Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, September 16, 1894, Page 13

it \ FASCINATING FACTS foarching Investigation of the Census Offics Into Tndividual Debt. GRADUAL DECLINE OF FARM MORTGAGES Farms ard Lacds Oarry Less Than 33 Por Centof Mortgags Indebtedness, THE LARGER CITIES BEAR THE BURDEN Indisputeble Evidence that Mortgage Dcht is the Handmaid of Prosperity, DEBT CF NEBRASKANS IS LIGHI i . dou. Robert I’ Porter Makes au Extraor- dinary Exnioie of the True Condition of Borrowers Tnr Staros ghout the United acts and Figures, + The stupendg office brought to facts in burden s investigaticn of the cen- into individusl Indebtedness light strange fascinating relation to debt attendant of Intere: This was con- ducted in two ways, and practically two separate reports, esch reveal- ing Facts of vital impcrtance to the prosper- ity of the t great value to economic i the first place, all existing mortgages were transcribed for 4 period of ten years, thus showing the real estate mortgige movement in the various states and territorles. From this and cther obtainablo data the average life of mort- gages on acres ond mortgages on lots was secured, and the actual morigage indebted- ness wis ascertained. It is belteved by the sus has and and inquiry a result we have its nation and ussion, In most accomplished statisticians that the per- centage of error In this work fs less than 5 an- per cent. The completed tabulations nounce the following startling results Mortgage Indebtedness of United States, 1590, 5 ceeee 36,019,07 Number of mortgages repre- sented 3 R 1,971,698 Annual Interest charge.....l......§ 807442792 Think of what these totals really mean A debt more than elght times the aggre- gate of the national debt cnd three time: as large as all the public debl put together A debt which, when added to the publie debt, makes a grand total of over $8,000,- 000,000. A debt which, considered by it- self, takes nearly $400,000,000 annually from the productive forces of the country to meet the interest acecunt, Truly this view of the subject seems at first sight appalling, and in a measure justifies the cry which cam from some of the western states that farm mortgages were becoming a greater burden than the people ‘could bear. That the in- terest was sapping up the profits of agricul- ture and that the princip:l could mever be paid. A further study, however, of this problem with all the data at hand may en- able us to take a more cheerful view of the situation, AN ASTONISHING FACT. In the first place, we discover this encr- mous totai s not all farm indebtedness. Indeed, mortgages on acres seem to form a smaller share in this gloomy and at first apparently overwhelming aggregate indebt- edness, The dwellers in our cities and towns seem to have been bitten by the mortgage craze or epidemic to an even greater extent than the honest, hard work- ing farmer. Not that we are called upon to waste any sympathy or shed sy tears on his account, the “{oiling farmer’ alone eliciting the sympathy of the politicians. Still, as a statisticlan, the facts must be presented, even if in doing so the populist bubble, that the farms of the ccuntry are plastered all over with mortgages, shall be pricked. Lok at these two pletures: ACR Number of mortgages ‘Amount oy Annual intérest charg LOTS. Number of mortgage: Amount .. SO Annual interest charge.. Of the amount of mortgage debt placed on real estate in the United States in 1890 48.19 Jer cent was on acres and 51.81 per cent on lots; of the amount in 1889, 33.42 per cent was placed on acres and 66.58 per cent on lots, showing the increasing importsnce es, o 2,003,061 32,209, 148,431 L 162,662, of mortgages cn lots, This is unexpected, to say the least. Hers was an inquiry in- vented, patented, worked up, put on’ foot for the single purpose of revealing the awful condition of the American agriculturist under the wicked system of protection, Instead, It discloses the lot or city side of the scales weighed down while the acre or farm side poises In the air. DWELLERS IN CITIES THE REAL BOR- ROWERS, Still worse! New York ( the highest per capita mortgige deby, and not Kansas (3165). There are twenty-nine counties containing the great cities of the United States, each of which has an exist- ing mortgage debt of $25,000,000 or more. The mortgage debt of the twenty-nine coun- ties is 43.34 per cent of the morigage debt ot the United States. The per capita mort- gage debt of the twenty-nine counties is §232; of the United States, outside of these coun- ties, $60; of the United Sttes, $96. The percentage of true value of all taxed real estate represented by the mortgage debt in force—the United States, 16.67 por cen; the twenty-nine counties, 23.24 per cent; the United States outside cf the twenty-nine countles, 13.70. In New Verk City and the ten counties neighboring thereto In New York and New Jersey the mortgage debt is $1,279,343,703, which Is 21.95 per cent of the mortgage debt of the United States. It is 2.37 times the mortgage debt of the entire south, and, it is estimated, I8 1.20 times the entire real estate, chattel and crop mortgage debt of the south- ern states. It is 132 times the mortgage debt of the south and that part of the United States that lies west cf the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas and Texas, comprising the Rocky mountain and Pacific coast regions. It is 6150 per cent of the mortgige debt of what is commonly known as the west, 38) leading In extending from” Ohio westward t) Kansas, and porthwestward to the Dakotas, With its populcus cities of = Chi. cago, second only to New York, of Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dotroit, Indianipolis, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Omaha, St. Louls and St. Paul. The mortgage debi of New York City alone is $339,684,530. This 18 13.95 per cent of the morfgage debt of the United States; it is equal to the mortgage debt of the south and 55.44 per cent more, It 18 nearly twice the mortgage debt of the Rocky mountain and Pacific coast regions; 1t 1s 86.62 per cent of the mortgage debt of these regions and the south combined, and It 1s 40.42 per cent of the mortgage debt of the west above deseribed, THE EAST NOT THE WEST. Although so much has been sald about the mortgage debt west of the Mississippl river, yet, as a matter of fact, the principal por- tion of the mortgage debt of the United States 18 In the six states of Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohfo and Illinois, In the great industrial states we have nearly two-thirds of the mortgage debt. These states owe 57 per cent, or nearly three-fifths of the mortgage debt of the country. In short, the figures show that Flght aloug the line of greatest prosperity and progress, whether it be agricultural, mining, manufacturing or commerelal, there you find the largest amount of debt. It Is found that mortgages are responsive to high real estate values, to business activity and to the growth of towns ‘and cities. If a map of the United States were to be shaded in accordance with the amount of mortgage debt the darker portions would be found in such great industrial states as Pennsylvania, Massachusotts and New York in the east; the new mining and manufacturing regions of Alabama and Tenmesseo would be the dark spots of the south; INinols and Ohlo would be darker than Indlana in the old and Ohicago would be black indeed reason for this s that mortgages en- able men who can make partial payments for real estate purchases to branch out into yndertakings that would otherwise be be- yond their reach. Tt s likely to be a slow- gofig community where the inhabitants wait to save their capital out of their own earn- ings: but let neighbor borrow from nelghbor, and the south and west borrow from the east and the young men who are too impatient and enterprising to neglect opportunities that call for more pital than they have saved fncrease (heir manufactures, extend their trade, buy farms and homes for themselyes and create a market for labor, which is the best that the world has ever seen. HOW THE MONEY WAS EXPENDED. One of the most important conclusions that this investigation has established s the vol- untary character of mortgage indebtedness It does not represent a loss of wealth by debtors, which they are replacing by borrow- ing. From three-fourths to nine-tenths of the debt has been incurred in the purchase of real estate and to pay for improvements and if to these are added business purposes and the purchase of the more enduring kinds of personal proper(y of the real estate mortg almost the entire amount ge dent of the United tates s accounted for. The farmers of the west mortgaged their farms In order that they migit buy them, erect buildings and procure stock and machines with which to pursue their occupations. In this way there has been strengthened a demand for farm lands, and mortgages have been instru- mental fn preventing the growth of great agricultural holdings by landiords. Under our system of mortgage securities and free alienation no one need long be landless who is thrifty and industriou These statistics indicate that the affairs of the people of this country are undergoing some rapid and tremendous changes. T have shown that in 1890 the mortgage debt of the United States amounted to upward of $6,000,- 000,000, or (o one and one-half of the wealth of the country. This debt has doubled in ten years, although population increased but one-fourth and wealth one-half during the same time. But what has this $6,000,000,000 been expended for? What has been the ob- ject of the indebtedness? The following tables tell the stor any words far more strikingly than TF ot Objercts of indebiedness num- | amo. ber | _unt tor 02 counti 100.00] 100,00 Pureh, MONeY..ees T Y fmp nt 2096 20.51 Purchase money and mprovemenis 1bined) 4 i 5.09 siness g 8.02 rm machines, domestic animais and other perkonal property 1. 0.70 Purchase money, improvements, business and perscnal property (combined with one another) 219 Purchase money, improvements business and personal property . combined with objects other than family und farm expenses 0.5 063 Purchase’ money, | Improvemenis | businexs an mal | property Ceombined st farm and family i and fonly e ATl aiher objects Total for purchase money and T onts ot combined Wit nthey POt for purchie money. i Provenients, husineas and_per Bonal property (not combin With ather obje 1) 8.8 o3 PROSPERITY AND DEBT MARCH HAND IN HAND. To buy land, build homes, erect barns and improve property. It was curred volun- tarily It is an evidence of enterprise, of thrift, of faith in the future of our country of all that goes to make good citizenship. The mortgage movement when studied in all its bearings is an evidence of the upward movement of the people, of the reaching out for land ownership, for better homes, for better surroundings. In doing this the future bave been discounted somewhat. But cessful business man has not done Not only are these mortgages evi- derices of prosperity, but they are as a rule the resull of prosperous times. There was a considerable increase of debt in 1881, the year that first distinctively shows a recovery from the great financial depression of 1873 to 18 d n considerable increase is shown for 1882 The period of financial depression that then began almost entirely arrested the of mortgage debt for threc years as the depression was ending, mort- making gained great impetus and the gage greatest increase for any one year of the de- cade was for 1887. The progressiveness of the movement temporarily spent itself in that year, for, in 1888, there was a decrease of incurred debt, although 1t was an increase over 1886. The yearly upward tendency of the mortgage movement was resumed in 1889 with much vigor and the readers of this journal all know what a good year for business that was. This intimate relationship between mortguges and business activity, con- fidence and expansion, 1s unquestionably es- tablished by the census figures. HOW THE DEBT CAN BE In this article we have morigage debt tribution, discovered owing on the 4,16] of cities than on the 109 mortgaged acres in the country as ascer tained, the purpose for which a debt of this vast magnitude was incurred, formed un idea of its annual burden upon productive industry and brought to light some facts as to the relation of this debt to tho true valu> of all taxed real estate. Having discerned briefly these points and before taking up the still more interesting question of morigages on our homes it might be well to examine for a moment the chances of paying off the existing mortgage debt. It is generally conceded that all taxed real estate can be incumbered for two-thirds of its true value. During such periods of depression as the present, when real estate has dccreased in value, the burden of some of these debts must Indeed be relatively greater than in times of prosperity. The subjoined table shows the percentage of existing debt to the true taxable value of the real estate. It brings to light two im- portant facts, namely, that the largest per centage of deb* to valuation is not confin to the agricultural states and that no state has as yet reached what may be termed the danger line States and Torritories, PAID. uged the of its dis- money s mortgaged lots learned something that more Per age. The United States.... visarnis 8600 Alabama . 23.15 Ariz 724 . 1004 California 23.86 Colorado e 19.62 Connecti 1.67 Delaw 2388 District s lorida. D1 Georgia 1 6 18, 13 24 Idahio .. Ilinois .00 Indiana ... Towa, Kansas 10.24 Kentucky i ceeees 1051 Louisiana ... 1789 Maine tornnse Maryland wiey .. Massachusetts MIChIRBAR 1ocivveernnns Minnesota Mississippl . ada .. ey w Hampshir Jerse: North North Ohio Oregon ... Pennsylvania Rhode Islan South Carolina, South Dakota. Tennessee Texas Utah e L S T B T A Washington ... West Virginia.. Wisconsin Wyoming Upon the assumption that all taxed real estate can be incumbered for two-thirds of its true value without increasing the rate of interest to cover additional risk, it follows that 25 per cent of the real estate mortgage debt limit has been reached in the United States. New York, Kansas, District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, braska, New Jersey, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Wyoming and Pennsyl- vania have all exceeded this limit. In no case has the danger limit of two-thirds the value been reached, except possibly in some “boom’ community, where valus have gone down (0 nothing Such instances, in my opinion, only repre- sent the usual business misfortunes. Taken as a whole the individual mortgage debt of the United States has been contracted for wise purposes, the rates of intercst are not excesslve. and with the return of good times it will be met and the interest paid regularly. A nation that regarded its na- L THE OMAHA DAILY BEE S¥NDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1891 tional debt almost in the light of a personal debt and paid it as we have done i not likely to repudiate the debt which enabled the thrifty and energetic to purchase land. build homes and mak: a wilderness blossom THE FARME AND THE HOMES, The second part of this inquiry dealt with each home and each farm. At every one of the upwards of twelve millions of dwelling houses of the republic the enumerator was instructed to inquire If the home or the farm was hired or owned by the occupant and {f owned whether it was free of debt or jcumbered. This was one of the so-called inquisitorial” features of the census, al theugh hardly any work done by the ¢ office was less inquisitorial than this. ownership of land and the mortgages incumber it are matters of public that record, and inquiries in regard to them were made of the- people to save expense. While the epidemic of newspaper abuse at one timo secmed Ilikely to embarrass this investiga- tion I am inclined to think it merely called attention to it and perhaps aided the office in ecuring returns The results which Mr. George K. Holmes, the special agent, who has had charge of (he work, has &indly sent me this week indicated a completed task. He reports a total of 1 52 tarms and homes. Of this number 4,767,179 are turned as farms and 7,022975 as homes. he total number we find about equally divided between those who own their farms or homes and those who hire. Here it is: FAMILIES OWNTY Total farms and home Farms v B Homes FAMILIES HIRING When, however, we compare farm owning and home owning it is discovered th relatively speaking the farmer much better off than his brother of the larg cities. Of the 4,767,179 farms no less than 3,142,721 are owried and only 4,458 are hired. Of the 7 homes, however nearly 5,000,000 ar and the remaind.r owned. Thus we are rapidly becoming a nation of house renters and not of home owrers. It does seem wrong that in this country, where land (s cheap and easily purchasable, two-thirds of the homes are hired. After all allowances have been mada for the families that are 100 poor to own houses, no matter for what reason, thre still_remain a large proportion of tenant famiiies that do not want to own their homes under the eircumstances in which they live, although able to do so. Men must feel settled in life and have what ap- pear to be permanent local attachments before they will own their homes. Perhaps this in part explains the fact that such a large proportion of our homes are hired For example, in the large cities containing population of over 50,000 there are 2,363,577 homes, of which number [ find only 10 owned and 1,795,837 hired. Here we have over thr ourths hired, or 76 per nt of the aggregate homes, and only 24 per cent owned. Of the 6.066.392 farms and homes reported as owned by the occupants we find the following distribution of those free ored of debt and those incum 1 homes...... BB ELOTORL 07 i viamisbniin Here we have a_most tion of affairs. Of owning find the following percentage debt: satisfactory condi- we n families free f ree Incumbered N Farms . Homes .. vt 2 This for owning. Tn the large cities, however, a greater proportion of homes are incumbered, namely, 38 per cent, and only 62 per cent free of debt. So long as 72 per cent of our owned homes are free from debt mortgage indebtedness does per cent of the true taxed value of real estate we have no reason to feel alarmed, especially with a national debt melting away rapidly, the per capita of all debt decreasing and the valuation of property increasing at a_greater rate than any kind of public debt 2 farms and as and so long not exceed Nevertheless there are some cheerful pictures in relation to our hearths and homes which speakers will have to omit from Fourth of July orations in the future. The flat, tho boarding house, the monster hotel are alike playing havoc with the in- crease of population, the size of the family and home owning in tho United States. ROBERT P. PORTER. I RAILROADS. AND THE PEOPLE e Terso Frosentation of ‘Stuhborn Faots by a Railrcad Man, WHO PAYS THE ' FREI HT BILLS? - Henry €. Frink of New York Throws a Search Light Upon the Dark Ke- cesses of Mepc teal Rad, ntile and Folit- omding. ry person (n the United States—native, turalized, alien, solourner or traveler— pays tribute, directly or indirectly, to our railroads, every day. We do not ride on a railroad every day, but everything we eat and everything we use has helped in some way to swell the earnings of some rail road. The infant at its mother's breast is, by the very amct of absorbing food, contributing its mite to the earnings of rallroads. The clothing that covers it has contributed. The house that shelters {t, and the fuel that warms it have contributed. The bed it sleeps in, the eradle it rocks in, and th chair it sits in have contributed. The table it sits at, and the plates it eats from have contributed. The book, slate, pencil, paper and pen that help it to learn have con tributed. The school house it recites in has contributed. The light it uses at night to study by has contributed it uses in The implements tilling the farm and garden, and in harvesting the crops have contributed. “The shop it works in, and the tools it handles have contributed. The church it attends, and the show il goes to have contributed. The book, letters and newspapers it reads have contributed. The jewelry, musical instru- ments, paintings and statuary that adorn its home hav coutributed, The carriage it drives in, and the horse it rides, and the boat it manages have contributed. The rum it drinks, and the tobacco it chews and smokes, and the snuff it takes have co | tributed. Its medicines and its ssurgical ap- pliances have contributed. The coffin it is buried in, the crematory it is burned in, th tombstone set over its grave, the urn that contains its ashes, all have contributed. From birth to death, the children of God in this civilized country are continually con- tributing to the earning capacity of its net- work of railroads. Very few of us, however, seem to be aware of the fact. The commuters and the com mercial travelers realize that they are doing considerable business with the raflroads, So do the merchants who are receiving large shipments of goods on which they must primarily pay the freight. The majority of us think very little about our servants, the railroads, because we do not often come in direct contact with them. Our annual va- cations, our occasional excursions and our flying holiday trips bring us to the ticket window, and when we must attend court or the funeral of a relative in another town or state we know that we musi pay our sery ant directly; but how many of us pay a freight bill? or think that we are paying for anyt g that we use or consume? Those who have seen a freight bill are in a very small minority. Let us first ingfifre whether something could not be saved ‘out of the operating ex- penses of our railreads: The high salaries paid to officers should be cut down unsparingly. Legitimate railroad business is very simple, and it does not warrant the paying of ex- traordinary salaries.’ The raliroads, as com- mon carriers, have only two sources of reve- nue, namely, freight ana passengers. The passengers pay before they get on the cars, and they load and unload themselves. Freight on perishable property must be prepaid. On other kinds of property. the freight Is paid at destination before.delivery to consignee, indeed, before a delivery order wili be issued. Any claim far overcharge, or for loss or damage, must be made afterward., Now, what is there to be done in such an easy business, by even the highest officer, to earn more than $5,000 or $6,000 a year? The sim- ple duties required by the people of their servants do not call for very high remunera- tion. But, when the servants are expected ni to bamboozle and hoodwink the people, to He—1 would do anything in the world for = ] you Tahevelr, hen, "why don't you go | Dribe their legislators, to subsidize thelr home now? A pneumatic baby carriage is a good deal better thing to have in the house than a pneumatic baby. “‘What makes you so sure that Blankly be- lieves in future punishment?’ “He's going to marry the lady he was divorced from six months ago.” He—When [ succeed In getting on the right side of you I'm going to propos>, She— Well, i you do, yowll find ycurself on the left side almost Immediately. One of the customs of ancient Babylon was an annual auction of unmarried wo- men. The proceeds of the sale of the beauti ful women were used as a dower for the ungainly ones. It's hard for an old married realize, when they see a young couple’ spooning_in the twilight, were just exactly as big fools years ago, when they were young. Among the Sioux no lover can have the girl of his choice unless he can outrun her. The sclentists say this Is a survival of the carlier method of ambuscading an intended wife and Kidnapping her as a means of open- ing the courtship. The engagement is reported of Mme. Lil- couple to unmarried that they themselves lian Nordica, the prima donna, and Zoltan Dome, a young tenor who distinguished him- self at Bayreuth this summer. Mine. Nordica's former husband was Frederick A. Gower of Providence, who was lost in a bal- loon ascension from Havre (n 1885 Mrs. Irene House, or Carson, as she now calls herself, who has been married more times than the average person in Trenton can keep record of, is in the Mercer county, New Jersey, jail on ccmplaint of Paul Red- mond, one of her husbands, who charges her with assault and battery. Paul is No. 6. One of the most picturesque and interesting of the September weddings to New Yorkers will be that of Miss Mary Lee Duvall, the daughter of First Lieutenant Willam P. Duvall of the Fifth cavalry, U. 8. A., to Louls Eugene Marie, a son of the late John B. Marie of Philadelphia, and a nephew cf Peter Marie cf New York, which is announced to take place on Tuesday night. Miss Estelle Robertson of Albany, N. Y., and Prof. Alonzo Stagg, the Yale athlete, now of the University of Chicago were married in Albany Tuesday. Prof. Stagg is one of the most prominent figures in the athletic affairs of the country, as he has been since he first achieved fame as pitcher of the Yale base- ball team and one of its famous football players eight or nine years ago. He was then | in college preparing for the ministry, as was generally supposed, but on graduation he con- tinued his athletic work. When the Univer- sity of Chicago was started Stagg was se- lected as the best available man to direct the athletic efforts of the undergraduates. e Kevealed a Flaw. Chicago Tribune: “I wish you hadn't had your hair cut so short, Harold,” exclaimed the young woman, turning away from him involuntarily. “What difference does it make, dearest?” asked Harold, with tender anxiety. {ou—you have destroyed sighed. “That is all.” “You didn't think I was a poet Clara, be n illusion,” she did you, ause 1 wore my hair long?" “No; I never suspected you of being a poet. “Or an artist?" “No." “Then what illusion have I destroyed?” he demanded. “Perhaps 1 should say, Harold," she answered, with tears in her voice, “that you have unconsciously revealed a fact I never suspected, dear. Your ears aln't mates.” Placating the Fublic. Indianapolis Journal: Coroner—Se boys, it won't do to find nobody guilty. The people are getting tired of it, and when a boiler bust up like this one somebody got to smart for it. Does anybody when the boiler was bullt? Foreman of the Jury—About eighty years ago. “Good. Blame the explosion on the fellers that bullt the biler." he has Know newspapers, to make special rates and to pay secret rebates, to organize fast freight lines and to pay them commissions for doing work that could be done just as well by the rail- roads themselves, to place tickets in the hands of speculators at reduced rates, to form car trusts and construction compani to “‘water” and otherwise manipulate stocks and to do all kinds of dirty work for the di- rectors, they naturally look for large figures opposite their names on the pay rolls. * * ¢ The mismanagement of railroad officers and agents for a long time past has brought the business into great disrepute. They seem to act contrary to all good business princi- ples. When business is dull they grind down their subordinates to {he verge of starvation When business is lively, they work their men extra hours, but do not restore or advance their pay, thus creating just dissatisfaction and causing strikes to discommode the pub- Tlod witiwey. Commissions and mileages paid to fast freight lines make a big hole in the gr earnings of our railroads. There are dozen of these parasites—sometimes a half-dozen or more on a single railroad or 'system.” What good are these fast freight lines to the people? What good are they to the railroads? What evil can be worked through them in the way of absorbing surplus earn ings, paying rebates, conducting rate wars and practicing diserimination? What profits do they make, and to whom are the profits aid? ¥ It you want to go from New York to Chi- cago or St. Louis or San Francisco, you can buy a through ticket at the office of any of the trunk railroads. When you want to skip a car load of merchandise to either of these points, why should you be referred to a fast freight line for a through rate and a through bill of lading? Is it because the railroad company is afraid of having too great an amount of gross earnings to report? The fast frelght line is a great absorber of earn- ings. It must have a gemeral manager and some general agents and some contracting agents, and some accountants and clerks, and some offices and some printed matter and some stationery. When it is known that a man in this city has a few car loads of goods to ship, he is likely to be waited upon by forty or fifty representatives of fast freight lines, all bidding against each other to se- cure the shipment. The result is pretty sure to be a cut in the rate and a dis- crimination against ofher shippers, who have not so large a shipmerit to go forward. It a rebate is agreed upon between the ship per and the successful, bidder, the fast freight line must pay the rebate out of its com- mission, or arrange’'to pro-rate the amount of the cut with the faffroads over which the fast freight line operatss, according to their respective mileages or, earnings. The goods are received by the rajlroads, and loaded by the railroads, and the ftreight is collected by the railroads. All the' fast freight lines can do 18 to solicit the ghipments, in this coun- try and other countrisg (soma of the fast freight lines are bonded, under the imme- diate transportation® Acl; but that arrange- ment falls with the eustom house) and to pay promptly any claims for overcharge or loss and damage, and reclain the amounts, along with their commissfons' monthly, from the railroads, according to’ the mileage per centages. The commissons allowed to the fast freight liues max pe 10 or 15 per cent of the gross earnings of the railroads, de- pending upon the classification of the goods. It the officers -of the railroads covered by a particular fast freight line own the capital stock of the line, or a majority of the capital stock, they will have a personal interest in pushing the shipments through to destination in the fastest possible time, thus keeping their line popular with shippers and consignees. Some of the fast freight lines own cars, but the shipments secured by those lines need ot mecessarily be carried in thelr own car Any avallable car of any line of railroad ay be loaded. (It must be understood that the property loaded in a car destined from the east to the west, or from the north to the south, or vice versa, is not to be trans- ferred or unloaded until it arrives at destin tion, unless some accident occurs on the way by which the car becomes disabled.) There- fore you can see trains composed of all kinds of cars, belonging to various railroads and fast frelght lines and car trusts, and fre- quently there will be cars of one system of rallroads or fast fw'zht lines running over rival systems and ones. The cars may be full or empty, for the balance of trade s sometimes fn the finterior and sometimes At the seaboard A car may be loaded from New York to Chicago and then be sent empty to Minneapolis. From Minneapolis it may be loaded back to Chicago and then be sent empty to Council Bluffs. From Council Bluffs it may be loaded back 1o Chicago again ",m-l thence reloaded to Albany From Al | bany It may be sent empty to Boston, where | it may be loaded 1o Buffalo and then be sent | empty to New York, where it may be loaded to St. Louls or some other southwestern point, 8o the cars of all roads and lines are kept on the move in all directions. Just now there is a strong demand for cars in the far west, and it may be profitable or expedient to send them there empty as fast as they are unloaded at the seaboard or intermediate | points, without wiititig to reload them How is a railroad or a fast freight line compensated when another railroad or another fast freight line is using 1s cars® That is very simply arranged by the different rail roads agreeing to pay mfeage on all the cars they haul, pting, of course, their own. Car accountants or reporters are stationed | all initial, Junction and terminal points, and thelr business is to keep records of all cars starting, passing or arriving, and to send daily reports of them to the head offices of the various railroads and fast freight lines, The accounts are adjusted and settled monthly. It a car is carded “New York to Chicago—Blue Line,” and if it gets through without accident, the records and reports will show that it has run a number of miles on the Central-Hudson road and a number of miles on the Michigan Central road A car carded “Boston to Cleveland—White Line,’ will earn mileage from the Boston & Albany road, the Central-Hudson road and the Lake Shore road. If a loaded car is delayed or if an empty car is side-tracked too long, the car accountant of the railroad or fast freight line that owns or leases the car will tele- ph to the superintendent of the railroad | that the car was last delivered to hurr it along or to chase it out If the superin- tendent does not heed the request his rail- road may receive a bill for demurrage at the rate of, say $6 a day The rate of mileage may be from % cent to 1% cent per mile, according to the style of car, some cars being specially constructed to carry live stock, dressed me fruits and dairy products It makes difference no whether the ears are loaded or empty, they earn their mileage just the same; for viously stated, it may be nighly ne as pre- ssary to run trains of empty cars occasionally in one direction or another, and it might bother the car accountants or reporters at times to de termine whether the cars are loaded or empty. Car trusts are formed for the pur- pose of building cars to run either ind pendently, on a mileage basis, or to be leased to raflroads or fast freight lines, who, of difference between rentals that are course, will pocket the the mileage earnings and th paid to the car trusts. Let us select a fast fr e line, calling it the “Happy Dispatch Transportation com- ay" to prevent jealousies, and let us a sume that Mr. Winderpelt owns all or nearly all of the capital stock. Suppose the capital to be $200,000, which is used to purchase a few cars and to organize the Happy Dispatch. Mr. Winderpelt confers with the managers of other railroads and distributes some of the stock among them. Then ne confers with some of the principal shippers and recelvers of goods, perhaps, and lets them in for a few shares of the stock, £o that they will feel an interest in having their packages marked “Happy Dispatch. So the business starts off, and because the Happy Dispatch s a pet of Mr. Winderpelt and other railroad owners and managers, and of certain large shippers and receivers of goods, and because fast time is made and all claims are paid promptly, the business nat- urally increases. A substantial dividend is declared, and a surplus fund is created to purchase more cars. Say, now, that the Happy Dispatel owns 10,000 cars, and that it agents are located here, there and abroad, sollciting shipments. The earnings are likely to be $100,000 a month for commissions and mileage, or $1,200.000 a year on a capital stock of only $200.000! After deducting ex- penses for salaries. office rents, printing and stationery, and repairing cars, think what a fat dividend Mr. Winderpelt will have to tuck away In his inside pocket. But where do the people come in on this deal? Mr. Winderpelt may have a fine con- servatory or a fast yacht, but he wouldn't let you pluck a flower in one or take a ride on the other. He would rather blow up the conservatory with dynamite and sink the yacht to obstruct navigation on the high seas. The stocks of the railroads covered by the Happy Dispatch, watered though they be, are considered pretty good paper on ‘change hecause they pay dividends of 4 or 5 or 6 per cent, and are therefore above par; but the stock of the ‘“Happy Dispateh Transpor- tation company’ is not on the market. Be- cause why? It is beyond the market! Well, niow, after the Happy Dispatch has been running awhile, the general business of the railroads over which it Increases erom natural causes until it would seem to warrant dividends of 7, 8, 9 or 10 per cent on their stocks; But it would never do to pay such huge dividends; the people might think that their servants were getting too wealthy. So the managers of the railroads proceed to organize another fast freight line to absorb the surplus earnings and divert them to their own pockets, and so on, as long as the people will submit to it. The managers of other railroad systems see the point and are quick to follow Mr. Winder- pelt’s example (it would amount to the same thing if he followed their example) so that “They've all got em. Or if they haven't got by and’ by.” Car trusts, construction companies and rail- way equipment companies are doubtless close corporations also, having the effect of ab- sorbing and diverting gross earnings and in- creasing the total of the operating expenses of our railroads, Some political organizations are calling for governmental control of our railroads. The action of the railroad managers, themselve in making extensive combinations for the avowed purpose of economizing expenses and reducing rates is one of the best arguments in favor of governmental control; for, if it is more economical to place a system of railroads extending across several states un- der the management of one man, why would it not be still more economical to place all our rallroads under the general management of a secretary of transportation in Washing- ton, at a salary of $8,000 a year, the same as other members of the president’s cabinet? Our servants, the railroad managers, ob- ject to being controlled, saying that their business is of a private nature which does not admit of any Interference. That is not true, for the people gave them their char- ters and their rights-of-way, and what the people gave they can take away again, unless their business is managed to their satis- faction. It is openly stated, on good author ity, that the charters of many railroads in this country are already forfeitable, owing to the misdeeds of their mq 1 get 'em PRATTL. is the difference between Smart Boy—Well, an' liabilities ars what Teacher—What liabilities and assets? sets are what he's gof { he isn't liable to pay Teacher—The race is not always to the swift. Do you understand the inner meaning of that? Bright Boy—Sometimes the head feller's tire gets punctured A caller had mentioned that a neighbor had been obliged to shoot his dog because it had grown old and cross. After e had gone lit- tle Edith, who had been very quiet since the dog had been spoken of, surprised her mother by asking, “Mamma, wien do you think papa will sh’ot Aunt Sarah? Little Dot—Oh! I want to live to be ever %0 old. Tiny Dot—[ don't. I want to die young so I'll have lots of friends to go to my funeral. Willle Winter—Please, mamma, may 1 go down to the rink this aftern-cn? Mrs. Win- ter—You foolish child, don't you know that they are not open in the summer time? Willie W.—Oh, yes, they are, mamma; I heard papa tell Mr. Joyce this morning that he had a beautiful skate yesterday. Teacher—What fs your name? Little Boy (from England)— Eury Hadams, Little Girl (froni New York)—He, he! Hear him mis- place his h's. Teacher—And what is your name? Little Girl—ldar Warnhah, Little Ethel—Mamma, I wish ycu'd wash Willie Prettie's face. Mamma—The Idea! He's not my little boy. I have nothing to do with him Little Ethel—But I have. n'e'u become engaged, and I want to kias m, TALWAYS SOME UNEMPLOYED Views of Edward Everett Hale, the Famons Aunthor end Statesman, A FEW SENSIBLE AND ORIGINAL IDEAS There Is No Law, Waman or Divine, Wh A unees that Men Shall Be Em- 1 ployed AL the Thne-Natural Hollday Seasons. Copyrighted by the Trving Syndicate) Writing in the middle of August, it seems possible to persuade somebody who has some wreck of senso left to consider the nonsens which the last year has listeued to on the subject of the “unnemployed When 0 per cent of the manufacturing es. | tablishments of tha country were thrown out of gear, it followed as a matter of course | that 40 per cent of the people who worked in them were obliged to seek other occupa tion. There thus presented it<:df the very gravest problem for all sorts of peopl Those who believe in the present institutions of society saw that they were on trial, and had to do their best to show that they were equal to o extraordinary an emergency Those who do not believe in them had an excellent object lesson. And from that ob Jeet lesson they argued fairly and well that it was time to have some improvement in state of things which admitted of such sud den calamity. All this time the existenc: of a body of “unemployed” peopls were an absolutely new revelation unheard of by gods above or by men bilow. It 1S i we, in the year 1803, w to behold a new of which we knew as little as our forefathers knew of Asiatic chol'ra in the year 1831, This supposition has led to a great deal of blindness or clear folly in the treatment of the very dificult subject under consideration SQUARE AND SIMPLE TRU ‘The square and ple truth is that the 15 no law, human or divine, which announces that men shall be * all the time. On th: other h: old customs or traditions. distinctly was spoken of as if it seemed calied upon epldemic ‘employed 1, some very conditions of y require people shall not be employed or that soci one in seven. The conditions thus ex isting are so distinct that a large part of the people of the world believe that the voice of God Almighty himself rest one day In seven. There are even those who g0 50 far as to he neededl this st himself, More than this y that it ought to be remembered that all conditions of industry, up to the be- ginning of this century were such that many men were ‘‘unemploy:d’ at certain easons in every year. The only exceptions, indeed, to this condition were simply those of some handicraftsmen in citiss and towns, and were very few. In the last century even soldiers were not “employed” in winter. Armies went into winter quarters as late as the time of Fred- erick. The officers exchanged visits with each other, and danced at each other's p: ties, so distinct was the understanding that the business of war was a business of eight summer and autumn months, and did not belong to winter or early spring. THE BUSINESS OF AGRICULTURE. The business of agriculture, from the na ture of the case, isa business of which nin teen-twentieths s done bstween the breaking up of the frost in the spring and the closing of ground by frost in the autumn. The New England farmer works, and works very hard, from April to Thanksgiving tim From Thanksgiving time to April it is hard for even the farmer's almanac to t:1l him how he is to occupy his time. In point of fact, when he used it as a New England farmer liked to do, “to the glory of God and to enjoy Him forever,” he used it in reading or in_writing or in other mental cultivation From this necessary leisure of the “‘une ployed” grew the admirable system by which in the old days, bett:r than ours, the schools were kept principally in the winter months AKin to this is the custom of all eolleges and schools which from year to year have lengthened their vacations, so thal they now cover well nigh three months of very ye in which the professors and the pupils the ranks of the ‘‘unemployed THE FISHING INDUSTRY. Writing cn the seaboard of New Bugland, fill ono remembers the great flshing industry of New England, the industry which created states, and which created, when the time came, the navy which wrenched from G rge III. that empire which we mow call the United States of America. This fishing in- dustry, in those days, was confined to the months between April and December. In those months the hardy fishermen, who feared nothing which was in the order of God, least of all feared such people a George 1II. and Lord North and the officers of the English navy, carried on their proud vocation on the seas. When they came home they were “‘unemployed.” But a great many of them in Essex county tcok up the business of making shces during those months, and it is from this industry of theirs that the great shoe manufacture of New England has grown. Passing to speak of has been its law from this the manufacture, it beginning that people worked when they had anything to do. When they did not, they did not work Any large dealer in shces can tell us that when the orders come he has his staff of pecple who fill those orders, then there will be a leisure week or perhaps leisure month when there are no orders. At that time these pecple are reading Shakes- peare cr Huxley or Benjamin Kidd, or they are at the clubs discussing Browning or Wagner, or they are playing transcendental music on the piano. They are not going round saying they are ‘“‘unemployed. The manifest increase in the number of holidays, which now gives us a holiday for almost every month in the year is an in- dex that people dc not like to be “‘unem- ployed,” if only the lack of employment is something which follows a fixed rule. LESS DRUDGERY, AND NOT MORE. To sum all this up, the whole tendency of modern civilization is that ther® shall be less drudgery and not mere. When we succeed it is by making a giant which we call a steam engine do for us the work of drudges who existed the system of And the evil was not that many people but =imply that this lack of labor came in like a flo'd, striking at the same time all sorts and conditicns of men, and striking them without such prep- aration as the farmer or the fisherman has It proved, as it Is apt to prove, that the people concerned understood their business a great desl better than the philanthropists do under slavery fifty or 100 years ago. in the last year had nothing to do, did or the soclal economists. When Jchn found that the locom’tive works were shut down he said to Jane, By dear, [ think we will go back to the old farm. There Is plenty of pork there, there are potatces enough for all, there is room enough, and my mother will be only too glad to see the bables.” They went back there, and John bored auger holes in the fence posts and made himsell generally userul. His name never appeared on any list of the ‘‘unem- ployed;” 'hd never needed tny rugs to weave or any cellars t- whitewash. And this is the reason why, wher lects the statistics of the “unemployed” who were found finally in cities, they make so very small a number in comparisin with the herrible list which could be made from those Mr. Closson col- who, as we know, were thrown out of em- ployment, EVERY MAN CAN EARN HIS LIV _And the moral of all this is here. While I the earning of money wages depends on Mr. EXACT SI7E eale by all First Class Denlers. | 13 o ——— e e e e Cloveland, Mr. Wilson, Mr, Tom Reed and tho other people who make tariffs, to greater cr extent, evory able-bodied man In America who hos m year to give to the business can earn his living. It is one thing to earn movey; It fs another thing to carn a 1iving. Lot us remember that the United States of America has 4,000,000 of square miles, m-ro or less, of territory, and that in each of these square miles there are 640 weres, Now, as all told, we Are about 10,000,000 familics, it s a satisfaction to w it by any (hrow of th o we should fde_evenly all round, each of us would haver 256 acres. Really, that s more than I can use to advantage: T would be satisic With the cighteen acres 1 should have In Massachusetts it by some throw cf the dice box that should fall to me. When we res member this we may assure ourselves that “the problem of the unemploye ble to take care of itself as it b fore o We owe our prosent production of wheat and the enorm-us export of it to all the nations of the world to the development of the soil between the Allegheny range and ths Rocky mounfains which followed on the industrial depression of 1873, SDWARD Rexbury, Ma © will be s done be- HALB, - rit MEN OF MOMENT. Ancedotes and Tneldents Prominene When Westinghouse first obtained his patent on th lke most inventors, he was d friindless found difticulty in to apply it to aged to secure About People of alr brake poor a considerable and he inducing the their He man- introduction to Com~ Who was never noted for gentle manners found sngrossed in his correspondence and d not deign to stop reading his leters an wodore Vanderbilt his Westinghouse while the Inventor extolled the merits of his device. When he had spoken his littlo piee: Vanderbilt for the first time scemed to take notice of him, and looking up sud- denly sald fn his gruffost What's that you say?" So Westinghouse commenced all over and explained how by an alr pressure of thirty pounds to the squarc foot the brake was applizd by the engincer, and when he fivished he waited patiently for the verdiot Once more the old commodore raised his head long enough to Jerk out What's that you say about ai Westinghouse ‘told hin Leoking him steaqil wan replied in freczing do, 1 have no time to fool. Discouraged inghouse | invention Aia tones: in the tones: waste face the old “That will with a d—d but not t, only la disheartened West- er to bring his great to the knowledge of the Pennsyl- raflroad authorities, At that time Tom Scott was the president of the corpora- tion and he at once practicability of the invention and allowed some of his cars o be equipped with it, With that opening it was casy enough to wet the other roads to use the brake, and Westinghouse's fame and fortune were made. When that time had arrived he one day received a letter from Commodore Vanderbilt, a king him to call at the Central's office. Mr. Westing- hous 's reply was terse and to the polut. He simply wrote “I have mo time to fool."” waste with a d—a ade an extensive study portraiture, was commenting says (he New York Sun, upon what she called “the massive and states- wanlike face’ of Levi P. Morton. It seemed an odd description to people who see Mr. Morton in real life, but it is a fact that the artists cannot give a portrait of the ex-vies president which the public will recognize, unless the features are shown In herois proportions. Newspap r portralture has dono as much o build Mr. Morton up as a publie idol as it did to detract from the personal appearance of the late Roscoe Conkling. Nobody ever succeeded in representing Mr. Corkling in the newspapers as he looked in real life, and the efigy of him which adorns the southwest orner of Madison squars gives no idea of the nobility of carriage and remarkable grace of the great “stalwart.”” Mr, Morton at on: time wore a_remarkable pair of side whiskers, and his Wigs were woven into perfect harmony with them. It was his custom to stroke these hiskers with a delicate hand, on which & rge seal ring was conspicuous, When the news was sent abroad that the banker hat sacrificed his whiskers the public looked for rkable change. It was remarkable, since It changed Mr. Morton's appearanc. from that of a robust and prosperous banker to that of a thin-faced and careworn doector of divinity. He has, however, apparently never regretted the loss of the whiskers, for without th m he takes rank pictorially as an ideal statesman, A lady, who has of newspaper yesterday, pringfield Union says that Senator Brice got his start in life in a rather interesting way. After ne left college he studled law, but he didn’t get on very well, and he went to'Charlie Foster, then governor of Ohio, and asked if something in the way A writer In the of oftice couldn’t be found for him. ‘“Im= possible,” said the governor. “You are a democrat and I am a republican. It would cause no end of talk if I a place, with so many republicans wanting offices.” But Brice was in straits, and he begged so earnestly for some help by which ke might exttricate himself that Foster finally placed a sum of money in his hands and told him to come to New York and look after a certain financial transaction. His last injunction to the young man was to follow instructions. When he got here Brico made inquiries first and then acted directly contrary to what he had been told, telegraph- were to give you ing forthwith what he had dome. Foster wired indignantly for the reason. The reply was: “Because 1 could make $40,000 for you' There was no question beyond that, and thenceforth roster and Brice worked in harmony in various railread operations, the latter giving up his idea of a legal career for the more lucrative one of railroad builder and promoter. When Charles H. Turner of New York City was in congress he was famous bacause of the fact that he had been an iceman. There will be a member of the house in the Fifty- fourth congress who was once a policeman, and a capitol policeman at that. His na is R. P. Bishop, and he has been nominated as the republican candidate in the Nniuth Michigan district, which is solidly anti-demo= cratic. After serving as a capitol policeman for some time, Mr. Bishop was made clerk of the house committee on military affa the chairman of which at the time was Gene eral Cutcheon of Michigan, now the ely member of the army ordnance board. Gan- eral Cutcheon was defeated for re-election to the Fifty-second congress in the tidal wave of 18060, and afterward moved out of the district. Two years later it returned to its normal republican majority, but the gens eral has not been in politics since, except as an office holder. Senator Gorman's friends “point with pride” 1o the fact that he was once a senate page, but other men climbed the same rounds in the ladder of fame, Mr. Bishop will be the first man, however, to reach congress by way of the police forca, Prof. Richard T. Ely of the University of Wisconsin, who was recently accused of teaching pernicious theories of soclalism, was born in Ripley, N. Y., April 13, 1854. He attended the New York State Normal schol, was graduated from Columbla college in 1576, and as the holder of the graduate fellowsaip of letters of that Institution studied at Heldels berg university, Germany, from 1876 to 1879, recelving the degree of PE.D. In 1885 he bes gan a long term of service In the chair of political economy at Johns Hopkins univers sity, Balthmore, and for many years was tax commissioner of Maryland. His fame as & writer on political economy s00n became widespread, and not long ago the University of Wisconsin called him to his present place on its faculty, He has written half a dozen or more books on political economy end kindred subjects, and his latest work is called “Soclalism and Soclal Reform." PERFECT)) THE MERCANTILE 1S THE FAVORITE TEN CENT CIGAR Manufactured by the F. R, RICE MERCANTILE CIGAR CO, Factory No. 304, St Loul