The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-05-17

=, o,uuCeltaiH GIltey 1oApSS'sVHo SSAP'
itat already yhesel to hereasycor accessible
from now9,unt;f the Question gis de-
termined Z? Thsy' ! are quite mistaken If if
they do Tie House ought; not .to have
shirked action upon the7subject, tforiby
postponing the: bill they have given it q
black eye, and prejudiced its prospect of
passage sag next fall. It was the most i'm! n!
portaut measure they. have hadv.before
them, and itshould Hhave been adopted:
We feara numberaof the members Of the
House have been influenced by the. COM
ulittee from the Charleston Chamber of
Commerce; which went up to Columbia
on Thursday to oppbse the bill, and on
Friday, II was postponed. We do not fot
blame capitalists for opposing the Usury
Law, nor for letting .outItheir uey'sat
reasonably high rates, but We insist that
the Legislature should not act to suit
their wishes simply because portion, of
them send a. delegation to represent
them. The whole. people Of South Caro-
lima are interested in this, law, and it
ought not to have been put to sleep. by
|iany aother means than asyots upon its
merits. 81 ~ COS 5as .ie1t ~ . az
Tie Chamber Of Commerce urge the
following objections to. the measure,
which we will answersin sthes order in
which they are proposed: 'ss''l.; -, A.,.'
list. That It ittestricts the natural free
dom of individuals id conducting COM
'mercial and money affairs. - ): 4,sl 81
Quarantine laws restrict the natural
freedom of individuals in conducting
commercial and money affairs also, and
yet they are maintained because they are
necessary for The public good. The
Usury Law rests upon the same general
principles. 1sst-- tea.i oie5 osT,: ,:@a,'G,
I'D. That freedom of action ID regard
to money contracts cannot be abridged
upon any principle of governmental in
terference which will not equally sane
ton the regulation of contracts for wages
and rents, because interest Is the hire of
capital just as wages is the hire of labor
and rent the hire Ofland. - ., = - -. -.
sd. That it is against the established
principles Of personal liberty for the
State TO touch Individual rights of person
and property, and that money is as much
property as land. -. : !s,'' - ~
The mistake in these two, propositions
rests in he.qfaet that nthe thing to be
proyenris assumed to abe true, when in
fact it is not. Money is an artificial
standard of value created by government,
and therefore government has the right
to- contro.. and dictate the terms of its
use. It is not Ike labor or land; for an
act Of Congress cannot create labor nor
can it create land, and therefore it; ought
not tosattempt to control such matters.
Money is an arbitrary value or standard
for exchange issued, by the government
for the convenience of its citizens, and it
has the7fight to!say upon what terms this
convenience shall be used. a3;E n'z =
4th.. That the proposed measure will
tend to make money dearer instead of
cheaper; that money IS now dearer in
Georgia and North Carolina where there
are usury laws than it is here where there
are none, and that this increased dear
ness of money will fall upon tie most
needy and numerous borrowers, and will
besides enhance the price of;all articles
required for farm and plantation supplies.
A sufficient answer to this is that if it
increases the value Of money capitalists
will be benefited, and ought not to COM
plain if the people persist IN enhancing
the value of the use of their money.
9th. That cheapness and abundance of
capital are requisite to develop properly
the resources of the State, agricultural,
mineral and manufacturing; that such
development of resources now dormant is
the only practicable means by which re-
muneraiye occupation can be. found for
the unemployed skill, intelligence and
labor now ahouRding in the State.
This proposition is true, and is one of
the strong arguments for the Usury Law.
The way to secure cheap capital is the
enactment of law regulating the rate of
interest, and then all the other ad-
vantages set forth in the position will
follow. 4.,.,., a.
9Th. That under improved government,
both Federal and State, we may look
confidently for such accessions of capital
as will produce these desirable results,
provided no hindrance is offered by legal
regulations, which, however Intellectual
afor. the purpose intended, must inevitably
prove IN practice yexatious and dis
couraging to capitalists. r ,.
We agree thataa return to good gov
ernment will be advantageous to all our
people, but do not believe a regulation
of interest will prove a hindrance to re-
turning prosperity. If low, interest is
1vexatious to capitalists, high rate is
yexatious to borrowers, and hence the
prosperity of the State is more impeded
by high rate than it would be by low
rate, for the borrowers constitute by far
sthe larger class of our people. We have
not seen the vote upon this bill, but pre-
sumo that our delegation voted together.
/. We congratulate Capt. Simpson upon OPP
posing the rejection of the bill and are
surejhe represents the sentiment Of this
county in fayoringit. @
-Mr. J. P. NJ. Epping Of Charleston,
has been appointed by the Commission
ers of Claims in Washington Special
Commissioners for the State Of South
Carolina, under the act Of Congress ap-
proved, March 8, 1877, extending the
time for filing proof in claims to March