The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-12-16


Usury Law of Virginia" was real by
Mr.. N b. Johnston. His address was
strong and we'll sustained argument,
and his illustrations carefully drawn.
The limiting of the rate Of interest to
6 per cont, said Mr.. Johnston after
some opening remarks, has for long
time been classed by me with those
restrictive governmental regulations
which have come to detest, as being
destructive of mems rights, liberty and
interests, and while it can not properly
be denominated as class leg
islation, still it is legislation
which, being aimed at class,
has reflex effect and acts, in my
humble opinion, detrimentally to tho
whole community, and that too without
reaching the class sought to be reached
With these restrictive measures would
class the proposed silver measure,
though it may seem parodoxical to say
that bill for free coinage of silver is q
restrictive measure, and it may more
properly be styled q measure for gov
ernmental interference.
The requiring by tho government
that l should surrounder 81 worth of
property for rs cents worth Of silver, or
its compelling mo to pay Richmond Is
per cent. more for nails than l can buy
them in Pittsburg could not be greater
restriction of my liberty than to say
that because my money is in Virginia
that | must therefore take 6 per cent
for it, whereas if / had it in Mississippi
could get 10 per cent for it. There
must be some argument in favor of this
restriction, or we should not have it,
and | should like to hear it; but the
only argument that has ever been pre-
scented to mo as one for low rates of
legal interest was that of force. There
arc more people who want TO borrow
money than there arc who have it to
loan, and so the majority combine and
say to the money owner, "You will not
loan to me at per cent. and will fix it
so you shall not loan to any one for moro
than that without jeopardizing the ex-
cess" and so they have fixed it.
The idea has been with these law
makers that they would make interest
low, the result has been they have made
1t high, for if the Roanoke borrower, in
times of local stringency, had the ability
to make the owners of money in the
centcrs secure in the collection of s per
cent. interest he could get all he wanted,
whereas, being unable to do that, he
must pay the local lenders 10 per cent.
or IL per cent, and often cannot get it
then, though it may be over SO plentiful
elsewhere.
My acquaintance has not laid with
tho statesmen and legislators of the
country, but rather, in fact, altogether
with practical business men, and fiat
ter 81 I. 4
privilege of associating with some very
sensible men of that class, and they in
variably hold this view that these re-
strictions were baneful, and instead of
benefiting, injured their promotion
Why has not the State the same right
to fix price upon my merchandise that
she has upon my money? Suppose there
should be law prohibiting the collect
ing above certain price for nails, if
you will pardon another allusion to the
SHOP" does anyone suppose that it
would reduce the price of that article
one cent below the market value? 1t
would make no difference whatever, ex-
cept this, that whoever went to buy apy
nails would have to carry his money
with him in his hand, for no sensible
merchant will enter on his books a
charge which he knows the law forbids
his collecting, and the trade in all arti-
Giles to which such law was made to
apply would be reduced to a strictly cash
basis possibly very much to be de-
sired end for the merchant, but how
much business would the country do if
dealings were confined to what each man
had the ready cash in his hand to paw
for?
There is class in every community
called paper ShaverS," mon who make
their money by exacting high rates of
discount from their patrons. For these
men the advocates Of low rates of legal
interest have great hatred, if not con-
tempt, as enemies of all that is right.
while they themselves are solely re-
sponsible for the existence of such a
class, for by their framing of this
severely restrictive legislation they
place premium upon the violation of
the laws too tempting for human ma
ture to resist, whereas if money was al
lowed to flow back and forth, and like
water and other things in nature, seek
it's own level, the employment of tho
paper shaver would practically cease.
There are some who oppose a high
rate Of legal interest from a moral
standpoint, but why there should be
more OF evil in mans paying per
cent. or 10 per cent. for money with
which to do his business upon a cash
basis than there is in making him pay
90 per cent. additional profit because he
has to buy on time, l am unable to see.
have no statistics on tho subject as
to how these things work elsewhere,
but my conclusions are all drawn from
what seems reasonable and moro especi-
ally from the fact that the effect of the
law is practically nil, for who in Roam
oke, or for that matter in Virginia,
would start on. to-day with the expec-
tation OF discounting a piece of com
mercial paper at per cent? The peo-