New-York tribune., 1869-06-26
POLITICAL ECONOMY
BY HORACE GREELEY.

the inquiry were presumed TO be made In good faith
ninety to ninety-fye Of them would eagerly answo,
Yes" Ours are sangune and an enterprisino
people, most of whom believe that they need Inn,
Capital to enable them to achieve great result, AnS
yet it is not probable that one-fourth Of those ,,
80 borrowed $4,000 would ever be able 10 renav 4.
The capacity proftably and safely to employ and IN
vest large sum is rarer than its possesson
Few learn how to means much faster than tbsv
by industry and management acquire and retain
them: and those most eager to borrow are Qener.u
the slowest to pay. OF young men who have as vet
earned little nothing. doubt that even Sc nanv
rs one ia ten would be benefited by a consideraLlo
loan at least until they had laboriousy earned and
honestly saved like amount.
Still the desire 20 borrow. so prevalent with us
rests on perfectly ntelliRible and unobectiopaba
basis. An extraordinary proportion of our young
men aspire to position, consideration fortune. and
expect TO achieve these by Trade or in some depart
ment of Productive Industry. Born poor they seek
independence through the use Of Credit Other.
have borrowed, adyentuFed, and succeeded: thea
are conspicuous and seen Of all men, while the far
greater number who have failed cOnclusively and
died or sunk into obscurity, are unnoted aud soon
forgotten. II there were ten times much 10 lend
there would be no lack Of borrowers provided tbe
security proiiered were acceptable,
To q community thus suiused with the spirit Of
] aspiration, of adventure of industrial and com-
mercal enterprise the Of Paper Money is as nat.
ural as breathing. 90 not believe its suppressiona
possibility even. If Government should proscrbe
! it, it would set Government at defiance; and We
should only have a worse Paper Currency in lieu Of
the present Drive ont Nature with pitchfork,
SAYS the proverb and she will return in spite Of you
and your pitchfork So it would be with Paper Cur
rency.
I'm California and her adjunets, Gold and Silver
| being staple products it was early resolved that
| they alone should be received and circulated az
| money and that resolve has been pretty generally
lived up to- cannot learn that any of the expected
benefits have been realized. The ruling rate of in
terest at San Francisco long three per cent per
month on ordinary and at least two on the best Sc
curies it has at length fallen TO twelve per cent
per annum do not understand that Oyertrading
has been less common Credit less abused or failures
less frequent and disastrous there than on the At
antc slope; nor do believe that the spirit Of rasb
presumptuous adventure has been at ali checked BY
| Hard Money and Legalzed Usury.
object to legalzing unlimited Csury that it ends
to put the business of the country, with the use Of
its floating capital largely into the hands Of the
| more sanguine, headlong members OF the comma
nity-of those who will bid highest for loans rather
| than those who will use means most disereetly and
| safely l am willing to see our usury laws 50 mod
| fed that any one may lend money at exorbiiant
rates provided he will make his own collections aud
not trouble the State in the premises Let him. IN
curing no penalty ask three per cent per day II he
will; and lot those who choose pay it but hold
contrary to good policy that such rapacity should ba
upheld by law Let the legal maximum Of interest
be fixed and notorious; let those who see ht exceed
it at their own peril let their usurious obligations
be debts of honor. and let those pay them who see
fit The State goes far enough when 1t undertakes
the collection of debts contracted in accordance with
its convictions of sound, beneGcent policy; as TO all
other contracts let them stand or a! as they would
do if the State did not exist.
But l differ irreconcilably with those who argue
that Interest is sunust-that creditor should receive
the amount he loaned and no more. II an arpleiree
Of four years growth is naturally more valuable than
one of one or two years then it clear that he
who loaned me siO0 still unpaid. with which bought
hundred appletrees from nursery three years ago.
has now larger claim upon than If he had ioaned
me the like sum wherewih to purchase similar trees
one year ago. So the thrifty farmer who bias seed
wheat at sowing-time while his poorer neighbos
have none being solicited by them To lend II on prom
ise Of repayment out of the next crop might fairly
say, II you are to pay me barely the quantity lent
prefer 10 keep my wheat and be sure Of IT, rather
than lend il AT the risk of losing IT," II TO be idle
ing up the lost hours in some future year. Incidence
would vanquish thrift far oftener than it now does
Mans energies aEo spurred TO activity 10y the know
ledge that all savings are fruitful-that the ti@
earned and saved at one-and-twenty viii have be-
come 81 600 if carefully invested. before It's owner
seventy Te make men industrious, provldenb saw
ing seems 20 me one chief end of true, benchcent
public policy aud this would be contrayeIeJ by
denying the rightfuness oflntcrest, ii he who lends
$4,000 for year is entitled barely to the return Of
his principal then he who lets house OF farm worth
10000 is entitled 10 its restoration intact at the
years end and no more and all rights OF property
are limited To its personal use by the owner Eyi
IDENTIFY apart from the consideration OF justice, man
kind cannot afford to discourage saving by denying
the rightfulncss of Interest.
Banks were originally places where money could
be deposited for safekeepng, with reasonable assur
ance that it would be returned on demand ana such
they long remained. After time, the certificates
receipts given for sums deposited passed ~ trade
for the sums they severay represented or specihed
being simply orders on the Bank for the transfer OF
delivery of so much money At length. It was "s
covered that so signal was the convenience ana gen
eral acceptabihty of these receipts or tokens iha
they might be issued in excess of the coin at auy tine
on deposit being balanced and secured 10y the notes
on interest of borrowers who could be relied Oh !"
nav when required. Such in effect is modern BhA
ing There is no deception in the case: Inc hoiusi
of the note is well that, If every note were P
sented at once they could not be promptly met p"'
the Banks creditors often among us boro"t,'
ana debtors rs well rs its dopositoTS and nole-Ho"
ers and naturally solieious TO maintain It's sol'enet
and credit hence, Bank has very rarely i",su
except frum mismanagement and dishonesty on ,hs
ri IN, ,,f.s. aftrrf IN he