Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1870-12-23
The USury Law.

tee IN the House OF Representatives OF oouth
Carolina, has introduced a bill to repeal the
act of 1866, which was repeal of the old
laws preventing usury The bill will succeed,
in our opinion, as it ought to do. All men
engaged in industrial pursuits, planters, farm-
ers, manufacturers and mechanics, and the
common aborers of the country, will be bene'
fitted by the restoration of the old law Those
few citizens having money to lend, and spec
ulative borrowers, more or less, will favor the
Unlimited interest on money. 1t should be
remembered that the specuating classes add
nothing to the wealth of the State, and pre-
vent capital from being invested 10 produc'
tivepursuits. There is no safe and Legitimate
business in tho State that can return good
profit to the man that carries it on, and pay
over and above seven per cent. on borrowed
capital.
But, it is said, why not let every man got
as much interest on his money as he can get
people to agreo to give, the Same as other
people get US high prices for their proper
| ty, Us they can obtain We answer, that
high, usurious rates Of interest, (if we may
use the terms,) being manifestly destructive
to the productive business of the country, the
public good requires the restraints of law to
be imposed upon them, as all experience has
shown in tho history of civilized States. Eve
ry other State, we believe, in this Union, be-
sides South Carolina, has limited the interest
on money, or, in other words, have laws
against usury. The act of 1866 was an cx-
pertinent, upon the theory that it would aid
in bringing capital into the State. This has
proved utterly fallacious, and always will
Capitalists like profits, but like security for
the principal as we'll, and no large capitalist
will lend money on long time at cxtravagant
rites of interest, where the loan is to individ-
uals. But those under the necessity Of 80
borrowing cannot possibly secure their conf
dcnce, and confidence is indispensable to move
o,pital. If borrower has safe cohatcrals
to insure loan, he is not going to pay high
interest, for he would prefer to dispose of them
for the money, rather than borrow and pay
for year or two more high rates of interest.
Besides, it is perfectly natural that a capital
ist in New York or Boston would lack conf
dencc in all the citizens of a State who would
try and tempt them to loan money by promis.
ing cxtravagant interest for it. There is an.
other reason for the law to fix limits on the
interest of money, and not on the price of 9th
er property. 1t is impossible to regulate the
price of cotton and corn and manufactures,
aud the wages of labor, by law and there
fore the law does not undertake it. But it is
possible, as we'll as necessary, to regulate, or
t, have n fixed standard for the intcrest of
money, and this is done all over the world
The money lender, or debt holder therefore,
in every State, has the assurance of law that
ho shall always receive at least a certain proft
o his money, varying in different States
With us it is seven per cent. But the labor
CIR has no such assurance Of profits on his la.
br, or the producer of any certain profits on
his produce. The lender or the debt holder
has in this an immense advantage over the
producer, or owner of any kind of property
1T he takes advantage Of the distressed condi.
tion of the country, or of particular indiyidu-
ais, to exact more than the lawful per
cent let him be discouraged by the risk which
the usury laws provide. 1t is very truo that
there arc exceptional cases, where person
may borrow money at high rate of interest,
and protect themselves from greater sacrifices,
But the general good, and the pol;oy aaaa
nclfarc of the State should never be made
subservient to the interest of the few, or to
afford occasional benefits to particular ndi.
v,duals at the expense of tho masses of the
people.
We repeat what We have said on former
occasions, that the repeal of the old usury
laws by the act of 1866 is doing damage to
the State, and will continue to do damage, by
confining loans of money to speculators, or to
men in desperate circumstances, who will sci.
dom benefit themselves or any one else by the
use OF it; and paradoxical as it may appear,
the big rates of interest prevents the circula-
ton of capital. 1t keeps up the expectation
, in the holders of money of receiving ex xtraya.
CANT rates of interest, 40 much SO TINT they
!, will not loan it without making such contracts.
and very often capital is thus boarded and
kept back from circulation becauso no one
, will give large per cent. Whereas, if the
the law made the taking over seven per cont.
J hazardous, they would place their money in
the hands of those who would circulate Il in
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