The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1871-11-03
The Interest Law.

Tue subj ct OF a c0uye EtiOnal inter
1T law Las again been revived at
Nashville in the Legislature, and bill
introduced 70 repeal the present ju-
licious Law allowing 10 per cent, where
parties agree on that rate. o. this
subject We agreee most fa!y with our
cotemporary Of the Knoxville Pre- S
and Herald, that similar attempts on
he part of law makers, both in this
and otEer countries, to regulate the
value of money, have been tried 10
hundreds Of years, and are just a. uu-
uccessful to-day, as. they eve- were.
Sumptuary laws Of every description
are distasteful to the people and they
will always find means to evade them.
As well might the Legislature endeay-
Dr to regulate the price of wheat
chickens or Land, rs the price which
business man shall pay, who desires
, borrow a te 7 thousand dpIla,s. or
ahat the. owner Of the money shall
charge for its use, for a specified time
Laws of this character can only he
partly enforced and then only II the
PREJUDICE OF the very class who the
Jaw makers endeavOr to benefit.
Money, like water, seeks a level. If
Tennessee only allows per ceut. for
he use Of money, and another State
allows 10 per cent, it is very easy to
yUess where the money would go. The
natural result, then, is that money
| becomes scarce IN Tennessee. Those
who lave it send il 10 be sed where
It will pay them best. Those in Ten
utssee, who have need for it in their
business, can notget hold of it, or else
hey make q bargain, in their extTem-
ity OF need, with some old miser, in a
dark corner, and agree to pay him an
extortiOnate price, which he is forced
ocx&ct for fear Of bis violation of law
being found cut and su5jec;ing him to
heavy penalties, and the borrower is
forced to pay or go 10 financial ruin.
In California there is no law regU-
jating the interest. In most OF the
Western States the rate is fixed al
10 per. cent. What is the result? All
those States, from the bowling wilder
uesscs of twenty yeaIs ago, have be-
come thriving and prosperous c0mmu-
mites. A liberal rate Of interest iudu-
ce5 an influx Of money. Plenty OF
money makes lively business. Mines
are opened; railroads built manu-
fsctqres Of all kinds are created; ci.ies
and towns grow apace and every thing
Is PROSPEROUS. The great city of Chi
cago was built in twenty years on mon
ey borrowed at l0per cent. and to-day,
though almost swept of of the face
Of the earth, she is getting ready to
rebuild her blocks Of marble business
palaces and her rows of palatial private
residences, on money borrowed from
the eastern cities, at 10 per cent. The
United States. Government pays about
! per cent. currency on its bonds,
while $40 bought in 1862 and held till
lIle present time, if sold, would pay its
owner 81 per cent. for the nine years
he had held it. Tennessee bOrrows
money at 10 per cent and with bonds
at soc, ia paying 10 per cent. interest
~ them. There is scarcely county
ar town in the State, whose bonds do
not average 8 per cent, while The
bonds of Nashville and Memphis, 81
present quotations, realize the holders
a rate ca Ial TO 10 per cent. A tow
rae of interest has tendency 10
induce rich men 10 invest their money
In these bonds, thus withdrawing II
from buiness. whereas if they Could get
the same rate forit, public and personal
pride would induce them 10 lend II to
energetic men who would use il in The
Improvement and advancement OF the
communities in which they reside
Plenty Of money tends to create per
manent improvements, and thus IN
Ireases the revenues Of the State, Wlln
benefit both to the 5 ate and the citi-
gen.