The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1899-07-28
APPEAL TO CLERGY.
AN OPEN LETTER ON ,MPOR-
TANT QUESTION.
The Well Known Author of the His
tory OF Money Alex Del Mar, Sounds
an Alarm Which Should Awaken the
Church..

E.Hr~ s A~ c ANk OuAuo
an Alarm Which Should Awaken the
Church.
Let the gravity of my cause be the
apology for this address. Christianity
Is IN danger; not only Protestant
christianity, but all Christianity; not
merely formal Christianity, but it's en-
Tire spirit and essence, that which dis
'lhgu'shes it from other religions, its
broad philosophy, its proclamation of
human freedom and equality before
Inc law, its restraint of the strong, its
protection of the weak, it's considera-
ton for women and children, its ever
entail aspirations, its worldwide char
lty, all these and many other insti-
tutes, the fruits grown from fifteen CEN
turtles of pious efforts, are threatened
with insecurity, Europe, absorbed in
and usury, has forgotten
That its civilization was not purchased
with a price, but with endless sacri-
ices. At the present moment it is
rlsking that civilization Gpon the cast
of a die, upon a reckless financial ex-
pertinent.
The oots OF Christianity were
planted in the affections of the poor,
and all through its venerable career
the church has testified its obligations
TO the poor by condemning usury and
opposing the payment of debts in spe-
CHIC moneys. Yet today its ministers
sit supine whilst a devious system Of
finance evades the statutes against
nsury and binds communities to the
payment Of debts in specific coins,
which the creditors are left at liberty
to render scarce by boarding, export
ing, or melting down to plate.
The supineness of the ministry on
these subjects is not due to indiffer-
ence; it is due to the belief that usury
and species" have been withdrawn
from the domain OF morals into that of
politics, and. therefore, that the inter-
Terence of the church is unwarranted
But this is a mistake. Usury is I'm
moral, not merely because it is forbid
den. Like incest, it is forbidden, and
like incest it is Immoral, because it is
unnatural.
The basis OF interest is profit, the
measure of profit is the average accre-
ton of capital; and the accretion of
capital is fundamentally due to the
natural increase of domestic animals
n plants, when subject to the super
vision Of a These consequences
the the result eNt competition, which
tends to reduce all trades to the same
level of profit, SO that no kind of capt
tai will increase faster than another,
hence the rate OF the increase of one
becomes a guide to that Of all, and az
animals and plants can only increase
at a given rate, SO only can the genera
means Of subsistence; and these in
clude all other kinds OF capital. Il
follows that any rate of interest, 81
hire for the 1oan of capital, which eX'
ceeds these limits (after due allowance
is made for risks and outlay, is 6, VIC
4ation of nature, it, is unchristian, it j:
immoral, it is opposed to public policy
it is ultra wires. Many of the carly
Christian writers founded rtheil
charges against usury not merely upor
the Scriptural interdict, but also upor
the conviction that beyond a certain
very moderate. rate .of interest for the
loan Of capital, the agriculturist, the
artisan and the mechanic were justified
in refusing to pay anything.
ID re o,-;to1;,t, .J1.1;~a -, H1o-1 ,,o
such terms it is the duty of the state
to provide a remedy. If the state fails
in its duty the church is bound to in
terfere; for it is one of the oldest pril.
ciples of law that there shall be N
magistrate from whose action an ap.
peal, cannot be taken. 4.
The demand for payment in species
is a similar act of turpitude. Wher
the California gold mines were opened
the creditor class, who had lent golG
coins, elamored for payment in silve,
ones; when the Nevada silver mines
were opened, they wanted their loans
.of silver species repaid with gold ones
TO secure these ends they resorted tt
every form OF chlcanery and corrup'
tion, and organized misleading propa.
gandas, they purchased the press, the,
.bribed or packed the celebrates, and
they secretly tempered with the coin.
age laws. The British mint act of 1915
provided that all payments above 6:
should be made with gold coins, bu7
left it to the power and discretion OF
the Crown to alter this provision, foi
example, to require all payments to be
made In silver species at any time:
without resort-te Parliament Such
power and discretion were surrepti-
tiously destroyed in 1870. The Ameri-
can mint act of 1899 provided that all
payments might be made in either gold
or silver coins, at option of the debtor,
Such option was destroyed by the
fraudulent. substitution of a repeating