CITIES AND TOWNS.
“There are 420 cities and towns that have a population of 8,000 to 100,000, and in these “cities |OWNERS OF THE CITIES FOUND AMONG 414,544 FAMILIES.| and towns 64.04 per cent,” i. e., 1,120,433 “of the home families hire and 35.96 per cent,” i. e., 629,146 families “own their homes, and of the home-owning families 34.11 per cent,” i. e., 214,602 “own with encumbrance and 65.89 per cent,” i. e., 414,544 “own free of encumbrance. The liens on the owned homes are 39.55 per cent of the value of those subject to lien. Several averages show that the rate of interest is 6.29 per cent; value of each owned and encumbered home is $3,447; lien on the same is $1,363.” (See Appendix I.)
So that these debtors of the 420 towns and cities are also subject to the principle of dividogenesure at the rate of $85.73 each per every year, as long as the mortgages remain in force and are not foreclosed.
“The cities that have a population of 100,000 and over” (up to millions) “number 28, and in these cities 77.17 per cent,” i. e., |OWNERS OF THE LARGE CITIES FOUND AMONG 276,744 FAMILIES.| 1,503,911 “of the home families hire and 22.83 per cent,” i. e., 444,923 “own their homes; 37.80 per cent,” i. e., 168,179 of the latter families have encumbrance and 62.20 per cent,” i. e., 276,744 families are free of encumbrance. Averages for owned and encumbered homes are: Encumbrance, $2,337; value, $5,555; rate of interest, 5.75 per cent. Homes are encumbered for 42.07 per cent of their value.” This is the largest average encumbrance among all encumbered homes and farms.
So that every debtor in these 28 large cities (and there are 9 of them in every 100) is a subject to the principle of dividogenesure at the rate of $134.37 each in every year as long as the mortgage is in force and is not foreclosed. It is after the foreclosure that the debtor cannot even redeem his mortgaged property; he has then to remain propertyless. Let us now sum up the preceding conclusions in a tabular way, as follows:
| The Farm-Families. | Per Cent. | Number of |
|---|---|---|
| The total of families occupying farms | 4,767,179 | |
| (1) out of them: The families hiring farms | 34.08 | 1,624,765 |
| (2) and the families owning farms | 65.92 | 3,142,414 |
| Out of the last 65.92 per cent. of them are those owning farms with encumbrance | 28.22 | 886,839 |
| And those owning them free of encumbrance | 71.78 | 2,255,575 |
| The Home-Families. | ||
| The total of families occupying homes | 7,922,973 | |
| (1) out of them: The families hiring homes | 63.10 | 4,999,396 |
| (2) and the families owning homes | 36.90 | 2,923,577 |
| Out of the last 36.90 per cent. of them are those owning homes with encumbrance | 27.70[[93]] | 809,831 |
| And those owning them free of encumbrance | 72.30 | 2,113,746 |
| Total of farm and home families with encumbrance | 1,696,670 | |
This double table shows clearly enough that there were 8,320,831 tenant and mortgagor families that have been subject to the principle of dividogenesure. And |SUBJECT TO DIVIDOGENESURE.| that these families had 41,061,563 individual members, including children that have now grown up to the same fate of the drain of labor energy, under which their unfortunate parents have been. For all these individuals, of course, cannot exist without working in favor of the few money lenders and propertied men, because the tenants have no resources to apply their energy to, and the mortgagors cannot profit themselves by the loans of exorbitantly high per cent of interest. Hence, they are all drained and all are economic slaves of the wealthy few.
Besides, the necessary life-expenses of every one, subject to a strong dividogenesure,[[94]] are absolutely greater than the same expenses of any one in the wealthy group. While the incomes of the rich that the millions of other individuals and the forces of capital work out, cannot even be compared with the semi-incomes of the poor that are obliged in any way to work for the wealthy, when these are disposed to give them a chance to work.
Further, is it not an abnormal reality that the 420 towns and cities in the United States should belong |CITIES OWNED BY LESS THAN 24 PER CENT OF THEIR PEOPLE.| to less than 24 per cent of the entire population in them? And is it not strange that the remaining 76 per cent of the inhabitants in these cities and towns should live and labor with the purpose of feeding, fattening and enriching these 24 per cents of the people who are really the owners of these towns and cities? And is it not abnormal in the extreme to have 28 cities, populated by hundreds of thousands and by millions of individuals; and that these |CITIES OWNED BY LESS THAN 14 PER CENT OF THEIR PEOPLE.| cities, including all kinds of buildings, machines, houses, etc., etc., should actually be possessed by less than 14 per cent of their population? And that, in addition to this extreme abnormity, the remaining 86 per cent of their people should be obliged to divide all results of active and creative energy with these few owners of the great cities?
But what is inconceivably strange is that this extremely abnormal situation should be produced in a nation governed by the people’s representatives chosen by their good will and purpose; and that this will and purpose should bring about the results of so great injustice and wickedness against this people, is only possible on the basis of ignorance, neglect of duty and selfishness.
Let us now have an idea of the progress of development of the principle of dividogenesure in the United States, and of the rapidity with which the people fall under its oppressive influence, thus gradually becoming propertyless or the absolutely helpless economic slaves of those that capture them within the extensive nets of that principle.
“Extra Census Bulletin No. 71 gives the statistics on mortgages by amounts, length of mortgage, rate of interest for the United States from 1880 to 1889.”
It says: “That during that time 9,517,747 real estate mortgages, stating amount of debt incurred, were made in the United States, representing |INCREASE OF MORTGAGES.| an incurred indebtedness of $12,094,877,793. The number of mortgages made during one year[[95]] increased from 643,143 in 1880 to 1,226,323 in 1889, or 90.88 per cent, and the yearly incurred indebtedness increased from $710,888,504 in 1880 to $1,752,568,274 in 1889, or 146.53 per cent.”
“With regard to mortgages on acre-tracts, the number made during 10 years was 4,747,078, representing an incurred indebtedness |ACRE-TRACTS.| of $4,896,771,112.” The increase in making them was as follows: “The number of these mortgages made in” the year “1880 was 370,984; in 1889, 525,094.” So that during the years between these “an increase of 41.54 per cent” was made; “while the incurred indebtedness increased from $342,566,477 in 1880 to $585,729,719 in 1889, an increase of 70.98 per cent.
“The increase was relatively larger in the case of mortgages on lots. They numbered 4,770,669 during the 10 years, and the indebtedness |ON LOTS.| incurred under them amounted to $7,198,106,681. From 1880 to 1889 the annual number made increased from 272,159 to 701,229, an increase of 157.65 per cent. During the same time the amount of annual indebtedness incurred increased from $368,322,027” in the year 1880, “to $1,166,838,555” in the year 1889, “an increase of 216.80 per cent.”[[96]]
As you see, the yearly increase in the numbers of making new mortgages was astonishingly great on all sides. This progress of falling under the influence of dividogenesure, falling into debt, indicates that the people could not avoid becoming slaves to the percentages for loans. This progress indicates that they were compelled by the generally abnormal conditions of existence to take the risk of losing their properties. And all cities thus grow as “New York City,” where “but 6⅓ per cent of the families owned their homes”[[97]] in 1890.