Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1857-10-06
THE CREDIT SYSTEM.

One Of the greatest evils incident to Banking is
the psrniciOus and unhealthy credit system which II
buildsup. Society was never inflicted with great
er curse than the morbid propensity to borrow
Unwilling to live upon the simple proceeds of honest
labor we are continually seeking by every cOntri-
vance to obtain the advantages Of credit
Hence the great desire to establish banks. Mon
ey is the representative of wealth, and half the peo
pie are deluded with the belief that banks make
money-ergO, that banks make the people rich.
The fact is they make nothing but an uncertain
and pernieiOus credit system, by which few have
been enabled to get rich at the expense of the
many.
Anew York contemporary, portraying the conse-
quences of the present commercial crisis, aptIy
says:
" The salvation of many men has been in their
inability to borrow money, and there are hundreds
Of poor men-broken NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. specu
lstOrs-nOW in this city who will, and who do daily
declare that, had they never been able to borrow
five dollars nor get five dollars worth of goods On
credit, they would this day have been above the
reach of want, and happy in the knowledge and
and satisfaction that what they possessed was
honestly earned. Oh, how much misery, wretcbed
ness and agony Of mind has credit brought into the
world!
because it was abused says some esrping
advocate Of the system. Exactly so, and it is be-
cause of its liability to be abused that we would re
strict it to limits marrow as the trade in powder
and poison. 1t is because it is abused and crimi
nally abused that we cry out against it But badly
it is abused by individuals, and much as it does
IL
men, it is hundred fold worse when extended to
corporations.
borrowing begets q whole litter Of evils; II
makes man feel mean and sneakiug, and when he
feels and sneaking he forges or has no regard
for truth. 1t engenders and encourages speculation
gambling, extravagant living, idleness and debauch
cry. 1t does everything and all sorts of things but
good. Yet people will borrow; they 90 borrow,
have always borrowed and always will borrow. iu,t
as they do, and will, and always have got drunk.
lied, debauched themselves, and committed evils OF
every description. 1t can't be prevented, and w..
would not have the Legislature attempt to prevent il
But to give corporation Incense to do it, as has
been done by ourState governments is licensing a.
evil that has no bounds, and it is high time for the
people TO put stop to it. They have suffered and
are still suffering enough, IN all conscience, from
the initiation of prices Of everything they eat or
wear. This initiation is done or has been done by
the borrowing and lending corporations privileged
by our State Legislature to do that which brings
ruin upon themselves rObs the poor man of his hard
earnings, demOralizes society," and benefits nobody
THE LATEST ANNOUNCENENT.-Engli and French
journals are lugubriOusly prolific in comments on
late "Arrowsmitk" story which was manufactured
by oneSawyer OfTennessee and surreptitiouslyp pub
Eshed in the Knoxville papers. It has been abun-
dainty cOntradcted good authority but of course
the original story will do well enough for our Eng
lish friends who insanely bent on insulting and
alternating the sentiments and opinions of the South
notwithstanding that is the section of the United
States which is most vitality connected with England
which preserves the largest proportion of genuine
English stamina, and which cberishes the largest
sympathies for England.
An Englishman must sample his cotton. but is
content to judge his Southern cousins of the United
States by the misrepresentation of prejudice and
Islander.