New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-12-07
THE PAYMENT OF INTEREST.
ANSWER TO A FIAT MONEY! SUGGESTION.
AND WHO Is THE TRUE FRIEND OF THE LABOR
ING MANI
rro, Tho Weekly Tribune

From The weekly IflDune.
I am in receipt of another very long commune
cation from Mr.. F. c. Sherman, of Palmyra, Wis,
with reference to the subject of " Fiat Money
The main features OF his article will receive my
attention at a later day. Near the close of his
letter he says:
Ny interests have been. and my sympathies now
are with the laboring, useful people. am an anti
usurist do not believe because person is already
rich that the poor should be compelled to labor to make
ham richer i do not know how usury or interest can
be abolished, except by Government loans OF money
on security without interest.
He then closes by stating that he fears that
such a result can never be reached except through
the agency Of irredeemable fiat money which
shall liberate the people from the terrible curse
brought upon the world by the use OF gold and
silver as the medium of exchange.
In this article I desire TO call attention TO the
bntenabIe theory tlat the payment OF interest is
simply another name "for robbing the poor to
aid the rich In the Quiet permit me to state
that too am in favor Of the useful, laboring
people belong 10 the laboring class myself.
have no income on which to rely for the support
of myself and family except the payment which
I receive for work performed l am also Dor
rover of money and not lender. | have been
having interest and not receiving ii most OF my
life.
The first difficulty which arises in the examina-
ton Of this subject is the indefniteness OF the
statement ALWAYS INDUCED in by men of Mr..
Sherman's belief that his sympathies are with
the "laboring, useful people" lie neglects to
tell MS what individuals he would include in the
term "laboring, useful people The great ma
iority of the wel-to-do and even rich men of The
United States are hard and constant workers;
mauy of them are exceedingly useful. Indeed
the number Of people in the United States who
do not constantly labor at something is small
/ agree that man who has kind Of work on
hand. who leads an idle, aimless life, is surely
useless human being As rule. in obedience to
natural laws, such man is usually also a
miserable creature The possession Of wealth does
not however Of necessity, make brute Of
man. II a man possesses the intellect and the
heart which will enable him to be of use to his
fenow-men, then the ownership of property will
simply increase his usefulness. Such men are
always organizing large enterprises which FURNISH
labor for their fellow-men and lead up TO COM
Portable homes and a good living for men VINO
simply labor with their hands.
Nearly all the industries which have made the
United States of America so prominently the
abode of comfort for men who do muscular Work
have been established by such men as nave
named know that now and then man may
be found who manages large enterprise anu
who has little regard for the comfort or weilare
of the people whom he employs. But such
man soon comes to he looked upon as sore VI
monster and never as a good business man. As
a rule. the men who labor have no better friends
in any community than the men Tor WHOM 'DeS
work.
7 protest against the constant habit or certain
men who 90 about claiming to be the friends
,ha ipola M
one instance where some man is hearted sell
6sbs cruel nerhaps almost brutal, and has charge
of a large business. and though there is not III
tbe world TO exceed one of that kind out OF
every hundred of our business men, they VIII
draw the picture of that enc, and then assert
that he is a type Of the other ninety and nine
Nothing can exceed the unfairness, indeed, tne
actual wckedness of such q proceeding
II any one has a doubt as TO the comparative
scarcity of that kind Of man, let INN sit oo"h'
pencil in hand and make list, as nearly as he
can. of every man with whom he is acquainted III
,he world. Then let him mark the term laoorer
opposite the name of each person In the nst VINO
owns nothing or who owns simply small home'
and who never employs people to labor for him.
Opposite the rest he shall writ "a man OF means
He NAV then sub.divide the list. marking opposite
those whose condition will warrant it, men VINO
employ several laborers." Then let him check
AGAINST the names of each man his list
description of each man. Against those whom he BE-
iieves deserve it he shall write good, kind man.
Against others "a hard, cruel man." Then he
shall write again against each "a useful man. or
n useless man. as seems to him to be the facts
Having done this, he will be surprised to find how
many Of the persons in whom he would place
trust, in whose kindness and usefulness he be-
ieves, are men who have more or less of property
He would be still more surprised to find how rev
in the entire list were set down as being use
less More than that, he would then readily see
what an outrage this modern practice is which
calls all men who own any considerable amount
of property robbers
7 do not understand what Mr.. Sherman means
when he says I" / do not believe because person
is already rich that the poor should be compelled
30 labor TO make him richer" Who does be-
iieye that they should? Slavery was long ago
abolished in the United States. do not believe
that either the rich or the poor should be com
PEELED to labor simply for the benefit of somebody
else. Does Mr.. Sherman mean ny this statement,
if q man of means employs man TO do certain
kind of work and pays him fair, honest wages for
his labor, that the man who gives the employment
should be precluded from any kind of profit upon
the transaction? Does he believe that it s posi-
BILE to carry on business any plan which will
preclude men who have capital from investing it
in enterprises with view TO making that capital
earn something for the men so investing it?.
If a person who has saved some property has
no right to receive interest for its USE in he
surrenders the of that property to another in
dividual, then it follows that man who retains
the use of his surplus money and invests it in
business has no right whatever 10 make any gain
from such investments. How much property would
ever be invested by any sane man on such plan
as that? The taking of fair rate of interest for
the use of money from persons who desire TO in.
vest it for their own individual gains is just as
legitimate as il is for a man to invest the money
himself in some enterprise and then receive dv-
l. lie