Weekly miners' express. (DuBuque, Iowa) 184?-1849, 1848-11-07
For thu Express.
THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE.

u. L..
For tho Express.
THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE.
Party warfare being nearly at an end
for the present, men will naturally seek
for some other mode of excitement to sa-
tisfy the cravings Of the mental appetite.
Among the many subjects which should
engage some Of the attention of the COM
munity is the manner in which the usury
laaos Of this state are evaded, and set in
open defiance, while those who are most
in the habit of this contempt Of law, are
looked upon as the elite Of society. For
my own part. look upon all laws which
restrain the money lender from getting
what price he can for the use Of his mo-
ney, as an invasion of his civil iibe rty.
and for that reason do not blame those
who rent their money, even in opposition
TO the law, for what it will bring.
Suppose man has one thousand dol
lars 10 spare, and does not choose to buy
farm or build house, or invest the
money in any other useful enterprise A
neighb Dor Of his, who is Of business turn
Of mind, but has no capital Of his own, is
willing to borrow the thousand dollars to
60 into some useful or at least spccula.
tive business. He borrows the money
from the lender, whom we will call Mr..
A., makes a purchase Of some kind or
other, and in a few days, realizes on the
sale Of his goods, say one hundred dol
lars. Now, if the borrower whom we
will call Mr.. B. had entered into partner
ship with A, he would, if such was the
agreement, be obliged to give 4 fifty
or more dollars Of the profit; but since he
merely borrowed the money from A, the
latter must be content to receive a few
cents for the use Of his money. The in
ference is, that man by taking in part
ner, may make Il thousand per ccnt. per
diem, but while acting on his own hook
he is allowed to take ten per cent per an
mum. Again, suppose A. to be an indus
trlous man, capable Of managing his mo-
ney without partners aid; and instead
of lending his money: goes into business
with it himself. With his thousand dol.
lars, he buys ten land warrants for one
hundred apiece, to. day and sells them a
day or two hence for one hundred and
twenty or more, making by the opera
ton, two hundred dollars, equal to TWEEN
~ per cent per diem. Thus can Mr.. A
make twenty per cen. per diem by selling
land warrants which he purchased with
his money, while he is forbidden by law
from lending his money for more than
ten per cent per ahnum. Two things
are evident from this reasoning, viz; if
A be the latter kind Of man, he will not
lend his money at all, and if he be dronc
Of the former sort he can evade the law
conscientiously, by becoming the partner
Of another. OF what use then are the
nsury laws? None at all; no ingenuity
can Lame them so as TO hem in the mo-
ney !ende.. They have existed for hun
dreds, aye, for thousands Of years, and
the experience of eve:y day teaches that
they are evaded-and laws which are
and will be evaded, ought 10 be abolished:
there is no use Of putting them in tie
Statute book. If the trader in money be
left free, as it should be, and as other
traders are, what effect would this change
have upon the wealth, talent, and indus
try Of the State? This is an int restin g
question. 1t would certainly increase our
wealth, because foreign capitalists would
find better rent for their money here,
than in most places east Of US. 1t would
follow, that if they had good sense, and
they are just the men that have, they
would come here to make investments OF
their wealth, and thus help to develop
the resources Of the country. Talent
and Industry would thus be set to work,
and find employment, and instead of the
ranking weed and matted grass which
now disfgure our broad praries, we
should soon behold the fruit Of encourag
ed agriculture. Let each one carry GU,
the thought to sui: his own profession OF
calling, and be ready to give his vote lol
or against Il total abolition Of the laws on
usury. MAHoNY.
TELEGRAPH REPORTERSIAH
We should like to know whether there
is any thing in the business Of Telegraph
Reporting,t that necessarily makes Ounce