The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1871-01-31
COLUMBUS CoRREsPONDENCE

COLUMBUS, O., Jan. 21, 1871.
For the Spirit
Shall There be Free Trade In
Money!
While it is admitted on all hands that
the right to acquire, control and enjoy
property is one of those inherent rights
that should not be interfered with by
any governmental enactment, yet history
shows us that it has been found necessa
ry in all civil governments to have laws
regulating the letting of money for usu-
ry; and the great trouble with us now is,
to know what price the lender should
have to fairly compensate him for the
use OF his money and at the same time
enable the borrower to use the same
without sustaining loss. This appears
to be necessary from the nature Of
things. Money being the measure of
value and capable of commanding and
controlling all other species of property,
being endowed with a power that may
very readily be used to the oppression
Of the people.
II has been claimed by the friends of
this proposition that the stringeney of
our laws on the subject of usury has
caused a large amount of monicd capital
to be removed from our State, and to
seek investments in other States more
liberal than ours; while this may be be
the fact, it does not necessarily follow
that it is a calamity. The people of
Ohio are properly balanced people,
having enterprise and prudence on an
equipoise, and not willing to risk the in
vestment of money in ordinary business
at over eight per cent Having learned
by experience and observation that in
transactions where the capital invested
costs more than the profits generally
enures to the lender and MOTTO the user !;
hence the money lenders are the only
persons who are anxious for free trade
or higher legal rates of interest.
The rates Of interest should be such
as would ensble persons of ordinary in
dustry, skin and prudence to. use it with
at least small profit; our laws should
all be made and adopted to the ordinary
capacity of men, or if there should be
any deviation from this rule then it
should be in favor of the weaker por-
ton of our people; to protect the hon
est and ignorant against the evil devices
of the more cunning and sagacious.
What does our experience teach us ?
Does it teach us that men can start and
maintain business On capital borrow
ed at ten per cent per annum? The his
tory OF the country shows that nine-
tenths of all the enterprises made on
this basis have proved disastrous to the
undertaken; or how many men after d
series of years devoted to business can
now count ten per cent per annum on
the capital employed in that husiness?-
Few, very few indeed. Then,if ordinary
men are not able to use money without
loss, at any given rate of interest, that
necessarily is too high; but it is claimed
that men should be left to contract for
themselves, and abide their contracts.
This undoubtedly would be all right
in normal state of society, but where
government assumes the right not only
of coming money and regulating the
value thereof, but of creating currency,
or in other words substitute for money
the value whereof is wholly fictitious
and imaginary contracting or expanding
the same at will and distributing it
through the several sections of the coun-
tIy in such proportion as will enable one
section to effectually control the finan-
cial and business relations of other Sec
tions,. less favored by governmental pat
ronaee, in. such an event it becomes EN-
I-nently proper that we, as State, should
let down the brakes on the money mon
gers created by Federal favoritism before
the entire wealth of our State becomes
concentrated in their most avaricious
grasp. W. MILLIGAN.
The above is written over my psope,
| signature for the reason that many of the
people Of, our county may hold different
views on tlIis subject, and hope they
will give expression to the same, so that
Imay be the better prepared to vote the
sentiments Of my constituents. W. M.