A  Mortgaged  Man’s  Proposition. 
WAS  IIIS  OFFER  FAIR? 
Grange  and  Alliance  Men  Talk. 
The  following'  letter  was  received  some  time  ago  : 
“  There  is  near  here  a  young  farmer  who  has  been 
trying  to  pay  interest  on  a  $600  mortgage  and  accumu¬ 
late  enough  to  pay  the  principal.  The  interest  rate 
was  11  per  cent  payable  semi-annually.  The  debt  was 
incurred  to  pay  for  the  land — a  quarter  section — and  to 
buy  a  team,  plows,  etc.  It  was  for  five  years.  The 
time  expires  this  spring.  The  years  1889  and  1891  were 
the  only  good  crop  years  of  the  five.  This  man  now 
owes  $150  interest,  some  taxes  and  all  of  the  principal. 
He  has  not  personal  property  enough  to  pay  the  debt ; 
neither  would  the  land  alone,  if  sold  at  a  forced  sale, 
bring  the  amount  due.  During  the  boom  when  the 
debt  was  incurred,  the  land,  then  raw  prairie,  was  ap- 
2.  Should  not  such  a  farmer  have  the  legal  opportunity 
of  settling  his  debt  in  some  such  manner  so  as  not  to  lose 
his  farm  f  In  other  words,  would  it  not  be  wise  to  empower 
our  courts  to  judge  the  fairness  of  such  a  proposition,  and 
to  compel  the  holder  of  a  mortgage  to  accept  a  manifestly 
just  offer  ? 
3.  Kindly  favor  us  with  any  opinion  as  to  the  best  way 
to  relieve  mortgaged  farmers. 
Give  Us  Debt-Paying  Associations. 
1.  It  appears  to  me  that  the  proposition  made  by 
the  farmer  is  a  fair  one,  especially  to  the  holder  of  the 
mortgage,  provided,  of  course,  that  the  farmer  will  do 
as  he  agrees.  Sometimes  men  make  fair  promises, 
and  meap  well,  but  are  so  unbusiness-like  that  it  is 
well  known  they  will  not  fulfill  their  engagements,  and 
the  grant  of  a  longer  time  will  do  the  farmer  no  good, 
and  the  owner  of  the  mortgage  may  lose  his  interest. 
be  large  enough  to  discourage  the  debtor.  Such  asso¬ 
ciations  have  been  established  in  this  county,  and  un¬ 
expected  amounts  of  idle  money  were  found  to  be  in 
the  hands  of  our  own  people.  In  fact  the  amounts 
offered  the  associations  here  frequently  exceeded  the 
demand  for  loans.  I  know  of  farmers  who  before 
were  hardly  meeting  the  interest  on  their  mortgages 
who  are  now  steadily  and  surely  reducing  the  princi¬ 
pal  ;  and  it  is  the  small  sums  received  for  truck  that 
are  doing  the  work.  Farmers  must  learn  that  it  is  a 
fatal  mistake  to  load  themselves  with  a  heavy  debt  for 
any  purpose.  It  is  better  to  rent  or  buy  a  small  piece 
of  land  than  to  plunge  into  debt  by  buying  a  large 
farm.  It  is  also  better  to  shift  along  without  buying 
expensive  machinery  until  the  money  has  been  secured 
to  pay  for  it.  The  farmer  who  early  learns  the  lesson, 
“  Pay  as  you  go,”  will  save  himself  and  family  much 
trouble,  and  will  be  far  better  off  every  way  than  the 
Lots  of  Material  But  No  Shape.  Fig.  160. 
The  Proper  Tools  Will  Give  the  Right  Shape.  Fig.  161. 
praised  at  $1,(500.  There  are  now  50  acres  in  cultiva¬ 
tion.  It  being  impossible  to  pay  the  debt  and  have 
anything  left  to  start  anew  with,  the  farmer  has  made 
the  holder  of  his  mortgage  this  proposition  :  To  give 
a  deed  to  his  creditor  for  the  land,  and  to  put  125  acres 
in  cultivation :  he,  the  farmer,  to  have  three  years’ 
rent  or  use  of  the  land,  and  to  have  the  privilege  of 
purchasing  the  land  at  the  end  of  that  time  for  $1,200. 
The  average  rent  here  is  one-fourth  of  the  crop,  in 
the  bin. 
“The  owner-of  the  mortgage,  through  his  agent 
refused  this  proposition,  and  will  probably  foreclose 
the  mortgage,  get  the  land  and  a  judgment  for  the 
deficiency.  Here  is  what  I  wish  to  know  :  Was  the 
farmer’s  offer  unusual,  unfair  or  unbusiness-like  ? 
Would  it  not  be  better  for  the  creditor  to  accept  such 
a  proposition  ?  He  couhl  not  lose  anything.  What 
does  The  Rural  think  of  it  ?  w.  v.  .jackson.” 
Comanche  Co.,  Kan. 
It  was  submitted,  with  the  following  questions  to  a 
number  of  persons  prominent  in  the  discussion  of 
politico-agricultural  questions : 
1.  Was  the  proposition  made  by  this  fanner  a  fair  one  t 
2.  It  seems  that  there  ought  to  be  some  way  of  sav¬ 
ing  these  mortgaged  homes,  or  at  least  preventing 
their  being  sacrificed,  but  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
make  a  law  to  hold  in  check  the  “Shylocks”  without 
doing  injustice  to  honest  men  who  loan  money  at 
reasonable  rates,  and  never  want  the  farm  if  it  is  pos¬ 
sible  to  avoid  taking  it.  Such  power  lodged  in  courts 
might  make  it  more  difficult  for  the  debtor  to  borrow 
money  upon  reasonable  terms.  Many  times  it  would 
be  better  for  him  if  he  could  not  borrow  at  all. 
3.  In  my  opinion  loan  associations  might  be  formed 
in  every  community,  somewhat  on  the  principle  of 
loan  associations  in  the  villages.  If  put  under  the 
control  of  the  best  business  men  in  whom  the  people 
have  confidence,  a  good  deal  of  idle  money  would 
be  entrusted  to  them  which  could  be  loaned  to 
farmers  on  reasonable  terms,  requiring  monthly  or 
semi-monthly  payments  amounting  to  a  little  more 
than  the  interest,  so  t\at  the  principal  would  be  grad¬ 
ually  reduced.  The  necessity  of  meeting  these  fre¬ 
quent  payments  would  compel  the  farmer  and  his 
family  to  look  out  for  something  to  sell  frequently. 
It  would  encourage  thrift  and  the  payments  would  not 
man  who  is  too  liable  to  contract  debt.  1  have  learned 
this  in  the  school  of  bitter  experience,  j.  h.  brigham. 
Master  National  Grange. 
More  Money  ;  National  Interest  Law. 
1.  Without  hesitation,  yes,  and  a  few  holders  of  such 
a  mortgage  would  probably  accept  such  an  offer,  but 
as  a  rule,  “  Shy  lock  ”  demands  the  pound  of  flesh  as 
“nominated  in  the  bond,”  and  that  is  the  way  some 
rich  people  get  richer,  and  take  from  their  neighbors 
the  usury  forbidden  in  the  Bible. 
2.  Again,  yes,  and  as  between  man  and  man,  and  in 
accordance  with  the  golden  rule, -and  as  an  act  of 
justice  and  humanity,  it  should  be  done;  but,  alas! 
many  of  us  have  to  admit  the  sad  fact  that  is  growing 
more  and  more  apparent  that  “  the  law  grinds  the 
poor,  and  rich  men  rule  the  law.”  If  we  should  at¬ 
tempt  to  get  any  such  equitable  law  as  that  here  pro¬ 
posed  passed  in  any  one  State,  at  once  capital  would 
defeat  it  by  threatening  to  withdraw  all  its  invest¬ 
ments  in  that  State.  A  year  ago  last  winter  in  five 
different  State  legislatures  (New  York  State’s  one),  the 
farmers  as  one  means  of  relief  from  the  depressed 
