Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1858-12-28
The Ten Per Cent Interest Law.

We are glad to see that the people are be-
ginning TO agitate for the repeal of the oppres-
sive ten per cent. interest law which is drawing
the life blood from the citizens of Ohio
The citizens of Morrow county recently
held a meeting and took strong ground
against the law, favoring the adoption of
law making six per cent. the legal rate for
all transactions. with such penalties as viii ef-
fectually prevent the violation thereof. A short
Petition to the General Assembly is being cir
culated in Medina county, simply praying for
the repeal of the Act passed March ID, 1850,
and which took effect May lst, 1850, entitled
"An Act to amend the Act entitled An Act fix
ing the rate of interest, passed Jan. l3, 1924,
and all other laws on that subject'-and if any
further legislation be necessary to prevent
usury, that such legislation be had as the Cen
eral Assembly in their wisdom shall deem pro-
per. Similar petitions should be generally cir
euiatod throughnut the State, and without de
lay The Legislature meets early in January,
and no subject that so nearly touches the pock-
cts of every man, save the levy of taxes, will
occupy the session. The brokers and capitalists
the law was specially designed TO favOr,will use
every appliance to prevent any change of the
ten per cent rate, as it enables the money-lend-
er to literally rob the borrower in legal way.
Pour in repeal petitions, as the best arguments
the masses can make in the ear of their repre-
sentatives.
A correspondent of the Medina Gazette thus
tersely and forcibly states few of the reasons
for repeal of the ten per cent law
And, first, the law was never demanded by
the citizens generally. Its conception was by
money lenders and note shavers, through whose
influence, las it was for their special beneft) 1t
was engineered through the Legislature and be-
came law.
The law is antagonistical to the commercial
interests of the State. 1t is fact, that will not
10 eontroverted, that no business, bcnehciul to
the laboring and producing part of community,
can be successfully prosecuted with capital,
for which 10 per cent interest Is paid.
The result is manufacturing establishments
are not multiplying, but have vastly decreased
both in number and capital and for he obvious
reason that money at 10 per cent. interest, with
comparatively no labor, pays vastly better than
would the same capital, if invested in manufac-
turing with labor
Before the enactment of this law, much of our
wool was Manufactured IN our own State; now
much the largest portion goes to New England
and elsewhere TO be converted into cloth, &c,
and returned to US at price necessarily increas-
ed by the expenses of sportation-sayin
nothing as to employing foreign manufacturers.
So in regard to agriculture. 'Tis said upon
good authority, that to take the entire farming
lands of Ohio, at the aggregate value, as they
stand upon the Tax Duplicates for taxation,
and the net profits are less than five per cent
per annum. And there is scarce Tyro in the
State but knows that under the operations of
this law, and as a legitimate result from it,
lands in Ohio have fallen in value just about in
the ratio that the use of money has been in
creased by it