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The Conclusions

The Conclusions image
Parent Issue
Day
29
Month
March
Year
1888
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Last week The Register gave the most striking figuree presented by the remarkable report just issued from the Michigan bureau of labor. We ow desire to give the conclusions which the report draws froui the Btudy of the statistic8 it presente, and to make a few comments of our own. Three facts, as follows, are deduced fron the statistics : "First, That one-half the farmers of Michigan are mortgaged and are paying a doublé tax; "Second, That by reason of this mortgage indebtedness and doublé taxation, business of all kinds is seriously affected ; "Third, That the men who loan aioney do not bear their just proportion of the public expenses, in return for the protection given them, while the majority escape taxation." In view of these facts, the conimissioner of labor recommends a tax law under which the owner of a mortgaged farm ehall be assessed the value of the farm less the amount of the security. For instance, if a man owns i home worth $5,000 upon which Mr. A kolds a inortgage of $2,500, he is assessed upon the basis of the actual value ; but he actually has an interest of only one-half that amount. That is, he is really worth but $2,500, but he has to pay taxes on $5,000. Mr. A, the holder of the mortgage, if he resides in Michigan is assessed on the mortgage, but in case he owes $1,500, that amount is deducted, and he ie assessed only on $1,000. Thus the money-lender, under our present laws, is favored more than the borrower in the matter of taxation. Such a law as the commissioner recommends is in operation in California, and we have heard of no complaint about it. Neither have we heard that it has any tendency to reduce the amount of mortgage indebtedness. White what the commissioner recommends may be just and well worth trying, it could no more touch the great problem of mortgage indebtedness which now hangs over this country than a fly could withstand a cyclone. It would save farmers a little money at flrst ; but things would soon become adj usted to the change. It would have the tendency to make mortgaging land apparently a little safer ; that would increase the demand for land and loans, and the result simply would be that land would rise in value and money-lenders would get larger bonuse?. Increased land values and higher interest would soon absorf all that the farmer would save by this Écheme of taxation. That the figures in regard to Michigan's mortgage indebtedness on farms are under the truth, there can be no doubt. Of the farmers of Michigan, 90,803 were asked whether they were or were not mortgaged, and 43,079 said yes and told how much. Of the remainder, many suspiciouly refused to answer or angrily replied "none of your business." These were classed as not mortgaged, although unquestionably their unwillingness to answer shows that they are mortgaged. Then these figures do not take chattel mortgages into account. It is safe to estímate the mortgage indebtedness on Michigan farms to be $129,229,553, which is only $7,000,000 less than the amount of capital invested in manufacturing enterprises in the state. The money invested in manufacturing enterprises in this state gives employment to over 125,000 people. Much of the money invested in farm mortgages goes to pay the first price of the land to land speculators who have held on to the land not with the idea of using it themselves, but merely to force some one who needs it to pay them a high price. Some of the borrowed money, of course, is used in building houses and barns, and in purchasing machinery without which it would be difficult to carry on farm operations ; but the land speculator gets a big slice. The Register is indebted to Dr. Irving A. Watson, of Concord, N. H., secretary of the American Public Health Association, for copies of the Lomb prize essays as follows: (1) Healthy Homes and Foods foi the Working Classes, 62 pages, by Prof. V. C. Vaughan, of the University of Michigan ; (2) The Sanitary Conditionsand Necessitiesof School-Houses and School life, 3S pages, by Dr. D. F. Lincoln, of Boston ; (3) Disinfection and Individual Prophylaxis against Infectious Diseases, 40 pages, by Major G. M. Sternberg, Surgeon U. S. Army ; and (4) The Preventable Causes of Disease, Injury, and Death in American Manufaetories and Workshops, and the Best Means and Appliances for Preventing and Avoiding Them, 19 pages, by George H. Ireland, of Springfleld, Mate, These essays are scientiflc but adapted to popular reading. They have had a wide circulation already. Through the liberality of Mr. Lomb, one hundred thousand copies of each have just been printed, and will be given at a nominal price to any one who asks for them. They can be obtained of booksellers or of Dr. Watson. Henry Lomb, the gentleman who likes to spend his money in encouraging the preparation and distribution of popular sanitary literature, offers prizes of $500 and $200 for best essays on the following subject : " Practical sanitary and economie cooking adapted to persons of moderate and smalt means." The pkopIB of the United States have exhibited a vast amount of sympathy and spent much money for the Irish tenant ; but they seldom look at our tenants whom money cannot help. In the April Forum there is an article in which the following passage occurs ; "More than half the population of the city of New York live in tenement houses. There are 30,000 of these tenements, 2,000 of them reported in the officialstatisticsas'verybad.' In oneblock on the east side there are as many people as you would find in a country village stretching over several hundred acres of land. Between two avenues and two streets in the same districts are 3,000 or 4,000 souls. This in itself is not objectionable ; for the same space, if built up with 'apartment houses,' such as we see in other quarters of the city, might afford to a much larger number of persons even luxurious privacy ; but these tenements are only ordinary houses. In some rooms you will, in the daytime, see mattresses piled up till they touch the ceiling ; at night, when the 'boarders' stream in from their day's work, these mattresses are taken down and spread over the floor, touching each other. Forty-five people sometimes sleep in one room." Oük Washington correspondent says: "A decided sensation was caused at the Capitol on Wednesday last by the lightning which struck the dome of the building and shook the massive structure to its foundation. The shock was so severe as to cause a temporary panic in the house of representatives. Many persons left the building, believing that the dome was about to fall. In the seuate chamber a ball of fire passed several times around the room, but no special damage was done aside from the total destruction of the telegraph mente in that end of the building. It was reported that a horee attached to a cab at the senate end of the capitol had been killed by the shock, but this proved to be but a rumor, as the animal was merely knocked down, but at once recovered and stood awaiting the next order as patiently as though nothing unusual had occurred. The statement that it is possible for lightning to kill a Washington cab-horse is considered by those familiar with the animal as a gross libel upon the norse." It is a pity that the new Germán euiperor is not in good health ; for liis addresses to the Germán parliament give indication that the impression in regard to his political belief is correct. He desires to reign according to constitutional methods, and probably desires to establish a more liberal monarchy something like England's government. If he dies soon, no one can teil what policy bis son will pursue ; but it is supposed that that young gentleman has rather autocratie ideas.

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Subjects
Old News
Ann Arbor Register