The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-08-08
MISGUIDED DEBTORS.
HOSTlLITT TO INTEREST BEARING
LOANS AND IT'S FOUNDATION.

Creditors Would Forego Interest and
Even Cancel Obligations. There Would
Be No Free Coinage Cry.
As we shall hear great deal about
the grievances Of the debtor class during
tho present campaign, il is worth while
to inquire what those grievances are.
says the New York Tribune The cry
for free silver is, &C course, only
symptom, an extranecus issue that cir
cumstances have linked with the move
ment which eliminated in tho Chicago
convention. Back Of the question OF sil-
yer lies the fact that u multitude OF
honest but mistaken debtors believe
themselves to be tho victims OF injus-
tice. Few OF them could explain just
what that injustice is. But II we as
sumo that their sense OF wrong has
something to 40 with their being obliged
to pay interest on the money they have
borrowed we shall not be far out Of tho
way. If tho men who have money would
lend il without interest to all worthy
people who need it, giving them their
own time to repay it, or canceling the
debt altogether if the debtor happened
to 10 hard up, there would be no dissat-
isfled debtor class today, and therefore
no free silver movement.
Now, IL is an interesting fact that this
feeling Of hostility to loans at interest
is not new thing. Aristotle and other
Greek and Roman thinkers gave express
sion tn il, and for IL centuries the thco-
logians of Catholic and Protestant
Christianity reflected the same view, on
the ground that the Bible forbade the
taking Of interest for money lent.
Among the early church fathers who
denounced interest may be mentioned
st. Basil, ST. Chrysostom, ST. Gregory
of Nyssa, st. Ambrose, st. Augustine
and st. Jerome. Lactantius called the
taking Of interest robbery. Pope Leo the
Great declared il to be q sin worthy OF
severe punishment. Every great church
council from the council of Elyira in BOG
to that of Vienne in 1871 solemnly
condemned money Lending at interest.
Many sovereigns of Europe, under the in
f1uence of the church--among them JUS
tinian, Charlemagne, Alfred the Great
of England and St Louis Of France
issued DEGREES against money lending.
Pope Gregory x forbade Christian bur-
elaborated che Scriptural argument
against usury, and Dante placed money
lenders in the hottest corner OF his In
ferno." This was tho view Of interest
uniformly taken by the madieval
church. and as resGlt nearly all mon
ey lenders were Jews, since Christians
could not go into the business without
losing their souls. But, as il was be-
lieved that Jews were TO be damned in
any case, some canonists held that they
might wisely be allowed to pursue the
infamous calling.
Nor did Protestants differ greatly
from Catholics on this question. Luther
denounced every usurer as thief, and
Melanchthon agreed with him. In Eng
land, during the reign Of Edward vi, a
law was enacted declaring that whoever
lent money at interest should forfeit
principal and interest. Some of the
Puritan preachers condemned all inter
est as un-Scriptural. In 1894 John
Blaxton, al Anglican clergyman, wrote
book entitled "Usury Condemned,
in which he defined usury us the taking
Of any interest whatever and quoted as
condemnipg 1t archbishops and bishops
and more than 30 doctors Of divinity in
the Anglican church. But even while
this book was being read its teachings
began to be questioned. not in England
alone, but all over Europe. The necessi-
ties Of commerce overbore all the argu-.
ment against tho taking Of interest, and
both the Protestant and Catholic theo-
logians finally Tc;reated from the tradi-
tional view The texts which seemed TO
them to forbid usury are still in the
Bible, but they arc 10 longer taken to
mean what they Terc supposed TO mean
for so many ccnturies Similarly, in
Scotland, at The beginning of this GEN.
tury the usc Ct tanning mills for win
moving grain wae for time condemned
as un-Scriptural, because the Bible says,
"The wind bloweth where it listeth,"
etc. I,ut as the tanning mills continued
10 be used u modified Interpretation OF
the text Supposed 10 condemn them was
adopted.
1t would he erroneous TO suppose that
this feeling Jf hostility TO loans at in
torost is an evidence OF dishonesty, mis-
taken though We lnow it 10 be. The
theologiars who fastened IL as n dogma
on tic church were honcstnndc conscien-
tious mcn, ard so arc most of their fol.
lowers today in tho south and west who
arc deaoulciag tho money power. They
are simply lahcriur under n grievous
mistake. rs were iho theologians, and
instead CT gTSyrilg lent with them
it is our -drty p.show them, in all kind
ness wkarein thcir mistake lies. Tho
campaign rpoa which We are entering