355] The Condition of the Western Farmer. 11 



more prosperous. This we find natural to a certain extent, 

 inasmuch as purchasers are very rarely able to pay in full at 

 the time of purchase, and so usually start out encumbered by 

 a mortgage debt; but the frequent increase in the size of mort- 

 gages thus incurred, and the corresponding unprosperous 

 condition of those who are to pay them, is indicative of the 

 fact that in very many instances the real burden of a mort- 

 gage has been much greater than one would infer from the 

 mere knowledge of its amount. 



We must note, however, that there is among the residents 

 of the township, as nearly as can be judged, a comparative 

 freedom from floating debt. The chattel mortgage debt, of 

 which the sum-total is comparatively small, is confined mainly 

 to those most heavily burdened with debt on real estate, and 

 can be interpreted in general as emphatic evidence of the 

 poor financial condition of the least prosperous farmers. 1 

 The appreciation in the value of lands furnishes us the clue 

 to the lack of floating debt among the more prosperous 

 farmers ; for whenever any amount of such debt has accumu- 

 lated, the farmer, unless his land is already mortgaged to the 

 maximum, is usually able to augment his loan on the basis of 

 the increased value of the land, and, with the funds thus 

 obtained, to pay off his smaller debts. This expedient is 

 usually resorted to ; for the rate of interest on the real estate 

 loan is considerably less than that on smaller loans with other 

 security, and there is in addition an advantage in being free 

 from the annoyance of having continually to provide for the 

 satisfaction of small debts coming due at frequently recur- 

 ring intervals. As to improvements on land, our tables have 

 indicated that these are much better on the farms of settlers on 

 government land than on the farms of other classes, and that 

 it is mainly on the farms of the later purchasers that the debt is 

 not represented by improvements. We note that the jnumber 

 of resident owners has greatly decreased in late years, and also 



1 However, in a more recently settled township, or in a township 

 where the farmers were in the habit of buying cattle on a large 

 scale to feed, on credit, this rule would not hold. 



