Year: 1876

block Of houses and rent it for 1924 a
month, as we see quite number Of
others doing. So Mr.. A. purchases
the right OF redemption, gives his
property as security and receives the
money frem the society, for which he
promises to pay six per cent interest


Now you will please note that on this
first night of our membership the only
difference between Mr.. A. and myself
is that he has 81, 300 of the society's
money that he may use for his own
profits in any way he sees proper, while
have not. Perhaps | also would
have gladly borrowed the same
amount on such easy terms, but, un-
fortunately for me- I had neither real
estate or other security to offer CON
sequently could not get the money
| Thus far it seems clear to me Mr.. A.


has most decidedly the advantage.
But now we come to the amazing
feature of the transaction. Mr.. A..
and have continued to pay our
| weekly dues for considerable length
of time, when Mr.. A., by some process
of reasoning known only to himself
and the Almighty, arrives at the con-
clusion that this society is most un-
mercifully taking advantage of his
necessities and misfortunes; that in
asking him topay six per cent. for the
money he has actually borrowed and
is actually using for his own profit, we
are niggardly and avaricious to de-
gree that would make an association
of Shylocks utterly ashamed of them
selves; that in requiring him to COM
ply with the ordinary conditions of
membership he thinks this society is
literally and tyranically grinding
him. He says, Gentlemen, / candid
ly admit that l built that house with
the soclety's money, and l confess that
the house is paying me considerably
more than I am paying the society,
but don't you see that for long time
| have been paying you back that
money at the rate of $3.50 cents per
week, and now don't owe you the
half of the original sum l borrowed;
in my opinion you have no right, and
it is an outrage, for you to require me
to pay you six per cent. interest on
the money have paid you back"
This, I fancy, is about the style that
Mr.. A. would reason on the subject,
and really we may well excuse Mr..
A., for I know that certain individ-
uals here present who (rather delu-
sively, l think, hug the idea that they
are particularly and uncommonly
shrewd business men, entertained
the very same kind of views on the
subject, and applied themselves earn.
estly and laboriously to convince me
that this society was the worst place
on earth where a poor man could
come for the purpose of borrowing
money. In Mr.. A. s reasoning there
is just enough truth at the bottom to
make it at first glance plausible, but
by no means enough to save it from
being utterly fallacious. A closer ex-
animation shows his position to be
ridiculously absurd. In reply to Mr.


A. l would only and respectfully ask
that if he, while paying in his weekly
dues and complying with the simple
conditions of membership, was in this
sense liquidating a debt, what in the
name of common sense have l been
doing with my dues who had no debt
to liquidate? Does Mr.. A. not see
that if he had taken the money he bor-
rowed and loaned it to some other
party at six per cent. and paid the
interest he received back into the So
ciety, he and I would be exactly on
the same footing as regards profits?


But if he happened to loan his 81, 800
at ten per cent. he would certain
ly gain four per cent. on the amount
more than me, simply because he was
able to borrow the money.


But this idea, Mr.. President, of
paying back the money he borrowed
in weekly instalments in the sense of
paying debt, is a fundamental error
on Mr.. As part, and all members
who think like him. The fact is, Mr..
A. is not in this sense paying back the
money he borrowed any more than I
am who never borrowed a cent we
are both only fulfilling the conditions
of membership until our shares reach
their par value of $3.50; SO that others,
like him, who can proftably inves tthe