The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1876-01-29
A PLAN AS IS A PLAN.

dustrtat 1ge over the corruption OF the time
generally and the hardship of paying ruinou
rates of interest particularly, in connec'o
with which latter the democrats, republican
and every body else were franically denoun'
ed for allowing such things TO be, the FREE
TRADER mildly suggested in responsc--attr
admitting TO the full extent the misery at'eh
dant on the cyaction of ruinouS rates OF intef
est-that the Industrial -Age which seemed
to have so much 10 say on the subject CIV,
III few plain, terSe sentences, lis pun |" &c
rid of the crying evil II SO bitterly eXcorlalcd
In reply after column of preposierous twat
tie, in tone that plainly says, give us
harder ONE the Age unfolds lis plan as fol
I lows:
i We wish that u PLAZA 10 convert the FREE
! TRADER from its c iig htrd BourbOnism could
be as readily conceived of as can one for lht
Lowering of the rate OF interest In the frs
place We would have the government pay q
! less rate of interest, and secondly, we would
enact usury laws in every state in the Union
Ii is all bosh TO talk of the lneffiCiency Of pro
per nsurv laws. Such laws, providing for
and making ample provision for the proven.
ton of evasion of the law, have worked well
and completely in those states IN which they
havebeen tried-New Jersey for instance.
New Jersey, for instance" We are amaz,
ed that the Age has not also cited the Samoan
islands under the reign of the doughty Stein
berger, The plan of The Age is exactly in
keeping with such citations. Talk OF con
vertlng the FREE TRADER from Bourbonism !
Does the Age know that usury laws such as
il would have enacted, are the essence OF
Bourbonlsm They were the invention of
the middle ages, as device to save the
spendihrift, reckless sprigs of aristocracy
from the grasp of the Jews, and in that lish,
were little better than schemes to rob the
poor Hebrews Of their painfully &C.
cumulated savings In the present
advanced state Of civilization, usury laws
are discarded by most of the enlightened
nations of Europe as well as the best govern
ed states of America England wiped them
from her statute books twenty-five years ago,
yet the ordinary rate of int rest in that cOun.
Try averages one-third lower than it did be
fore her usury laws were repealed All the
heightened free commercial cities of Ger |
many have long ago dropped them as rel
cs of barbarism; and III are rapidly being
discarded by our own American states. Ex !
,ept to fix rate of interest in cases where
zone necessarily can be fixed BY the parties
as in regard to administrators
nd executors, or in judgments and execu
ions, practically most of the American states
re at present without usury laws, always
# course excepting New Jersey!
The second clause of the Ige's "plan"-to
ave the government; pay less rate of inter.
SITS even more absurd. The government
wisely pays exactly such a rate of interest as
will enable it to sell its bonds at par. In
SGG the government was glad to get
loney at q per cent Later its bonds
ould be negotiated at 8 per cent, and
n few years more it IS hoped, unless such
diouc tinancicrs as the editors of the Age
nd its coter:e Of lioOtons and Smiths should
Use into more prominence than there is at
resent any danger OF, the government will
e able TO reduce the rate of interest on It's
ebt to 4 or even 81 or 3 per cent, which is
bout what the best governments in Europe
ow pay. But suppose the advice of the
iiots referred to should be adopted and the
oveinment at once make sweeping reduc \
on of the interest on its debt to two per cent,
ow much money could the government Dor.
wv at that rate TO redeem its present s per
ent. gold bonds? The idea that the govern.
lent can raise or reduce the rate of interest
n its indebtedness at pleasure and suffer no q
'ss is the veriest chimcra of irreclaimable i
'ols. Jansen, McClurg & Co., a short time
go, published little book called the "Prim. i
: Of Political Economy" The FREE IRA. !
Err recommends to the editors of the .ige u
lat they study it year or two.