People's party paper. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, 1895-10-25
Timely Topics.

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Of ssThe Little Statesman" "a book
Just issued by The Schultz Publish
ing Co., of Chicago.
The author, Mr.. K. L. Armstrong,
dedicates the work to the voters
who supported the Omaha Platform.
Being one Of those individuals, we
feel quite at liberty to examine "The
Little Statesman" and to compare
him with the said Omaha Platform.
One of the positions maintained in
the book before US is that the taking
of interest for the use of money is,
in the very nature of things, unjust
and oppressive.
We would like to know in what
portion of the Omaha Platform that
doctrine is asserted.
When an author writes a PAM
phlet On his own hook, claiming to
epeak for himself only, he is of course
free to disencumber his thought
closet of any vagaries which may be
orowdiDg it; but when such author
undertakes 70 expound the creed of
any sect or party, then he owes it to
said sect or party not to mix his in
dividual theories with the declared
principles of said sect or party.
We undertake to say that the
Omaha Platform not only fails to
sup port the views of "The Little
Statesman" but expressly endorses
the opposite.
Mr.. Armstrong, in common with
others who agree with him upon that
subject, quotes the Old Testament
copiously. Very well suppose we
examine the Biblical position little.
The taking of interest for the use
of money is denounced In the Bible:
If the interest is exacted By Jeeo
from q Jeao.
In dealing with anybody but a
Jew, the Jew was allowed to charge
interest.
At the time this command was
given, the Jews were perhaps in a
smaller minority, as compared to the
balance of mankind than they are at
the present day. Where there were
a thousand Jews, there were a mil
lion of other folks.
Now, if God said that the taking
Of interest was intrinsically wrong.
how can you justify Him in allowing
the Jew to rob the Gentiles ?
The exacting of interest is either
wrong Or right, in itself.
If there is no crime in taking inter
est from million Gentiles, there can
hardly be any crime in taking it
from a thousand Jews.
We can very we'll see how a small
race of people like the Jews charged
with a special mission, might be en-
joined to observe peculiar relations
among themselves, but we cannot
allow the Socialists to bring God
into the reproash of having said that
a wrong might be perpetrated upon
a million Gentiles, provided it were
not practiced upon thousand Jews.
We honor God too much to be
lieve that He ever sanctioned SO
monstrous a doctrine.
But aside from the Bible, and
aside from the Omaha Platform, we
contend thai the taking of reasonable
interest for the use of money is a.
clearly right as the taking OF hire for
the use OF anything else which be-
longs to another.
w en- we borrow a thousand dol
lars from another, we get the use of
something that does not belong to us;
and in proportion as that somstaiug
IS useful to us, we ought to pay for
it. Otherwise we would be getting
something for nothing.
We hire horses, wagons, houses,
lands, engines, franchises, privileges
and Labor.
Whyf Because they belong to some
one else, and we are willing to pay
for the use of what belongs to another.
How else can we get it? The
Socialist says that it is proper to pay
for the usa of a horse because Vuu