Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1897-02-12
USURY.

UOUR1.
The following article from the
Southern Mercury shows only too well
how the wealth earned by the many
is stolen by the few:
FIFTY years ago money loaners did
not reloan their interest to as great
extent as now. Then the loans of any
one individual were small compared to
what they are now. and the interest
was largely used to pay the expenses of
living. Now we have many so rich
that with the greatest extravaganza
they can spend only small part of
their income. Hence the great for
tunes are steadily drawing compound
interest. An agent of the st. Louis
building and loan company called on
us the other day and left us a little
book explaining the working of the
company. In the book we found the
following table which we presume is
correct:
$1.00 drawing interest at
Compound: Simple.
10 per cent. will in
10 years amount to 2.59 5 200
90 years amount to 6.73 300
30 years amount to 17.45 400
40 years amount to 1926 800
90 years amount to 111.39 600
100 years amount to 13,7S0.61 11OO
Two hundred years, compound
interest, amount $1S9,905, ,270.46;
simple interest, $21.
Three hundred years, compound
interest, amount to $2,716,010,996,-
1854; simple interest $31.
"To pay the above amount would
engage Ill paying tellers just 800
years, precisely as long as it would
take $1.O0 at 10 per cent. to produce
it, each one to count $40 every second
without intermission during banking
hours from 9 to 4 and work every day
in the year, Sundays excepted.
Pursuing the above table, it will
be seen that it will only be amatter of
time when compound interest to indi-
viduals will centralize in the hands of
the few practically all the wealth of
the nation. There is only one avenue
of escape, and that is government
loans. We may increase our money
volume and give great temporary re-
lief, but compound interest would
soon place us back where we are. No
body's property is really safe. The
money lenders, by simply refusing to
invest except in loans, can SO tie up
the circulating medium that no prop
erty owner could escape going in debt.
Government loans, instead of ac-
cumulating wealth in the hands of the
few, would indirectly divide every dol
lar of interest received among all the
people. With the government doing
all the money lending, no man could
sit idle in his easy chair and grow
rich off other peoples labor through
interest. Government banks would
furnish all the people an absolutely
safe place of depositing money; would
loan money at all times on good Sc
curity at a low rate of interest.
The merchant or other person
who now goes to the bank could still
so to it if it was owned by the govern
ment. The rate of interest might be
two per cent. year, or, even if it was
four per cent, it would not matter,
for the profits would belong to the
peoples treasury and would take the
place of that much taxes. Four per
cent. to the government would be as
cheap as two per cent. to individuals.
With government banks any en-
terprise, however great the govern
ment should undertake, could be car
ried out without issuing bonds or 60
ing in debt in individuals. For ex-
ample, if the government desired to
build a railroad that would cost one
hundred million dollars the railroad
department could borrow of the bank
ing department the required sum,
either with or without interest. The
money paid out by the railroad de-
partment would Immediately find its
way back to the banking department,
the people to whom it was paid would
of course, take it to the banks and
deposit it. Just look at the above
compound interest table and consider
that We are now paying compound
interest on more than ten thousand
million dollars, and then consider
also the impossibility of ever paying
out under the policy of the Rothschilds
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