The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1890-01-24


oyerburdened farmers and other own.
ers of homes to pay debts which they
are utterly unable to pay at existing
rates of interest, and to obtain of ali
borrowers, money at what 1t actually
costs to provide it for them. Every debt
lie to be Paid in full. and If, Ia the end,
few persons fail, the one per cent pei
annum charge for the use OF money
borrowed will make such losses good.
SC that all will be gamers and nobody
loser except only those that are now
too far gone to be saved. Nor is It ex.
pected that any honest person will oh.
tain money without labor, or without
exchanging some kind Of property OF
security for 1t. The scheme is alto.
gether practical and reasonable.
A great deal Of money is used In
lending which is not the property OF
the lenders. Banks, for example, use
. large portion of their deposits in dis
counting notes and bills, and so far as
that amount is concerned. it matters
not to the banks whose property 1t is.
A change of ownership of the money
would work no hardship on the banks.
What they enjoy is the use of the
money and the ownership is of no con-
sequence to them. The owners-de-
positors-have no part in the lending;
they deposit their surplus funds in
bank for safe.keeping and by custom
permit it's use by the banks until it il
called for. Receiving no share of the
interest, it is not important to them
what interest rates are. They use
money in their business just as they do
books, pens, weights and measures,
wagons and carts. They are not deal
ing in money, and for that reason, so
long as they are not compelled to bor-
row money they are not troubled about
the money market. They do not care
whether interest rates are high or low.
They want money to use in their busi-
ness, not to lend. 1t lie the same with
every other class Of citizens, except on
ly the lenders of their own money, as
before suggested. Farmers, mechan-
les, laborers, clerks, professional per-
sons-all classes, with the single ex-
ception, use money only in its func.
tional application-ds necessary instru.
naent in trade. When q farmer pur-
chases wagon or a pillow, when a
mechanic purchases a saw or an az,
when laborer buys a coat or a hoe,
when a clerk secures table or pen,
when a professional man pays COR his
book case-in these and in all like
cases money is used simply in paying
for the particular articles. not accor.
ding to the value of the money, but &C.
cording to the value of the things pur-
chased, and the question of interest
does not arise in the transaction at all.
But, as to the man who uses his mon.
ey as the liverystsble.keeper does his
horse-lets it out for hire, to him inter-
est is a great matter. The owner of
houses would not be affected by q
change in interest rates, because houses
are not built of money, but of stone
and clay and iron and wood and paper
and glass. Labor, which imparts
value to houses, is the basis of cost and
cost is the basis of rent. A house
would be quite as serviceable with
money at l per cent. as it would be
with money at per cent. The same
rule holds gooi applied to all classes
of property except money, and only to
such amount of money as is used by
owners in lending it for interest The
exception comes from the particular
use of money. When used by owners
simply in buying and selling property,
it has no interest value whatever. 1T
is only when used as capital invested
for returns on its use that it becomes
to changes in the money
market.
The aggregate amount of money in
the country may be put in round mum.
bers at S2,2OO,OOO, 900. One-fourth
part of that aggregate, or say. for con-
venience, $500. 900 il used by per-
sons who own it for lending OIL inter-
est. Let it be remembered that this
is money which owners, not agents,
lend. Banks may use as much as. this
or more, but it is not all their own;
most of it belongs to their depositors.
The money which owners and only
owners, lend, that is the money and
the only money which will be affected
by the changes here suggested. Loan
agents and bankers who act as spec
tally authorized agents of owners to
loans for them, are agents
for that particular purpose and are
therefore herein classed with their
principals-all acting as or with or for
owners in investing the came money. |
And this money so used is not to be |
with the money which
use in the regular course of
business.
Putting the amount of this cap, tai
money. ii the expression is allowable
money used by owners only for lend
ng, at $500, 900. 900. if the government
obtain that much money, it may, in
The course of few years assist debtors
Who are in danger Ct financial ruin,
70 pay all their Indebtedness to the
thua saving all the debt