The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1874-06-19
COMMUNICATION.


The Car.e OF Tennessee.
When the advocates 81 conventional inter
csi law were arguing iss prupriety aud suppos-
Ell bcnehts. We were told that Tcnnesscrans had
vast amount u money loaned out IA Missouri
aud other Western States, where they could g,t
ten per cent Tor It, aud that u Ne would enact
this law al OF this money would be brought
home aud loaned out 20 build factories. that
the bondholders would sell their bends and
loan out the money; that money would how in
frcm other States which Keep up the old f,'Sy
rule Of Elk per cent; thst this Influx woaM
greatly increase the taNablcs " the state and
thus reduce our taxes. and that our glofieus
old commonwealth would al once he liftcd IN
frum the slough ~ poverty aud distress and
placed upon the high roadto plenty, prosperity
sud happiness. our people believed this beau
tful story, enacted the law and IL has resulted
q, the loaning ef great deal of money. Many
/ h our iariiitrs have sold their farms and gone
10 leaning money al ten per U.nt. IA q. a h.tt.t
business than selling goods. and samc ~ cur
merchants have sold cut their merchandise and
hotook thonselves 10 leaning money II ten per
cent: In short, we have great army of mo
lney-lendcrs IN rcnnesSee operating under the
ten per cent interest law, aud we have mory
farms inortgagcd In one year now Ia secure the
loan III money at ten per cent than were mort
gagged In i've years under thc old Law a. SECURE
money at six per cent. II auy man doubts this;
let him examine the hrgisterss books of his
great ingenuity aud shreWdness In drawing
their mortgages, our supreme Court IN il
wisdom has decided that a. ptomisS0ry note,
stpulltir2 that IT, interest shan become prin.
cipal and also draw interest II not paid In an
nual or semi.anuuAl installments az may bu
provided IN the note, II legal instrument and
this decision has greatly aided our none, lend.
ers Ia making ten per cent good thing. For
linstanco, my friend, honest Tom Jones, wants
10 borrow two thousand dollars. He goes over
10 Col. Thompson, Who'll In the ten per cent bu.
~ioors. III. Col. tells him s.vuttainiy, you eau
have the money Oh real estate security; hut
will not loan IL for less time than three YEAR,"
This suits honest Tom Tor II gives him q good
long time 10 pay u IN. He and his old woman
go 10 the Clerks office and sign up the deed IN
which they waive their right 10 homestead:
she valves her right 10 dover in the event
honest Tom should die hefow the mortgage Is
forcclosed; they both waive the equity OF re-
demption and authorize the Colonies son Dick,
who Is the trustee, 10 sell for cash In hand ~
soon rs the debt natures, Then honest Tom
signs seven notes; one for two thousand dollars
due three years from ,iatc and bearing ten per
cent interest after maturity: and siX others for
one hundred dollars each. due In six scmi.an-
nua installments and earh bearing ten per
cent interest after maturity. These one hun
drcd dollar notes are coupon notes, given for the
interest. In other words, they are the COM
pounding part Of the machine. Now, IL any.
NUN nNs " NNuut ABOUT tFn DEF cent. uting u
good thing, inst let him call at the Office OF the
Register Of his county aud read one Of these
tcn per cent mortgages.
| have said that this law has resulted IN the
loaning of good deal Of money, but ! have
never been able 10 see where IL reduced our
taxes, nor have seen or heard of any factories
II has hnllt. and that good time which was
promised us by the money ring that procured
the passage of this Ubiquitous law has never
come Money is scnrcer and harder togct than
II ever has been. our people are harder run
md complain more about hard times than they
ever did. Indeed, u Is almost impossible 90 get
money hnless You have II good farm and arr
willing to sci ten per cent machine 10 work
upon IL. Nor Is thi. all. our lands. rs every
man OF intelligence knows, have gone down nj
least twenty-five per cent since the passage Of
this law, aud II Is pushing them lower and
lower every day of the year. With the depre-
citation of land, of course amost all other pro-
perry keeps pace.
But II Is said that all interest laws are wrong
In principle-tha money ought 10 be lrit 10
regulate It's value, like corn aud wheat, h/ihc
laws OF demand ani supply. This is shallow
inllacy, but still II might 10 if there were no
slylocks 10 oppressive poor and 10 take ad,an-
tsgc OF the necessities OF the unfortunate Mo-
ncy ~ not commodity. No onc keeps IL for
sale. IL is the standard Of values, aud ~ long
as money Is scarce, crops prove bad or mi>for-
tunes Of amy Kind oveitake men. c0ld-hparted,
h''"" hNu'N 'itHuVIN VIZ lhhc advantage ut
their necessities by looming money AZ tho hlgh-
est legal rate of interest. Shylock was moi
mere creature Of Shakspcaro's Imagination. lie
WIS and Is living. humnn existence. He eN-
lists to-day all over Tennessee. aud continues a.
make his unreasonable demand not Of hound
Of flesh, but Of eXorhitant rates Of interest
which no man IN legitimate. honest business can
afford 20 pay. In England, where there Is the
accumulated wealth OF n thousand wears, 10 nav
do to let interest regulate Itself because "A SUI
perabundance of wealth win always keep in
terest low; but In u new. sparsely settled and
Compatibility poor country like this, IL Is the
hight Of folly 10 give the moncy.lendcr the
power 10 demand high rate Of interest. We
have tried the experiment, and II has proved n
curse 10 orr people. Let Us repeal the niquit-
ouslaw, aud make the taking OF more than six
per cent IN any manner, shape or form for
feiturc Of both the debt aud interest
GRANGER.