Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1859-10-21
For the JOurnal.1
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stThe West---Its WrOngs''---Is moi
Usury amongst those WrOmgs9

in the Journal OF the Sd Of June. The write
says: 'sWe hear Of the South and its grea
crime and blunder, slavery and we see an
feel the effects of that wrong But we Of tn
West are to-day, and have been for two years
seeing and feeling and writhing undor tn
consequences Of great wrong done in ou
own section, and by our own hands. It ha
not been the sin Of a class, or of fraction 0
our communities, but Of the great mass.'' :
"The wrong of which the West has beer
guilty is the great crime Of Land Monopoly
The writer proposes as remedy the bringing
in of "fifty thousand more farmers"
lis presumed that no one interested in thu
prosperity of Iowa will call in question tn.
desirableness Of such remedy, but it is worth
while to consider what difficulties such new
corners would encounter. If they should
overstep the bounds of prudence in buying
and find themselves unable to satisfy thu
exorbitant demands of the Land Monopol;st
without assistance from the Money Lender
how much the better off will they find them
selves in his hands? 1t is true that, if they
examine the laws of the State, they will fnd
that to take interest over ten per cent pc,
annum is ''asury," and makes the lende,
liable to certain penalties and yet it is well
known that avarice on one hand and necessity
on the other frequently agree together to
euade the zaao. The plea of one is his neces.
sity, and the plea of the other is that money
is worth whatever it will bring, and that any
law that prescribes the bounds of zasctul
interest and prohibits usury is an oppression,
and ought not to be enforced. ~
To those who make no profession of religion
who acknowledge themselves under no
obligations to regard the acquisitions of the
moral law, but whose only law is sszfshness
i have nothing to say; being dead to the
pleadings of conscience, they would be deaf
to my feeble pleadlngs. But to those who
profess to make the moral law their rule of
action-who prefer "a faith that overcometh
the world"-I have word to say as Christians,
without regard to denomination.
Iwould ask a question: Is it in accordance
with the teachings of the Gospel to take usury
for the use of money lent !? But, as this
involves the question, What is usury? shall
endeayor to answer that. ass ass.-
The Specification of the word 'usury"
appears to have undergone an important
change since the invention of letters. Accord
ing to Webster, it signified, formerly, inter-
est, or premium paid, or stipulated to be
paid, for the use of money. In present usage,
illegal interest, premium or compensation
paid, or stipulated to be paid, for the use of
money borrowed or returned, beyond the rate
of interest established by law" +
In the Union Bible Dictionary we find :
''The word 'usury,' by modern usage, means
exorbitant or unlawful interest; but in the
Scriptures it means any interest. The law
of Moses prohibited the Jews from taking any
interest of each other for the loan of money.
or anything else, though they were allowed
to take it of strangers. Lev. 25; a5, s6, s7v.)
The practice of usury is severely denounced
in the Scriptures. (Ezek. %; 12.w
The historian, Tacitus, (Book 6, sec. 16,)
speaks of its evil effects, and Rollin, in the
history of Pontus, says, "Tacitus had reason
to say that usury was one of the most ancient
evils of the Roman commonwealth, and the
most frequent cause of sedition; but, at the
time we now speak of, go B. C,) it was car
ried to an excess not easy to be credited.
"The interest Of money amongst the
Romans was paid every month, and was one
per cent; hence it was called 'usura centes-
ima,' or 'unciaveuma tlgniss,' because, in
the twelve months, twelve per cent.
was paid: umcia is the twelfth part of whole.
"The law of the twelve tables prohibited
The raising interest to above twelve per cent.
This law was revived by the two tribunes of
The people, in the 396th year of Rome. Ten
years after, interest was reduced to half that
sum. At length, in the year All of Rome, all
nterestwas prohibited by decree. Ne fgner-
uri licerot.
"All these DEGREES were Intellectual. Avarice
vas always too strong for the laws, and what
ever regulations were made to suppress it,
either in the time of the republic, or under
he emperors, it always found means to elude
hem. Nor has it paid more regard to the
avs of the church, which has never entered
nto any any composition on this point, and
severely condemns all usury, even the most
moderate; because, God having forbidden
my, she never believed she had right to
permit it in the least. 1t is remarkable that
lsury has always occasioned the ruin of the
states where it has been tolerated, and it was
his disorder which contributed very much to
'ubvert the constitution of the Roman COM
and gave birth to the greatest
in all the provinces of that empire
Vol. 2, p. 711.)
This historian seems to condemn all usury
whatever, even the mest simple interest:
wherein he follows the opinions of the Fathers
# the Church, who were unanimous in con-
lemning it-as Cyprian, Lactaulius, Chrys-
'stom, and others, and host of councils and
,asuists. 1t may seem unaccountable to us
low the fathers and councils should have
condemned the practice of taking interest for
Indeed, on this principle" says one, ''to
benefit the borrower only, money would never
,e lent but from motives of pure benevolence
to relieve want or mitigate distress-prin-
;iples rhich seldom dctuate human conduct. y
In the sixth century, compromise seems
% have been entered into between the money
enders and the church, and the rate of inter-,
,st was fixed by statute under Justinian.