Year: 1868




There is one phase of the gold contract bill
lust passed by the Senate. at the instigation
Of Senator Sherman, that has hitherto es-
capped public attention. This Is that. as the
act would legalize all contracts made pavable
in gold, the immediate effect of its becoming
law would be that no money could be Dor
rowed on mortgage unless payable, both
principal and interest, in gold. Every ad-
vantage of this kind that the money lender
can take he docs as a matter Of course. The
laws permit him to exact but six per cent.
interest, and he does 90. But if the law al
lowed ten per cent, he would demand it lust
the same, the fact being that in consequence
of the rate of interest in other States being
seven and eight per cent. every mortgage in
those States bears that interest


There cannot be less than a hundred mil
lions Of dollars in Philadelphia invested in
bonds and mortgage, and in the whole country
not less than two thousand millions ofdollars.
Now, this little einnocent-loOkingg gold bill steps
in and proposes, by legalizing contracts made
payable in gold, to put it in the power of
every holder Of such property to refuse to lend
hereafter unless the bond be made PAYABLE.
principal and interest, in gold. To say that
all would not do it is simple nonsense. All
would do it, and no money would be lent
on mortgage except on such terms. Every
mortgage now made compels the borrower to
pay the taxes on it, and if the law were to pile
ten times more difficulties on borrowing, they
would all be visited upon the borrower in lust
the same manner.


The fact is, that money being the prime
necessity of all, those who have it to lend
L.. -
and those who must have the money bv bor-
rowing have no other course than to submit
to their demands. We cannot doubt that
the banks and lenders of money generally
would at once avail themselves of the law to
demand payment of interest in gold on their
discounted paper. The law would give them
the right to do 70, and they would of conrse
avail themselves of it. Adding this to the
volume of money invested in bonds and NOR
tgages. and We can see at once that this
would be complete financial revolution.
The country could not possibly maintain the
legal tender currency basis under any such
circumstances. and the demand for gold would
become instantaneous and enormous.


We are asked to believe that money, being
a commodity, ought to be left free to COM
mand its own price. But no civilized COM
munity could stand upon such basis. The
power OF the money lenders would become SO
exa sgerated as to render the populace turbu-
lent, ana endanger the safety of the grasping
monopollsts Imitation would be a paradise
compared to such a state of things. and the
inevitable result would be such an nnrising
ofpublic sentiment as would send into mower
men ready to grant any desperate remedy
that might be asked. Under such circum.
stances, it really seems to us madness to pass
such a measure as this Sherman gold bill, and
we are amazed that a body like the Senate.
pretending to so much care in the examina-
: ton of bills, should have allowed this one to
pass without any one saying a word as to its
ruinous consequences-NorfhA American.