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About The Alliance-independent. (Lincoln, Nebraska) 1892-1894 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 4, 1892)
THB ALLIANCE-INDEPENDENT. MORTGAGE Of Nebraska For the Tear Ending June 1st, '92, Taken From the Official Reports. The Records Analyzed What They Indicate An Appalling In. crease of Chattel Mortgages. A Complete Review of the Subject. This article is not a "calamity howl." It'is a presentation of cold, stubborn, indesputable facts. It deals with mat ters of official record. In it are pre sented facts which patriotic men can not afford to ignore; facts that cannot ba b'own away with the blasts of ridi cule; facts that cannot be answered with empty boasts of alleged pros perity. The writer appeals to all intelligent, patriotic citizens of Nebraska to read carefully and consider seriously the matters herein set forth without politi cal prejudice; and having done this, to answer for themselves the question: "What are we going to do about it?" And he further challenges any man to dispute the figures or overthrow the conclusions contained in this article. THE MAIN QUESTION is not "How did the people get into debt?" but "What is the prospect of their getting out of debt?" The peo ple of Nebraska do not want to repud iate their debts, but to pay them. He who asserts the countary is a slanderer and a stranger to the truth. No one will dispute the fact that the people have b3en getting deeper and deeper into debt for many years. At the beginning of 1890 the people of this state were carrying a mortgage burden of $630. per family, saying nothing about chattel mortgages. Such a sit uation as this ought to startle and arouse to action every man whose in terest and sympathies are with the people of Nebraska. There is but one thing that could possibly relieve the appalling nature of such a situaHon, and that is a turn in the tide. But in vain have the people worked and wait ed for that change. They have seen no tarn for the better, and they havo only heard of it in the pratings of demagogues. The mortgage record of the past year is the last straw that will break the back of hope for the reiiei without a change of conditions. There is not in tbis record a single encouraging fea ture. There is not a peg on which to hang a single hope. Every hgure is a prophet of calamity. The mortgage like a hugh serpent is slowly yet inevitably swallowing the homes and property of Nebraska. Un less relief comes through changes in our laws, it is only a question of time when the home owners of Nebraska will become tenants. These may seem like strong state ments, but let him who doubts them examine the facts herein submitted. THE NEBRASKA LAW. The legislature of Nebraska at its last session passed a law requiring the register of deeds in each county to keep a tabulated record of the mortgages filed and released, both real estate and chattels. This law went into effect June 1st, 1891, although in a number of counties the keeping of the record was not begun till later. In Gage county, the third in the state in population, no record of chattel mortgages has been kept. In Lancaster county, tho second county in the state, this record has only beeu kept for one month. The deputy state commissioner of labor has collected these reports from time to time, and ente'red them in a released in each county during tfto year, also the total amount filed and released in the state as a whole. The right hand column shows the net in crease or decrease of all mortgages in each county, also the total increase. Where the record has been kept for less than a year, the number of months Is put just after tho name of the county. Before entering into a discussion of the figures shown in tho record let us THE OFFICIAL MORTGAGE RECORD OF NEBRASKA FOR THE YEAR ENDING JULY 1ST 1892. COUNTIES. Adams Antelope Arthur Banner Blaine, lOmo's Boone, Urn's Box Butte, lira's Boyd Brown Buffalo Burt -Butler -Cass -Cedar, 10 ms Chase Cherry -Cheyenne, 11ms Clay - - Colfax -Cumlng Custer, 11ms -Dakota Dawes, 10ms Dawson, 11ms Deuel Dixon Dodge, 11ms Douglas, K)ms Dundy Fillmore Franklin -Frontier Furnas Gage Garfield, 11ms -Gosper -Grant - Greeley - - -Hall - - -Hamilton Harlan Hayes Hitchcock -Holt, 10 ms -Hooker . -Howard, 10ms Jefferson -Johnson -Kearney -Keith - - -KeyaPaha Kimball Knox, 11ms Lancaster, 10ms -Lincoln Logan -Loup - Madison, 10ms -Mcf'herson Merrick -Nance, 11ms Nemaha Nuckolls -Otoe, 10ms Pawnee Perkins Phelps - -Pierce Platte Polk - - -Red Willow Richardson -Rock -Saline -Sarpy, 9ms -Saunders Scotts Bluff Seward, 10ms Sheridan -Sherman Sioux -Stanton -Thayer Thomas -Thurston, 11ms Valley, Urns. Washington Wayne -Webster, 9ms -Wheeler -York - Totals" a ss o X H o 388,781 185,902 1,768 5,458 261,875 18,359 14.000 17.021 426,238 326.019 494.316 437,022 490.018 26,776 34,270 100.957 549,773 393.037 540.046 308,434 180.578 83.304 224,831 26.880 288,602 300,379 297,102 29,093 716.328 144,062 162,303 86.915 866,911 8,709 106,619 1,685 100,341 637,129 636,610 172,880 37,364 1(8.560 163,943 178.066 635,397 369.290 291.929 20.304 24.946 15,501 337,528 666,161 291,079 16,276 5,319 333,163 012,000 349.265 303.752 326.267 262.766 533,387 239,912 , 88,135 375,960 257,129 511,511 319.081 132.926 367,394 21.120 523,870 250,695 566.873 33,741 332,413 92,761 166,126 5.664 350.178 603,474 150 27,704 110.231 394.004 503,455 179.413 19.957 637.5031 22,461.741' 4 a ss o 58 H w CO 483.812 128,608 I, 473 3.218 206.564 20,308 15.706 757,149 282.328 423,402 430.293 216,295 34.188 43.513 5,329 552,180 286,501 334,471 196,524 110,035 36 aw 203,800 5,280 192,789 284,824 215,062 19.789 685.015 174,932 110.803 99,361 673,412 6,150 90,555 400 88,322 253,217 658,418 133.371 21.677 87.988 236.835 121,377 535,498 336,607 281,599 15.045 33.861 II, 989 159,916 519.065 98,637 13,560 6,403 249,683 .244.422 173.885 258,908 250,174 372.409 224,051 32.180 300,569 99,529 378,961 312.545 163.064 334,730 28,053 460.499 87,8119 503.220 8,749 319,226 53.904 133,464 3.437 197.580 367,774 1,521 8.821 125.620 339 357 257.192 221,358 27,693 580,794 17,094,965 X o 58 H O CO 183,453 2,696 188 23.733 15,325 485 3,615 349.627 16.789 58,567 100,439 21,801 868 6,267 17,202 45,649 71,655 47.824 28,033 50,166 10,953 83,780 320,833 6,542,4:0 259 83,646 11,165 800 21752 403.767 3.355 1,637 200 13,898 289.731 37,518 8,360 13,161 35,522 139 5.052 53.617 28.488 41.080 14,616 50 2,125 14,497 1,714.221 64,784 645 165,033 36.607 18.068 33,a58 39.495 75,5(51 42.296 4.208 48,838 15,573 70.257 25,534 54.685 54.371 3.640 108.250 43.495 102,623 875 34.258 15,607 1.775 1.750 21.213 72.963 320 16.312 27,933 53.5,30 48.294 28.620 897 149.332 12.316,758 187.236 4,100 1,842 20,510 19,402 1.160 461.901 22,988 44.549 71,687 19.506 4,231 1,200 20,253 69 377 34,587 27,837 9,199 38,333 21.241 25.740 225 21,830 151,642 3,382 75,298 13.919 1.014 18,073 303,874 2.146 8,337 5,375 261,142 30,485 8,079 9.290 21,313 6.257 80,330 16,810 23.698 12,064 463 2.556 1.784 1,567,601 35,134 468 82 89,713 26,098 15.327 21.144 35.955 39.420 29.94 2,t87 54,075 7,927 52.25H 82,95(5 49.391 53,531 690 60.695 12.290 62,500 600 2 i.487 6.815 3,767 800 12.956 47,229 500 7,065 19.258 50,977 14.307 B5.543 1,646 160,841 H H W r SS o 58 H O H CO I 358.093 247,700 24.691 15.970 2r0.065 118,387 58,657 110.119 1,028,803 646.895 443.639 2(52,866 553,314 62,612 265,370 100,114 547,926 190,767 351,027 817,651 144,445 210,371 520,565 154,370 343,383 345,690 2,021,579 96.182 547,293 158.094 394.593 284,567 No reco 29.757 167,288 54 644 138,896 532,949 489,177 195,603 190.951 179,106 419,965 12.744 211,681 838.948 171,513 425,591 76,324 77.964 14.088 476.537 65,339 383,149 66.215 30,708 347,077 38.171 292.432 288,599 150.299 432.512 275.000 132,177 122,458 494,171 200,176 302.597 284.791 238.045 103,826 318.247 65.&52 249.523 49,966 251.244 335,374 262.029 50.034 161,026 347,093 7,467 247.651 179,818 248,316 857,052 323.728 50.012 646,230 9.049,951 i 22,915.155 n P S o S3 H O w CO 257,949 150,042 14,260 9.124 200,914 70.768 5,694 120.990 424,336 397,376 336.966 160,056 360,186 47,(537 96,108 55,001 556,8:19 162,522 131,642 374,206 90,063 167,709 188,190 48.992 229.757 153.622 523,592 61.012 433,335 99,608 231,582 163.426 rd kept. 25.301 86,672 22,052 119,828 320,036 257,314 108,428 68,721 100,861 180,396 9,081 83,981 311,782 79,711 221,385 56.570 47.275 5.2(52 261,470 33.863 421.024 72,856 25.435 174.906 20.028 127,149 160.353 70.600 230,209 1(55,739 75,379 50,528 240,461 SU2,)fl 94.986 197.690 232.861 176.450 46,441 169,130 29.316 182 483 32.781 106.373 214,870 132,147 68,703 78.885 166,655 5,554 122.811 149,492 354.865 413.977 136.883 21,772 545.786 14,565,317 ! 1.230 153,848 10,726 7.432 131,25)5 41.593 49.504 7,101 161,282 287,011 191,605 138,391 369,246 4,200 165,086 137,(590 35,978 17 -.849 445,547 575,313 135,753 79,412 411,446 126.950 252 841 376.204 3,894,813 41,351 163,629 24.863 214,197 112,374 293,483 8,224 90,010 44,077 39,610 615,384 217,108 126.975 137,917 10i,994 2I0.8S6 3,80 J 183,181 99,948 136,187 231819 27.5(55 21,3(51 11,907 403,392 3ir,193 184,317 4,393 4,876 T32.971 19 m 280,615 260 741 159,263 218,4'5 B07,aS0 85 013 130.000 323.863 207,294 255,739 114,011 27,186 94,799 53,403 250,023 230,176 170,826 42.455 74,819 17,169 171.336 15,493 143,990 411,873 36J 152.970 23,611 49,349 723,325 147,977 19,756 145,644 16.983.420 NOTE: The minus sign ( ) in the last column indicates a decrease. The chattel mortgage record was only kept in Lancaster county during May, 1892. state mortgage record kept for that purpose. The table published in connection with this article has been made up from these records. It has been very carefully prepared and verified. WHAT THE TABLE SHOWS. The mortgages are divided into three classes, farm, city a ad chattel. The table shows the amount .of the mortgages of each class filed and take a glance at NEBRASKA, her soil, climate, and people, and see if we can find thereto any adequate cause for tho conditions shown by this report. Nebraska is one of the great states of the Mississippi Valley. She has a population of over one million. The people are intelligent and industrious. Illiteracy and pauperism are almost unknown. Persons of tho class usually set down as "shiftless" arc exceedingly fcarce. Nebraska, with tho exception of a few thinly settled counties, has a very fertile soil. The climate is also very favorable to agriculture, except that in the western part of the state there is an occasional droulh. Nowhere in tho United States is there a climate more favorable for outdoor work. Certainly nowhere do tho farmers put in more days' works in the year. Nebraska has good roads at almost no expense. Sho is well supplied with good railroads that were cheaply built and aro cheaply operated. In fact kind nature and human effort have united to create all the conditions necessary to a prosperous, free and happy people. It should also bo remembered that LAST YEAR, the period covered by this report, was a season of good rains in all parts of the state and good crops; also that prices ranged higher than usual on account of tho shortage of the previous year and the great foreign demand. On tho whole the year ending June 1st, '92, has been the most favorable period tho farmers of Nebraska have enjoyed for a number of years, THE GENERAL RESULTS. shown by the record may bo summar ized af follows: FARM MORTGAGES. NUMBER. Piled, - - 24,538. Released - 24,505 Increase 33 AMOUNT. $22,401,741 17,094,905 5,300,770 CITY MORTGAGES. Filed - - 10,423 12,310,758 Released - 8,788 9,049,951 Increase - 1,035 ,3,200,807 CHATTEL MORTGAGES. Filed - 115,373 22,915,155 Released -72,313 14,505,317 Increase - 43,000 8,349,837 Number of foreclosures on farms 1,266 Number of foreclosures on town or city lots 579 FARM MORTGAGES. The total increase in farm mortgage debts within the year is considerably over four millions. This shows that the farm mortgagee are not increasing more rap'dly than in previous years. In fact there may be a little falling off. But this is exactly what might be 'ex pected. It results from the fact that in many counties the farm mortgage burden is already so heavy as to admit of little or no increase. The farm mortgages have increased in seventy-two counties and decreased in only eighteen counties. The de creases are as a rule very small, but the increases are generally large. It is a very significant fact that the de creases occur in those counties which are carrying the greatest burden of debt. This indicates, not an increase OP prospebity, but an exhaustion OF SECURITY. This view of the fact is emphasized by the fact that in the counties in the southeastern part of the state the oldest settled and most prosperous sec tion of the state the increases in farm mortgages are large. But the most significant fact, and that which abso 1 tablisb.es this position, is that " teen of the eighteen counties showing urst chse in farm mnriannp thtr htut Ichesfrfr