that during the last five years ive-sixths of the Teale estate held under mortgage in that city has changed hands in consequence of fore closures. It is stated that not only the nomi- nal owners have suffered, but in many cases the holders of mortgages, the property failing tO sell for enough to cover the mortgages upon it. It is further stated that the life insurance companies have been the chief lenders of mon. eY or real estate securities, and that they have very frequently been compelled to become he purchasers of property on which they held mortgages, in order to avoid sacrifice. In this way they have acquired much real estate, and being able to hold it, they have in measure stayed the downward tendency of such proper ty by holding at stiff prices the large quanti- ties which they possessed. It is doubtful if many of the complaining holders of real estate have been aware of the workings of this infu- ence, which have prevented their property from still further depreciation. But the esti- mate that five sixths of the real estate held in New York city by weak holders has changed hands during the past five years is a startling showing, if it approaches anywhere near the truth. Men do not become holders of real estate without making payments amounting to a considerable percentage of the property's selling price. In the case of city property the percentage of cash paid down is much greater than in the country, because, in view of risks by fire and otherwise, sellers demand larger payments. Doubtless in the great majority of cases of sale under foreclosure the sums al- ready paid represented the entire savings of the buyers, and the depreciation which necessita- ted the sale of the property wholly wiped out the small fortunes of the nominal owners What is true of New York city is in ia meas ure true of the whole country. It is especial

 ly true of the West. In that section the prop eTty was largely held under mortgage, and the depreciation of from thirty to sixty per cent. has ruined large numbers ofreal estate holders Very many of those who have succeeded in keeping their property out of the sheriffs hands find that it is now mortgaged for its full value and that there is nothing there to repre- sent the money they have already paid in This, we believe, is one of the reasons why the opposition to currency contraction is so strong in the West and is so respectfully made up. When a man has earned five thousand dellars paid it in as a part purchase money for ten-thousand dollar farm, and then finds that the farm will sell for only enough to raise the mortgage of five thousand dollars, it is very difficult for him to find much consolation in the thought that the property of his more wealthy neighbOr has also depreciated some fifty per cent. the one case the mems small fortune has disappeared ; i'll the other case the mans large fortune has been reduced So, while we earnestly hope that ''hard pan" has at last been reached and while we would favor no policy that would again remove values from that basis, we can at least look with con- siderable allowance on the attitude of some of those who favor policy which would result in inflated valuations. We are not thinking of the demagogues who talk about the deprecia- ton of values, while they were never the pos sessOrs of anything of value, but of an entire " different class of citizens -Neo HaUen

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