Rensselaer Republican, Volume 24, Number 7, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 October 1891 — THE MORTGAGE BURDEN. [ARTICLE]

THE MORTGAGE BURDEN.

Too Mach of a Disposition to Borrow Because it is to Lend. St. Louis Globe-Democrat The detailed census report with regard to the mortgage, indebtedness of Kansas ia decidedly Interesting and instructive. It shows that during the decade of 1880- 89 the amount of money borrowed in that way was $482,699,640, represented by 620,049 real estate mortgages, and that the total debt on January 1, 1890, was $235,485,108. That is to say, not quite half of the whole sum has been paid; and the portion that remains unpaid falls only about $55,000,000 short of the aggregate assessed value of the real and personal property of the State, aside from the railroads. This is not as bad as has been represented by some, but it is worse, nevertheless, than it ought to be. The people have done well to cancel so much of the original burden, and it is not to be doubted that they will remove the rest in due time; but such a volume of indebtedness must be regarded as a serious drawback under any circumstances. No State can afford to have its farms incumbered in that proportion. It is true that the actual value of the property is considerably greater than its assessed value, but the difference is not large enough to justify the debt. The necessary interest charge in such a case must be nearly, if not quite, equal to the average rate of profit derived from the Cultivation of the land. p It is to be presumed that the statistics as to tho situation in Kansas are not materially unlike those as to the other new Western States. The business of borrowing has been pushed to an unprecedented limit, for the purpose, mainly, of developing new territory and founding new homes. As a general rule, the money has not been squandered. It has been used in making purchases and improvements that are worth more than they cost. Tens of thousands of poor men have thus secured farms, and have been gradually reducing their debts from the proceels of their labor. The wonder is that where money was so easy to obtain there was not more of it borrowed. But the fact remains ..that the burden is too large for the welfare and prosperity of the population upon which it rests, The annual increase in the value of farm lands is not sufficient in any State to warrant such a measure of borrowing; the products of the soil can not be eafely depended upon to meet the successive naymehts. This has been demonstrated by experience. The matter is one of simple arithmetic which can be readily comprehended by any intelligent person. There are times when it is wise to borrow money on estate, as many a man knows in his r own case; but it should always be done carefully and within reasonable limits. The trouble with the average Western borrower has been a disposition to borrow more than he actually needed, aud thus to embarrass himself beyond his faciliIties of payment even under The most favorable conditions. It is to be hoped that the lessons of the last few years will check this unfortunate habit, and reduce the loans accordingly. Therein lies the secret of success for all communities that are troubled with too many morgages. The question is not of getting along without any borrowing, but of doing necessary borrowing in a discreet and sensible way.