The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1890-06-12

way. suppose he has property and the INV II
In force, As no ono will lend TO him ut the le-
gal rate, nc will get in debt some other way.
lls property will bc seized and-yOu are well
acquainted with tho prices ut a forced sale.
Their action in the case Of EFFICIENCY Is still
worse. II the man could borrow Z small
amount for short time. even on the lenders
own terms. he could save himself. But for his
Benefit the law says no. yOn must not pay
this high rate" He II forced TO scil 1t m enor-
nous ioss compared to what the msury would
have done.
The plea that they project tn. simple Is si'np-
~ absurd. ANY man who II " sound mind
and wishes to borrow money win I've well
enough informed not to pay above what mon
cy II actually worth. Besides. III Il mans wenk-
ness will expose him to imposition. he will he
far more liable TO suffer IN general business
transactions. than in borrow ing money.
slight rise In the price Of goods will rnss mn-
needed, but single per cent. rise above the
ordinary interest on money h much more
noticed and is made tho subject OF popular
comment.
These laws present a constant interference In
business for the purpose Of reaching some few
abuses. and we see that In this they fail In their
object. You al know that labor can Do nothing
without capital and that capital Is equally use-
less unless combined with labor. OF what use
would several extensive manufacturing estab-
lishments have been to Robinson crusoe on the
lonely Isle. or Whist would the labor Of q thous.
and men accomplish IN half acre Of land
without the aid OF tools. Combining these two
factors. we have the harmonious working Of
mandatory with its thousand laborers. The
usury law. II substance, says this union shall
not be made unless'capital ls worth l.ss than
the legal rate.
It IL not always the poor that borrow.
Through the influence ~ one OF the greatcst
| and best Institutions OF our times, the savings
Banks, the tables are turned, the small savings
OF the poor are collected, and together loaned
to the capitalist. They In turn use the money
for their own benefit; for nearly all our great
manufacturers, railroads and other industries
are run on borrowed capital. surely the plea
| that the laws are for the benent OF poor, cannot
hold under such conditions. Borrowing in cas-
es OF necessity has also lost ite importance. for
| In the progress OF society. borrowing for com
mercial purposes has gradually become OF 0vef-
| whelming importance. By far the greater part
Of the interest now paid In the civilized world
IL only fair reward for risk Of loss, for man.
/ d8ciheht vi Cdlie0i anu nCtcesdEy 6eiulu'uS 70
saving.
| Again what legislator, with the exception Of
''Ola Hutch" would think Of trying to regulate
the price Of wheat. II they would not attempt
this course, why should they not try to fix tho
price OF money.
| The rate fixed By law Is usually the customary
rate OF the country, but, II made too high, Of
course the law will fail In It's object II TOO low.
It will be far worse than useless. for then money
will not be invested, but will remain hidden in
the ''old sock" or fireplace.
These laws are also much more harmful thOn
those prejudicetl in favor Of them would sx-
pect. Carried to their fullest extent, all bOs-
rowing and business would be stopped. We
have noticed the distress hcs,pesi upon distress
of the unfOrtunatcs who cannot borrow and
are forced to sell.
/ so far VIC have assumed that the laws are en-.
forced, but they are easy to evadc. When
there Is \ demand ior leans at q rate higher
than the legal one II will Ger tainly be paid and
the law violated II the getting or loan Il al,so-
lutcly necessary to save the borrower from n
nancial ruin,
| Many Of the means used 70 secure illegal rec
ompcnse arc well known. The cOmmonest are,
fictitious deposits in banks. commissions. ''iry"
| exchange, and loans for unnecessarily long
periods. You all know that the law II evadc<l
| In our own State ahd city. Cannot any OF our
business men tell Of the case& where the cuFh
stone banker secured ~ high as 50 or . PEI
| cent, while the legal rate Ii only lOR There
high rates were not paid by men Of property
| 5ut by the poor, whom the law h intended Il
protect. The law furnishes 4 golden Opportun-
ity for such INSCRIPTIONS sharpers, who are q,
present termed usurers. II furnishes them q
monopoly OF such loans that call for . high rate,
and besides they must necessarily charge
enough IN cnver the lAw for risk il
one OF the factors that determine the rate Of In
tcrsst. With the poor class the risk Is the
greatest and raises the rate above the legal one
hence they are turned over. by the Law, to the
Insurers, and II Is still very rare for the same
man to be honest and yet be usursr.
The object Of this discussion has not 90 much
been TO persuade you that the laws In question
are just or unjust. rs TO give some kind II . no
tion OF how practical questions are treated BY
Political Economy. The subject has been one
OF great Importance from ancient times down
/ 10 the present. IL seems that II the science
which treats OF these subjects, Political Econo-
my, were better understood by the people In
general, It would stop many OF our troublesome
controversies, especially those which relate to
| the laborcr and employer. In general, this
great science teaches Us that YR1ED0A should
be the rule and not as 1t now 50 often Is the ex-
ceptlOn.