346 
May  28 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
that  he  .lives  in  a  world  where  history  repeats  itself. 
priees  and  high  rates  of  interest,  tried  to  get  the  legal 
rate  of  interest  reduced,  and  in  every  instance  were 
defeated  by  the  above  threat.  If  such  a  law  as  The 
R.  N.-Y.  proposes  could  be  made  national,  applying  to 
all  States  at  one  time,  then  the  above  threat  would  not 
avail,  and  the  people,  not  capital  would  rule.  The  gov¬ 
ernment  now  does  wrhat  is  proposed  in  the  case  of  sales 
for  delinquent  taxes,  by  giving  a  certain  time  for  the 
former  owner  to  redeem  his  property  sold  for  them. 
Some  States  have  in  time  of  great  depression  passed 
“  stay  laws  ”  preventing  the  hardships  of  forced  sales, 
and  giving  the  debtor  a  chance  with  better  crops, 
better  prices,  and  better  times,  to  save  his  home. 
3.  The  results  of  study  and  observation  for  long 
years  (21  in  close  contact  with  farmers  in  every  State 
in  the  Union,  in  good  times  and  bad),  have  brought 
me  to  believe  (as  briefly  as  I  can  state  them),  that  the 
following  provisions  would  be  of  great  advantage  : 
1.  A  circulating  medium  of  at  least  .(530  per  capita, 
accessible  to  the  people  upon  good  security  (real 
estate  at  one-fourth  of  its  value  included),  without  too 
many  middlemen  in  the  way  of  banks  with  high  in¬ 
terest  charges. 
•  2.  A  national  usury  law  fixing  the  maximum  rate  of 
interest  in  all  the  States  and  Territories  of  the  United 
States  at  not  over  three  per  cent  per  annum. 
The  increased  amount  of  money  per  capita  would 
raise  the  price  of  all  products,  farms,  labor,  etc.,  and 
give  the  farmer  the  means  (received  from  the  sale  of 
his  crops)  to  pay  off  his  mortgage. 
Statistics  show  us  that  for  a  long  series  of  years 
capital  and  labor  both  together  in  all  the  industries — 
manufacturing,  farming,  mining,  etc. — only  earn  an 
average  of  about  three  per  cent  per  annum,  and  yet 
capital  without  labor,  earns  on  the  average  six  per  cent 
and  on  that  mortgaged  Kansas  farm  it  earns  11  per 
cent  per  annum.  The  result  is  that  the  whole  country, 
the  United  States  Government,  the  States,  counties, 
cities,  towns,  railroads,  farms,  are  bonded,  to  pay  to 
capital  an  avei*agc  interest  of  six  per  cent,  while  all 
the  industries  with  their  own  capital  only  earn  three 
per  cent. 
These  are  vital  questions,  the  great  heart  questions 
now  being  considered  by  our  people,  and  millions  of 
homes  depend  upon  the  final  issue.  If  the  American 
farmer’s  home  goes  down  (and  the  census  shows  a 
rapid  increase  of  tenant  farmers),  then  the  basis  of 
our  Republic  is  gone. 
The  grand  old  Rubai.  New-Yorker  is  doing  a  noble 
work  ”  for  home  and  native  land.” 
Lecturer  National  Grange,  Mortimer  whitehead. 
Better  Sell  Out  and  Go  South. 
If  allowed  to  go  behind  the  proposition,  it  seems  to 
me  no  sane  man  would  have  made  the  contract  in  the 
first  place.  Certainly  anybody  conversant  with  the 
business  he  engaged  in,  “The  purchase  of  the  land, 
teams,  plows,  etc.,  all  on  time  and  at  the  rate  of  11 
per  cent  interest  semi-annually,”  ought  to  have  known 
that  he  assumed  a  burden  of  which  there  was  no  pos¬ 
sible  prospect  of  getting  rid.  The  question  now  is, 
shall  the  young  man  abide  by  the  contract  ?  The  15th 
Psalm  in  sacred  Scripture  “  He  that  sweareth  to  his 
own  hurt  and  ehangeth  not,”  settles  the  question 
from  a  moral,  and  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Kansas 
settle  it  from  a  legal  standpoint. 
I  presume  the  questions  to  be  settled  by  Thk  B.- 
X.-Y.  inquiries  based  on  his  proposition,  are  the  equi¬ 
ties  in  the  case.  The  young-  man,  while  he  has  no 
moral  or  legal  right  to  any  abatement  in  the  contract, 
should  be  dealt  with  kindly  by  the  owner  of  the  mort¬ 
gage,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  if  the  latter  has  anjr 
soul  in  him,  or  regard  for  humanity,  he  will  accept 
the  proposition.  Such  an  acceptance,  in  my  opinion, 
will  not  enable  the  young  man  to  be  in  any  better  con¬ 
dition  at  the  end  of  the  three  years  than  now.  My 
advice  to  him  is  to  pull  up  and  come  South  and  we 
will  furnish  him  land  on  much  better  terms  and  at  a 
much  lower  rate  of  interest,  and  on  much  long'd-  time 
for  payment  of  the  principal.  The  risks  of  seasons 
and  prices  of  farm  products  with  many  other  risks 
contingent  upon  farming,  it  seems  to  me,  would  induce 
the  young  man  to  abandon  such  a  contract,  and  leave 
the  owner  of  the  mortgage  with  the  land  and  its  im¬ 
provements  as  an  equitable  adjournment  of  the  matter. 
Alliance  Congressman,  Georgia,  i,.  h.  Livingston. 
A  Bill  to  Abolish  Mortgages: 
In  answer  to  the  last  question  I  inclose  my  bill  for 
for  the  relief  of  mortgage  debtors.  It  furnishes  money 
to  farmers  to  save  their  homes  on  the  same  terms  on 
which  national  banks  have  had  money  for  many 
years.  JOHN  davis. 
Kansas  (Alliance)  Congressman. 
This  bill  provides  that  when  a  mortgage  debtor  fails 
to  pay  the  mortgage  or  interest  thereon,  the  creditor 
shall  procure  from  the  register  of  deeds  a  correct  ab¬ 
stract  of  title  of  the  mortgaged  estate,  and  a  certified 
statement  of  the  incumbrances  on  it.  Then  follow  : 
SECi  4.— That  ou  presentation  of  the  said  certified  abstract  in  the 
Bounty  treasurer’s  olilce,  it  shall  i>o  the  duty  of  the  said  couuty  treas¬ 
urer  to  issue  in  due  form,  on  blanks  prepared  for  the  purpose,  a  draft 
for  the  amount  of  the  mortgage  debt,  including  interest  and  official 
fees  to  date,  on  the  Treasurer  of  the  United  States.  Said  draft  shall 
be  examined  by  the  county  clerk  and  certified  as  correct  by  his  official 
seal  and  signature.  Said  draft  will  then  be  due  and  payable  by  the 
Treasurer  of  the  United  States  on  demand  of  any  lawful  holder  of  the 
same.  It  must  contain  an  accurate  description  and  location  of  the 
estate  designated  in  the  abstract,  and  the  amount  of  the  draft,  when 
paid  by  the  Treasurer  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  charged  up  on  his 
books  against  the  real  estate,  creating  a  lawful  lien  on  the  same.  The 
debtor  shall  then  be  allowed  20  years’  time  on  the  debt  by  paying 
Interest  on  the  same  semi-annually  at  the  rate  of  one  per  centum  per 
annum.  The  county  record  of  the  mortgage  shall  be  marked  -‘  Settled 
by  the  United  States  Government." 
Sec.  5.  That  this  procedure,  herein  set  forth,  shall  be  the  only  lawful 
way  of  collecting  mortgage  debts  on  real  estate  until  the  aggregate 
circulation  of  lawful  money  in  the  United  States  shall  amount  to  $50 
per  capita  of  the  population,  not  counting  the  lawful  reserves  in 
banks  and  other  fixed  and  noncirculating  deposits,  required  by  law. 
Sec.  <i.  That  after  said  aggregate  of  $50  per  capita  of  the  population 
shall  have  been  reached,  the  usual  modes  of  legal  procedure  in  the 
English  Cattle  “  Weighbridge.”  Fig.  1(52. 
several  States  shall  again  become  lawful,  except  at  such  times  as  the 
increase  of  population  shall  require  the  further  floating  of  new  money  to 
preserve  the  even,  unfluctuating  aggregate  of  $50  per  capita,  or  as 
nearly  as  it  is  practicable  to  approximate  to  said  amount  by  a  careful 
calculation  based  on  all  the  facts  and  circumstances  Involved. 
The  money  with  which  these  mortgages  are  to  he 
paid  is  named  as  “  United  States  notes  ” — paper  money. 
We  are  not  told  how  such  notes  will  read,  but  presume 
they  will  certify  to  the  fact,  that  they  represent  John 
Smith's  or  Sam.  Brown's  farm.  They  will  have  to 
represent  or  promise  to  pay  something-  and  the  only 
apparent  way  of  making  them  equal  to  other  money 
is  for  Brown  or  Smith  to  redeem  them  within  20  years, 
with  interest.  It  is  not  at  all  likely  that  such  a  bill 
will  ever  pass. 
Looks  Black  in  the  West  and  South. 
A  lends  B  $600,  time,  five  years,  rate  of  interest,  11 
per  cent.  B  has  done  his  best  and  eannot  meet  his 
obi  gation  just  at  the  time  specified.  Question:  Should 
A  he  merciful  and  abate  his  demand  on  B  to  his  ability 
to  pay,  or  should  he  lay  hands  on  B  and  take  him  bjr 
the  throat,  saying,  “  Pay  me  what  thou  owest?” 
Jesus  Christ  says  A  should  be  merciful.  Here,  how¬ 
ever,  a  question  arises  ;  is  the  Saviour  an  authority 
whom  a  Kansas  money-lender  recognizes  ? 
A  scrap  of  Grecian  history  may  be  instructive  read¬ 
ing  for  Western  money-lenders.  The  people  of  Attica 
were  very  much  in  the  same  condition  as  this  Kansas 
farmer.  The  time  had  come  when  something  must  be 
done,  and  as  is  always  the  case,  there  was  some  one  to 
do  it.  What  did  Solon  do  ?  He  swept  oft’  all  the  numer¬ 
ous  mortgages  from  the  landed  properties  in  Attica, 
and  left  the  land  free  from  all  past  claims.  It  would 
not  be  amiss  for  t  he  Kansas  money-lender  to  .fe  member 
This  Grecian  event  with  proportions  so  vast  that  it 
cast  a  shadow  over  the  whole  earth,  was  repeated  100 
years  ago  in  France.  The  clock  has  already  given  the 
alarm  that  it  will  soon  strike  the  hour  for  its  repetition 
in  the  United  States.  Will  some  one  who  dislikes  to 
think  of  such  things,  just  tell  us  how  he  will  prevent 
their  coming  when  we  are  doing  that  which  brings 
them  ? 
What  are  we  coming  to  ?  some  ask.  I  see  no 
occasion  for  such  a  question.  By  looking  into  history 
each  can  see  for  himself  what  is  before  him.  All  his¬ 
tory  is  not  a  lie  ;  what  the  past  has  been  under  like 
circumstances  the  future  shall  be. 
Will  the  money  lenders  let  up  ?  No.  They  never 
show  mercy.  Theirs  is  a  sin  for  which  it  seems  there 
is  no  repentance  ;  they  always  go  on  growing  more 
cruel  till  destruction  overtakes  them.  There  is  some¬ 
thing  dehumanizing  about  money  lending.  During 
the  late  war  the  most  sordid  class  were  the  money 
lenders.  At  one  time  the  Union  was  in  greater  danger 
from  them  than  from  the  Confederate  armies.  After 
the  close  of  the  war,  they  surrounded  the  prostrate, 
bleeding  form  of  the  country  and  rifled  it  of  hundreds 
of  millions  of  dollars.  They  are  the  conspirators  w-ho 
demonetized  silver  in  1873,  which,  during  the  past 
year,  has  caused  a  loss  of  $50,000,000  to  the  wheat 
growers  of  the  West.  This,  the  greatest  crime  ever 
committed  by  those  chiefs  of  sinners,  the  money 
lenders,  is  now  pretty  well  understood,  and  the  wrath 
of  the  people  is  becoming  terrible  against  their  be¬ 
trayers. 
Experience  teaches  that  a  low  rate  of  interest,  three 
per  cent  at  most,  is  all  any  business  can  pay  unless  it 
be  a  monopoly.  Experience  further  teaches  that  the 
rate  of  interest  should  be  determined  by  United  States 
law.  This,  of  course,  would  be  unconstitutional,  as 
everything  is  which  is  not  wholly  in  favor  of  the  con¬ 
federacy  of  millionaires,  which  at  present  governs  this 
country. 
It  now  seems  that  nothing  will  be  done  till  after  the 
storm.  It  looks  very  black  off  West  and  South  ;  it  is 
also  becoming  lowery  here  in  the  East.  Not  many 
days  ago,  I  heard  a  gentleman  make  this  remark  : 
“  Something  is  coming  ;  it  is  not  far  oft’.”  Ills  words 
impressed  me.  wai.tkr  b.  pierce. 
Lecturer  Farmers’  League. 
An  English  “  Weighbridge.” 
English  farmers,  many  of  them,  have  opposed  the 
American  plan  of  selling  cattle  by  live  weight.  They 
preferred  to  estimate  the  weight  of  a  steer  after 
measuring  its  “girth”  or  the  distance  around  its  body. 
There  are  farmers  whose  practiced  eye  could  come 
very  close  to  the  exact  weight  after  knowing  the  girth 
and  noticing  the  general  shape  of  the  animal.  It  was, 
after  all,  much  like  estimating  the  amount  of  milk 
given  by  a  cow  during  the  year.  A  good  pair  of  scales 
in  either  case  will  quickly  show  the  weakness  of  the 
“guess”  system.  Recently  laws  have  been  passed  in 
England  making  the  scales  the  legal  recorder  of  live 
stock  weight.  As  a  result,  manufacturers  have  devised 
many  new  paterns  of  scales  for  weighing  animals. 
Fig.  162,  shows  one  popular  style,  largely  advertised 
in  English  papers.  The  English  call  it  a  “  weigh¬ 
bridge,”  just  as  they  call  an  elevator  a  “  lift.”  The 
animal  is  driven  into  the  cage  where  it  cannot  step  off 
the  weighing  platform.  At  some  public  places  these 
“  weighbridges”  are  fitted  with  a  “  penny-in-the-slot  ” 
fixture.  The  farmer  drives  his  steer  or  sheep  on  the 
scales,  drops  his  penny  in  the  hole,  and  out  comes  a 
tag  with  the  weight  printed  on  it  and  certified  to  for 
correctness. 
A  Portable  Fence. 
A  portable  fence  is  one  of  the  useful  things  on  the 
farm,  especially  where  portions  of  a  field  are  to  be 
pastured  in  succession,  or  where  only  part  of  a  field 
is  used  as  pasturage  for  stock.  As  ordinarily  con¬ 
structed,  the  portable  fence  is  heavy,  unwieldy,  hard 
to  move  from  place  to  place,  and  still  harder  to  set  up 
again:  or  if  made  light  to  avoid  this  objectionable 
feature,  it  lacks  the  strength  necessary  for  a  fence 
that  will  effectually  turn  stock,  and  it  is  also  very 
easily  overturned  by  the  wind. 
The  best  portable  fence  in  use  in  this  part  of  the 
country — Montgomery  County,  Ohio— is  shown  at  Figs. 
163  to  164.  It  is  unpatented,  the  invention  of  a  prac¬ 
tical  farmer,  and  appears  to  be  about  as  near  perfec¬ 
tion  as  any  we  are  likely  to  find.  It  is  strong,  yet 
light  and  easily  handled,  can  be  easily  set  up  or  taken 
down,  and  is  not  overturned  by  ordinary  storms. 
The  panels  are  made  of  pine  scantling,  two  by  three 
inches.  The  rails,  above  and  below,  are  16  feet  long, 
with  a  clear  space  of  2  lA  feet  between  them.  They 
are  connected  by  an  upright  post  at  each  end,  leaving 
four  inches  of  the  rail  projecting  beyond  the  post  to 
lie  in  the  notches  of  the  support  when  set  up.  The 
upright  posts  are  04  feet  long,  extending  six  inches 
below  U*e  lower  rail  sfad  a  foot  above  the  upper.  The 
