The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1878-06-01

suou sWCiSS pCI Ccut per Au0um Sll8ll DC
paid for the use of money, and yet the
people are paying from Is to 30 per cent.
and sometimes SO for it. The laws of
Kansas say that the property Of the
debtor unless he has more than vast
majority of the citizens of Kansas have
shall be exempt from execution, but
honest men seldom claim such protection
and are therefore not benefited, Honest
men live up to their obligations, rogues
ought to be compelled to. but as long as
our laws protect them we will have a
SUR lus.
Repeal all laws exempting the property
of the debtor from execution and those
that pretend to regulate the rate of in
terest that shall be paid and what will
be the result? Will the supply of loan
able money be less or rates of interest
be higher when payment is thus made
more certain? Will the honest debtor
have less property with which to pay his
just debts? A few years ago the Gov
eminent of the United States wanted to
borrow money at lower rate of interest
than six per cent. Did Congress proceed
to pass . law like our Kansas usury laws
that no shylock should charge more than
four per cent. for his money? No, Con-
gress passed law pledging in the most
positive manner that every national
obligation should be paid in full, in
good money without any reservation of
homestead or mules. The result is that
the United States Government is now
borrowing vast sums at four per cent.
This last fact proves that the supply of
loanable funds was sufficient Then why
is it scarce in Kansas2 Just because we
do not offer sufficient guarantees that we
will pay what we agree to pay.
There never was and never will be q
usury law passed by a legislature that
will limit the rate of interest that will
be contracted and Paid. If A wants to
borrow 500 for one year, and goes to a
bank for it he is told that they cannot
loan it to him direct, that he must get
B. to borrow it for him. b takes AS
note for 500 drawing II per cent. and
sells it to the bank for 500 which he
hands over to A who in turn must pay
B $500 for his service. Thus A pays
nearly Is per cent in the face Of law
that says he shall not pay more than II.
The 5000 commission belongs to B and
if he chooses to hand it back to the bank
it does not lessen AS obligation. If a
could 60 to the bank and contract to pay
Is per cent. and was bound to pay the
full amount if it took all he had he would
do so, and since the assurance of payment
would be better q bank would be willing
TO take less interest. We have to pay for
insurance in proportion to the risk taken
and in spite of statutory provisions We
have to do the same to borrow money.
If credit system is damaging it is
because of its reckless Use. Our vast
commercial transactions would be i'm
possible without credit. Credit is the
only capital of many good business
man who makes a fortune by its proper
use. One man has money while another
has brains, skill and enterprise. Each
has capital that he cannot use, because
he still lacks that which belongs to the
other, but the man of brains can borrow
the money from the other and make it
productive to both. This is credit. The
one borrows the money because he ex
poets to make more out of the Use of it
than he has to pay, the other lends be-
cause he has confidence that the money
will be repaid with the stipulated in
terest. Why should law step in and
impair that confidence? Why should
law decide without evidence what inter-
est should be charged and paids Why
shall these two men who are to be mutu-
ally benefited by this transaction he
mpolled RI resort IN a dishnncrahla
subterfuge in order to carry out the
terms of their contract?
There is one cause of much bad legis-
latiOn that ] must mention before close
and that is the Unsuitable desire of mem
bersfor reelection. They must originate
some law that will "take" with their
constituents and laws that pay off
mans Indebtedness are only too short
roads to his affections. ALEX.