, 1869-07-13
TIE UBUAY LAWb,

THE UBURY 1AWb.
Tho recent developments in the New
York money market may have good rosult
i they shall educate public sentiment upon
the injustice and inequality Of The usu1y
laws. There are many persons, and espe-
csa1ly those Of a religious education,
who honestly believe in the wisdom and
efficacy, Of such laws. They look upon
usury as one Of the unprdouablo crimes
| against Divine md human Law, md they
resent proposition to repeal them as o
more to lega1ixe q terrible, iniquity. The
crime Of uspry; isisn9t ID taking more than
| certain rate- per cont, 6us in its <e1tortlon:
Tint this is the real crime Of rsu1y is
proven BY th9.fact that there is no; uniform
+, rate o< interest Known nmona msn., Every
country has its own rate. which II modified
from TINE tofime, laeoording to ci.cum.
stances. In onr own country, each State
regulates the .rate of interest according TO
The pecu1iat business Of wants of its peo.
pie. In this State, inihss absence of any
agreement, Eix pec cent is .the Legal rate ;
BY agreement, ten per cent is legal, and, in
the case Of ono OF more chartered institu.
tions, twelve per cent is legal. Now, which,
il either, OF these is mornl usury? In New
York, seven per cent is the highest rate
allowed By Law. The ordinary and most
general rate fo1-the use-of money in this
State would be usury in the State of New
York; hut would it be legal OF moral usury
How can that, which is crime condemned
by Divine Inv in New York, be iustihablo
In Illinois ?, There is no diviuely-appointed
nate Of interest, md hence we insist that
the usury ,agninst. which Divine wrath
| is promised 1oes not consist in demanding
any particular rate ot interest, but in the
crime of axtortion, the oppression Of tho
poor, and taking advantage Of mons ne
cesGihcs TO rob them Of their means. This
crime is not confined 10 the charges for tho
use OF money, but Is applicable to all
branches Of business; but, owing to Il long
since exploded doctrine Of the Church; that
itwas wrong to take any interest or hire
for money, the laws Of men for tho. pro
ventiou Of usury. y.have been limited to tho
regulation of the rate Of interest to BIO
charged for money.
! An illustration of the folly nna the crimi-
naiuy OF such laws isatEorded by the recent
affair in Nov Tork-tho facts Of which arc
az follows: BY. tho laws Of New York The
banks of that State arc Imitod, by Av, to
seven per cont per annum upon all loans OF
money made by them. No matter how
] great the demanJ for, nor how great the
present value OF the use Of, money may
be, the acceptance by them Of nny
higher rnte of interest would work
o forfeiture OF the money loaned,
and subject them 10 other penalties.
Tho ordinary course Of business is for uaer-
| chants to sell goods at d credit of from two
to four months, md tho notes they receive
for these they depoei. in bank, and, as they
want money from time to time, they borrow
from the banks. Tho facility of borrowing
enables them to sell goods on credit; other
wise they would have TO do q cash business
or have d capital oqual To their stock on
| land, and also to tho amount of tho four
ulontha sales to their customers. There
arc also @ number Of men who deal in
money and have large amounts Of it on
hand, Occasionally eight or ten of these
combine, and they borrow from the banks
MI the money which those institutions hny6
to loan: they borrow this for ten days or
two weeks, paying therefor tho statu-
tory ratio Of Beyen per cent
interest. They leaTe this money in
the banks as IN addiou1 Bocurity for the
| loan. The whole mercantile community,
| including the stock operators, arc thus cut
| of from any accommodation in the bants,
and, to sare their credit and to enable them
selves to meet imperative Obligations, they
have to go to these combined money
lenders to borrow. Tho latter nro willing
to lend, but at fearful rates. They ask md
receive for one or two OF ten-day loans
at rate ranging from thirty to ninety per
cent per anuum- In this way, by borrow:
ing aud locking up in the banks five mill
ions for two weeks ut the rate Of seven per
cent per anuum, they ara euabled to lend
out Of their own money for the same
pe1iod 4 like amount at the rate Of sixty per
cent This operation repeated sir or eight
times year affords the operators q magnif-
icent yield. This may be and is usury in
| the real sense Of the tern; but it Is the d.
rect result Of the ususy laws, and could not
be successful without the projection which
those laws afford.
If money were free, Us is all other ner-
chandise, md the banks wero allowed To
| charge Whatever the use Of the money was
worth, they and the outside owDerB Of
money would be competitors. No bank
would lend all the money it had on hnnd
! for seven per cent when ii could obtain
! rate cqual to the deuannd. II money
were worth fifty per cent to the operator, the
bnnk would exact that rate, and the profit
Of the combination would DO destroyed But
80 long as the law restricts the panks 10
seven per cent, the~outslde operator can
afford to tako al 1t hnA ut that rate, aud
then e1tort from the necessities Of the
! public such tates rs he thinks proper.
There is spasmodio attempt to break
M this business by prosecuting these par
ties for ustlry, md the courts Of New York
| haye been nppealed to for redress; but the
real remedy Is in the repeal Of tho usurr
laws themselves, which arc at once the
cause M well as the protection OF such e.
I carbonate opera,ious,
| The rs,rv lan5 arc. ueccssariIy. i.nprao.
! t;cob1o IF A sells his ow1, note Of a thou.
sand do1lars having sixty tlays to ruu. to u
| a. ,,;rs buni7,od do71.,a tho t,nne,c.ion ia
neur;ore and ro;3 lint If A e.ec,to tho
eono no4o :, r an1 e se,Is II tn n fo7 cir
hr,,d-oa 5o1,ora Il 70 mr.. nur;o,u b,t ,or.