The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-03-08
EVILS OF USURY.
Hne Hebrew Word for USury Signifies
Biting. In the Seventeenth Gen.
fury Lenders Were Pun
iShed Like Thieves.

BY usury is generally understood the
gam OF anything above the principal, or
that which was lent, exacted only in con-
slderation OF the loan, whether it is
money, corn or wares.
1t (usury) is more commonly taken : 7
IN unlawful profit. which a person makes
OF his money or goods
The Hebrew word for usury signifies
biting.
The law OF God prohibits rigorous i'm
posing OF conditions of gain for the use
OF money or goods, for exacting them
without respect to the condition OF the
borrower, whether he gain or lose;
whether poverty occasioned his borrow
ing, or visible prospect OF gain by en-
ploying the borrowed goods.
1t is SAID, in Exodus xxi, $3.50: III
thou lend money to any OF thy people
that is poor by thee thou shalt not be to
him as an usurer neither shalt thou lay
Upon him usury." And Leviticus XIV, 80.
80, 81: If thy brother be waxen poor,
and fallen in decay with thee, then shalt
thou relieve him, yea, though he be a
stranger, or a soJOurner, that he may live
with thee; take thou no usury of him. y
On the subject of usury, a writer, in a
Southern exchange, records an interest
ing interview with an old sage living on
LOOMS street, Chicago, who has drunk
deep of human philosophy.
Says the writer in question: mo one
knows anything as to his history, nor
can any information on that subject be
obtained from him. But when properly
approached he will talk freely about po-
litical economy and kindred subjects. No
one can be in his presence long without
being impressed that he is no ordinary
man. He is OF full figure, OF f1orid COM
plexion, and long, flowing white beard,
having the appearance Of youthlulness
combined with rpened knowledge.
Pursuing his account of his converse
ton with this odd man OF the people"
the writer says
He lays all our troubles to usury. He
thinks that if ,,sury had not been rein
PRODUCED into the affairs OF mankind in
the past three centuries that all OF our
troubles would have been solved wisely.
The commonly accepted idea, he
said to me, is that usury as mentioned
and condemned in the Bible has refer
ence to an excessive interest on money.
1t, however, meant interest on money for
any amount. One per cent per annum was
regarded as uSury. 1t is only recently
that different definition was given to
the word. 1t is now used to mean inter
est in excess of the legal rate
"'Usury,' he continued, has crucified
the people OF the world twice, and it was
SO recognized by the people at the two
periods | refer to- 1t tore down their
civilizations. But, in time, coming gen
erations failed to profit by the expert
ence OF their fathers, and now are about
to learn it all over again by the painful
process OF experience. AS the son. too
often, fails to CLEAN knowledge by in
forming himself of the experience OF his
father, so have the people OF the past
three hundred years overlooked, If they
knew of the past misery OF their pro-
genitors.'
He took down from shell OF the
Encyclopedia Britannica and read me the
sentence under the title OF 'Usury:' 'Cic-
ero mentions that Cato, being asked what
he thought OF usury, made no other an
swer to the question than by asking the
person who spoke what he thought OF
murder
THE sage then selected from dusty
shelf, filled with old books, volume en-
titled Capital and Interest, by Bohm-
bawerk. a translation from an old Ger
man edition. From it he read several
passages. Here is one OF them: In the
seventeenth century. it was publicly pro-
claimed that lenders at interest should
be punished by criminal law like thieves.
''These were startling words that might
arouse strife and deep seated prejudice
If dragged from the tomb Of the past and
displayed in print in this day of universal
usury and, out of excessive caution, |
took the book into my hands. There,
sure enough, staring me out OF the depths
of long distant centuries, were these not.
blistering words. Had it not been tor
what he said to me later, doubt II
should be writing this interview with HIM.
1T appears from the. writing OF that
period that all the religious denomina-
tions were against the practice OF loanlng
money for interest, and that for at least
the first fifteen centuries of the Christian
era interest on money was forbidden by
law. 1t seemed that the religious or
ders could not give the philosophy Of it,
but believed from Bible teaching that
somewhere in the practice OF loaning for
interest lurked danger fatal to civiliza-
tion.
1T was as late as the eighteenth CEN
fury when roney lending again became
common under protection of law.
81 said to the old sage anil philosopher
Were your views laid before the public,
the money lenders, OF today, grown fat
and numerous would crush those who
opposed them as l could crush an egg
shell in my hand.
"'No,' he replied, If the danger is seen
and properly treated we would escape the
appalling results that ensued for the same
cause two thousand years ago.
"What do you mean, | asked. as to the
question being properly treated?
""The men now engaged IN money
lending he replied, are not responsible
for what they are doing. 1t has only
been a short time since. when infants.
they opened their eyes in this world, and
as they grew to mai:e.ood they found
certain things were fixed customs, re-
spectacle and legal; and one of these
things they found existing was money
lending. They naturally drifted into it
and are in no wise to blame. If they are
treated with charity, are handled right,