-
83 --
1-
s W. ALVORD, Publisher.
VOLUME Dxxxvin. •
Business Cards.
viT. J. YOUNCI,
ATTORFEY-ATZAW,
TowAimA, PA.
Oto—second door south tha 'First
aut . 31:tia St., up stairs. •
I_.-_.-
v.-
.1 'II. KINNEY,
Y
•
.4 TTO.R NE r -A T-1,4 W.
-----.
Mee—Rooms forroerly . oecupled by Y
Ri•Aing'U oo m. • LI
. I
: WILLIAMS & ANGLE,
.4 T TOR YE YS-AT-LAW:.
OF C E.—Formerly occupied by Wm
Esi•
11. N. WIL LI ANS. (OCtai, '77) • Y.
.11cP1IERSON,
I• '
AtTORNEY AND CorNssixon•AT:Lavr,
TOWANDA, PA
fifi'F" - Att'y Srad. Co
"AIASON it HEAD,-
ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW
. .
Tovatida, Pa.' °Mee over Bartlett & Tracy, ]Bain-et.
G. F.M. sON. Ca9l7)
EL. HILLIS,
ATTORNEY-AT-LAW, •
TOWANDA, Pi:,
Office wtth Smith & Montanye. , cttoirtl=7,
E F. GOFF, •
ATTORNEY-AT-LAW.
r
aliCStriet (4 doors north of Ward Houe), Teg
-1-3:1,1a, I'4. [April 12, 1877.
k I T I. LA T W II OI O ,. .N A t t. P ,7s S i O N. N i , ,,, A . T v r .i o n n at tY d
to all hubiness entrusted to his ears to Bradford,
Sullivan anti Wyoming.Cotiuttes. Office with Esq.
furter, 7 [novl9-74.
T ELSBREE,
ATTORNEY-AT-LAW, ••
• 4),u4-75.
TOWANDA, PA
•
? - 1 . L. LAMB,
. ATTORNEW-AT-LAW,
WI mots-BARRE, PA,
Collections promptly attentiMl to.
JOHN W. MIX,
ATTORNEY AT LAW,
AND
- 11. S. COMMISSIONER,
TowASDA, PA,
Office. Norto Side Public 'Square
D AVIES CARNOCIIAN,
• ATTORNEYS AT LAW, ,
SOUTH SIDE OF WARD lIOCSE
Dec 23.75.
R. S. M. WOODRURN,
clan and Surgeon. Office over O. A. Black's
rockery gore. •
Towanda, May 1, inny*.
AlApi.LL_ CALIFF,
ATTOTOSETS AT LAW, e
TOW.PZ:CDA PA.
OlDee Woott's Mock, first door south of the Firs
Natl.nal bank, upistalrs. -
E1..1. MADILL, rjana-731y)
GE IDLEY & PAYNE,
ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW,
outh side Mercur Mori: (rooms formerly occupied
by Davies & Curnoehan),
TOWANDA, PA.
I.ll7ff‘WNE.
(14.77)
E. C. finmEEs
TAMES WOOD,
ATOItNEVAT-LAW, ,
J .TOWANDA. r.
m'dt9-76
-.CHAS. 3L HALL,
Attorney-at-Law and Votary,
will give natant attention to any lot sl oess entrust
cd to him. Office with Patrick ds Fo.yle, (over
.1 , , , ,rnal Office), Towanda, Pa. pluno7l7.
TOIIN.F. SANDERSON,
ATTOIt N EY-AT-I, W,
OFFlCE,—,ileaus Buikllng (over Powelt's Store
inclo3-76 TOWANDA, PA.
W. & Wm. LITTLE,
A T TOR NE i'S-A T-LAW, TO IVA NDA, PA
Office over Deckers PnwlstotrStore, Main Stree
Towanda, Pa„ April 18.'76.
•
' -
GEORGE D. STROUD, •
A TrOliNE Y .41V (70,Cr NS F.: I.L6R-A W
0111‹..e—Main-st., four doors North of Ward !louse
Practices 1p Supreme Court
of Pennsylvania and Milted TOWANDA, PA
States Courts.•—[Dec7.7o!
•
FT STREETER
11.• • ,
LAW OFFICE,
aug2o. • . TowANnA, PA.-
• t. -: _ ____
...
OVERTON & MERCITR,
ATTORNEYS AT LAW, •
TOWANDA PA.
Office over Montanyes Store. ' Imay67s
D'A. OVERTON.ID.DNEY A. MERC CT R.
. , . , ...
,• _ , • _ . ____,
W.M.- MAXWEW,.
•
,ATTORNA.F-IT—LAW. i .
OFFICE OYES DAYTON'S Slrona, TowANbA, PA
A pit! noes.
pAT-Inc K & FOYLE,'
4rTO.R.VE r4-A T-i,4 W. -
INTowanda, Pa.
orrice, In Mercura jiy17.73
._ 5 \
I ANDREW WILS, •
cy • .
T'M MVP! Y (70,7 E OR- A T4-L A Ir.
i , thee over Cross' Rook titore, - two ‘dlooi.s north of
LorigaTowandai Pa. May b . ou - suited
vrinau.- [April 12, 11.1 . 0
(lERTON ELSBREE; thll.
T -
Nf NCI'S AT LAW, TO*ANDA, P,A. Haying
copartnership! offer their professional
eir.'n.e. to the public. Special attention givetOo
in the Orphan', and Register's Cat!rts.
EItTON, .1 it. (aprl I-70) N. C. EL§BREE.
- -
- 1 1-. C. MITT:MEI:,
It(o)b - pINDE R.
L'pr.nCTER FLOCITt,TOWANDA
11 S. RUSSELL'S
v.
AGENERAL
:NSURANCE AGEN CY
:TOW A N.l) A ~ P A.
Mly2S-70tf
• . .
INSURAN - CE AGENCY.
. The follenving • . •
..
RELIABLE AND FIRE-_ TRIED
CemPanten represented; I '
A Ncr-mitx,patEsik' 110 ME MERCIF.ANTS,
March 16, '74 0. 11. ISLACC.
ECM
rt\NTANDA , I.',TSiTRANCE . AOENCY
Main Street . opposite Vie Cour
.11u,rese
W.' S. VINCENT,
MAN - AGM. '
DR. T. B:JOHNSOg,
PHYSICIAN AND SUOGEOIiv
019 , e Over Dr. Porter & Son's Drug Store, Towanda.
Jan,p7Stf.
1.1/4V B. KELLY, DENTIST.—Office
Teet
over M. E. oßenfleldrs, Towanda, Pa.
.h . B
Inserted on G M old, Sliver, -Rubber, and •A.l-
n1111i:1111 hale. Teeth extracted without pain.
oct:34-72.
V D. PAYNE, M. D.,
L. • •
PHYSICIAN AND SUROLVN
Ohre ever Ilontanyes' Store. Office hours from 10
to /.2, A, L s , and from 2 to 1, P. Is. Special attention
(firm to dheases of the Eye and Ear.-0ct.19,76tf.
GERITY & MpRICEIs:
[Saablttihad UFO
WHOLESALE DRUGGISTS
DRUGGISTS SUNDRIES, PA'IENT
1214 Leas Srazrr,
ELMIRA, N. It
!.b.:8,• 78,
- •
Mr. Longfellow's ' poem, "Keramos,•.:ln liar
per's ifounene for December, has for lii .:Ilubject
Pottery—under various national types. .Ckusidered
simply as a realistic description of ceramfe wares
and: their ornamentation, it is a work ditelaying
on M ost magical skill. But it is far monk, than
thbOt is an Imaginative Poem of the highest . or
• erg interpreting the subtleUnalogy which connects'
art .jvith nature and Inman life. The poem, With
the - exquisite IlluStrritions by Fredericks t and Akto:
hey, of llatpei's, occupies fourteen pages, aul we
can only lay before our readers a few extracts:
atlonal
..
M. k.-. I C.
n.317A.
Watkins,
Tti?n, turn, my wheel! Turn round-and round
Without a pause, witkout a sound:
So epilut the flying world away!
TM* clay, well Misetrißth marl and sand, .
41,114tve the motion of my hand;
Forefinme ro ust follow and some command,
Though all are made of clay!
11133:831
Thus sang the Potter at his task
Ifeneath the Mossoming hawthorn-tree,
While o'er his IstMures, like a mask,
TIM quilted Eunshine and leaf sbade
Moved. as the boughs above him swayed,
Anti clothed him, till he seamed to he
• • A figure wov en
t iu tapestry,
tto sumptuously was he arrayed
In that magnificent attire
• Of sable tissue flaked w ith
. fire. •
Like a magician ho appeared, •
A conjurer without book or beard ;
And while ho plied his magic art— •
Far It was magical to me—
r I
stood in silence and apart,
• And wonderad more and more to see
That shapeless, lifeyss mass of clay •
itise up to meet theMastcr's hand, •
AM know contract and - now expand,
' And even his slightest touch obey ;
eker in a thoughtful moos
Ile sang ids ditty, and at times. - •
Whistled a \ tune between the rhymes,
As a melodious interlude: • . •
, [feb.ll.B
.;,..71.1tT11 17 It
HEAD
•
Turn, turn, my 7rhetl! A It It rt-ga must change
To goin , thing new, toiromelhiny elrange:
• .11 - ,!thing that i. caik s pa uoo Or day:
Tht,nooswilt wax, the 1114(n will wane,
The DI iNt and cloud will I urn to ruin,
The ruin to 'Mild and cloud ag2ti a,
To-morrow be to-day.t
July 27,16
What land Is this, that seems to be`.„
A mingling of the landvand sea'?
Tlis land of slake+, dikes, and dunes? 5. 7
This water-net, that lesseltates .
The landscape? this unending maze
Of gardens, through whose latticed gates
The imprisoned pinks and tulips gaze ;
Where in long summer afternoons .
The sunshine, softened by the haze,
CoMes streaming,down as through a screen ;
Where over field? and pastures green
The painte'd shipi goat high In air, ,
And over all and every where
The salts of windmills sink and soar
Like wings of sea-gulls on the shore?
Jan. 1(1875
TOWANDA, rA
What`land is this? Yon pretty town
Is Deft, with all its wares displayed ;
The pride., the market-place, the crown .
And centre of the Potter's trade-.
See 1 every house and room is bright I ,
With glimmers of reflected light
Front plates that on the dresSer shine; ,
Flagons to roam with Flemish twer,
Or sparkle with the Rhenish wine,
Anti Mgritn-llasks with lieurs-dc-IIF,
And ships upow a rMling
And tankards pewter-topped, and queer
Vi 4 , ith grotesque mask and musketeer ;
Each hovitable chimney" smiles
3( welcome from Its painted tiles ;
parlor waliF, the chamber
.T. N. CALIFF
876
ISI
Rorke.
1=525:
KERAYiOS
INTRODUCTION
MIER
l' he strirwitys and the e( rridors,
Fite borders of the garden 'walks,
.A.f e beantlf LAI with fadeless flowers,
That never droop In wlntls or showers,
And never wither on their stalks.
EMILE
Who Is It In the siddirlis here,
This Potter.worting with .itch cheer,
In thi: loran this mean attire,
Ills manly 'feature, bronzed with fire,
Whoseligulines and rustic wares
Scarce line m bread from day to day ?
Thls madman, as the people say,
%Vim breaks bis tables and his chairs
To feed his furnace ores, nor cares
.11 - lso goes utifeii If they ate fell
Nor tt;ho may live if they are dead?
This 'alchemist with hollow elfejks,
And sunken, sesreldng eyes, ndlo seeks,
fly mh:gb•d earths and ores eoluninnd
With poterey of fire, to find •
Son, ne;wt• enamel hard and bright,
Ills dream, his passi , di, his delight?
tYPallcsy l within thy breast
'turned the but fever of unrest: . •
Thlne - wa, the prophet's i - b,lon, Mint).
The exr : ltation, the divine
In.--anltY of noble minds, -
That never falters our ;dates,
But hates and endures and watts, 2.
i
Tilt -ill 'that it foresees, It trod',
Or 1 Iv It can not find, creates'
. 1 1
MEM
And nn* the witolti tliat southward blow,
(:601 tlt` hot
Bear Me away.' I see . below
The long line of the Libyan Nile,
'Floodltig and feeding the parched lands
'With annual ebb :mil overflow :
fallen palm whose branches lie
Beneath the-Abyssiolan sky,
Whor roots are la Egyptian sands. .
On ether batik bilge water-wheels,
Epted with Jars and dripping weeds;
',Zed forth their meiotic:oily moans,
As If, In their gray mantles hid,
Dead.anclirites of the Thela ld
Knelt on the share and told their beads,
Beating their breasts with loud appeals
Anil penitential tears and groans.'
This city, walled and thickly set
With glittering mosque.and minaret,
Is Cairo, imwhose gay bazars
'The dreaming traveller lint inhales
The perfume of Arabian gales,
And sees the fabulous earthen jam.
• Huge as were there wherein the maid
MOrgiana found the FM - ty Thieves
\,• ‘ .Mnecale4l in midnight ambuscade; '
'Nut scellig more than half believes
faseinat Mg tales that rnn
Through all the Thousand Nights and One,
Told By the fair ScheherezaAle.
More str*me and-wonderful than these
Are the Egyptian deities—
Ammon, and\Entoth, and the grand '
Osiris, holding , in his hand
The fetus; Isis, erowned and veiled.;
The scrod Ibis, and the Sphinx ;
Bracelets with olue-enameled links;
The Searabee in emerald mailed,
Or spreading wide his funeral wings:
LauMs that perchance th \ eir nightrwatch kept
• O'eriCleopatra while she sl‘ti,7.
All plundered from the tpmbs of kings.-
CHINA.
O'er desert vands,'Wei gulf and bak,
O'ertanges and o'er Ilimalay,
Lir& Ike I fly, and flying sing,
To dowiry kingdoms of Cathay,
And LI tddike polle on balanced wing \
.Above l i he town of King ! te-tching,
A burn ng town, or seeming ac—
Thrg thousand furnaces that glow • .
lacessantlyAnd_llll the air
With make 90 - Bing, gyre c on gyre, - •
And painted by the larld glare
Of jets and flashes of red fire.
As leaves that in the autumn fall,-
Spottedund veined with various hues, .
Are swept along the avenues,
And Ile In heaps by hedge and wall,
So from this grove of chimneys whirled.
To all the marketh of the world,
Thesis porcelain leaves are wafted on—
Light yelloW leaves with sp4s and stains -
Of velvet and of crimson dye,
Or tender azure at s.sky
Just washed by_gentle April rains,
And beautiful with celadon. ‘.•
Nor less the coulter household wares.-
The willow pattern, that we knew
„In - cliildhar, with its bridge of pine
Leading to unknown thoriughfares; \
The solitary man who stares • s
At the white river flowing through ,
its.arches, the fantastic trees
And wilttperspectire of the view ;
. ,
....,. . . . . .
.. .
. .
.•.. . . .
. . . .
... , .
. . .
.. .'..' . , .
,• . . .. - i . . . . .
.. . .
. ;
. .. ..
~,.. • .. -- . ' .. . , ' ' „ , • .
~ - 7---.-., ': - - , 7';'- - •• ',..-..,.. .. - .'.. 7 . , ... '' f-'.1 .- . - : - ...T:::...7..7 . :r 'T..: ‘,'-- ' . f.4t - ,..5.L: - .1 1 ::::.;: .',' :: "?\: ..::...... ,-. '-:
_ ~.. ..„.
.. .... , ..._ -
.• ; \
.„
„ (---
. ..-.
,
• . ----- A
I 1 - i
4.4' • I
.*' ' r
. . .
~ •
•., . .
. .
. .
... . .
. , 1
. .
And intermingled among.theso
Th& tiles that In our nurseries
Pilled tunrith wonder and delight,
Or haunted us in dreams at night.
And yonder by Nankin. behold
The Tower of Porcelain, strange and old.
Uplifting to the astonished skies
Its ninefold painted balconies,
With, balustrades of twining lesions,
And toots of tile, beneath whose eaves
Hang porcelain bells that all Unitize
Ring with& soft melodious chime't,
While the whole fabric Is ablaze
With varied tints all fused In one •
Great mass of color, like a maze
Of iiowere illumined by-the sun.
NATURE AND ART. - •
Art to the child of nature ; yes,
Iler darling child, in whom Ire trace
The features of the mother's fice, •
Uor aspect and her attltuda,
Al her majestic loveliness .
Chastened and - softsned and subdued
Into nore attractive grace, .
And with a human sense imbued,
lie Is t!ra greatest artist, then,
Whether of pencil or pen, •
Who follows Nature. Never man,
As artist or as artisan;
•
Pursuing his own fantasies,-
Can touch the human heart, or please,
or satisfy our nobler deeds,
As be who setahis willing feet
in Natures foot-prints, Ugh and fleet, ,
And follows fearless where alio leads .
aikellanroui.
THE rsivsy . QUESTION.
The are the remarks of
lion. E. REED. MYER on .the 'Usury
Bill in the House of Representatives;
on Thursday March 14 i
SPEAKER MYER (on the door).
Mr. Chairman; I Would. say to the
lioUse that I -am not very particular
myself. I would like very much to
see that section adopted, and I want
to say to the house that it
duplicate of the law as it stands
in : the State of New York, , which my
*lend . from , :Lhzerne [Mr.Smith] al
luded :to, and Ido not believe this
evil can be corrected by any'other
mean-under which the :people of
this State - and Oi,many ethers are
suffering in consequence of the evil
: practices grown up in this country.
I\ will say, however, to, the House
that I do not wish to endanger the
pas age of the bill, and if' the adop
tion of this amendment will endan
ger *"defeat the bill, then.rwould
desire to have it defeated myself,
rather than that the bill. should\be
defeated,. r believe that, wi,thnther
'members of this House, I feel that'
the bill under 'consideration is one of
vital importance ticall the people of
this great Commonwealth, - and - I un
dertake the discussiot of the ques
tion; conscious of my inability to do
it justice, by presenting\tlle subject
in its strongest and most; forcible .
light; and while I frankly idniit this
truth, I feel impelled by a .Sepse of
duty to express my
,convictions and
opinions, with a hope (feeble though
it may be) that they may be instiu
mental in impressing upon the *mem•
bus of this House the propriety of
their considering - its importance as
connected with the business interest
of our people in all 'their varied in
dustries.- 'HI succeed in this I shall
be satisfied.
What, then, is the proposition con
tained in this bill ? Briefly stated,
it is to impose such restrictions and
limitations upon taking usurious
rates of interest, together with the
penalty imposed, as to prevent as far
as it is possible, this evil practice in
-the future. This is the very simple
proposition contained iu this bill ;
and ~,what, sir, I ask are the argu
ment 4 of the enemies of the reform
proposed'? •
I think I treat the enemies of this
measure fairly and state the grounds
of their opposition, properly when I.
say that they Isiah to treat money as
a commodity, and being•a cOmmod
ity, the . way to get it at the lowest
possible price is to allow the freest
possible trade, and with the largest
liberty of dealing in it the price will
come to, a. minimum: • To the- idea
tljat money is a Commodity like the
I production of the soil,or of the vari
ous mechanical . industries, I take de
cided exception, and the mistake
therein. made is the fallacy which un
derlies the effort to defeat this and
similar measures. , Wheat and corn
arc merchandise, making ',trade ;.
money is merely the macninery of
trade ; but for convenience we would
need no money in the ordinally busi
ness transactions. The first step in
I trade, in new or old nations, is bar
ter. In early times we are told that;
those" who addicted themselves to
husbandry were careful to raise not
only what was sufficient for their own
subsistence, but also what would en-,_
able than, by exchan g e, to purchase
,part of the herds or locks . pf their
neighbors who applied themselves
to pastoral life. As these again fotind
their accounts in , procuring corn . and.
other fruits, for what would other
wise have proved. an overstock of
sheep and cattle." Thus base' tom
modities. were exchanged, as a sheep,
for instance , was given for a bag of
corn, or a certain number of fowls
fora quantity of fruit. Then came
the invention of spinning and.weav
ing, and then mannfacturies. The
inconvenience of thus exchanging
commodities made it absolutely nec
essary to have a common measure
standard for regulating the value of
Articles produced by the husband-,
man or manufactured by the artizan.:
We are told that it was found incon
venient to carry some things to mark
et,. and besides, markets were attend
ed with great uncertainties ? , Those
who - hid goods to exchange were
.not always able to.fiud such as had
the thing they wantet, and perhaps,
needthey were found, they bad no
for the articles Offered.: To re
lieve themselves from such diflicul
ties \men were obliged to fix upon
something which should beregarded
in just proportions, an equivalent for
.
all articles of coinmerce:
To overelome this great inconveni
ei* to trade \ gave rise to money: It
Was not regarded and was not a com
modity. It was never intended to
be bought and 'old. It was the
measure of valuess,-itnd foithe con
venience of trade...\,lt is not neces
sary to show . that-it was gold or sil
ver, for there was no necessity of its
having any intrinsic value, it being
sufficient that common consent gave
it that kind of course - frOfiquind to
hand; Which is so well exprenked by.
M
REGARDLESS OF DENUNCIATION FROM ANY QUARTER.
TOWANDA, BRADF IRD ' COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY MOMNe, MARCH 28,, 1878.
our word currency. It migkt be
leather money, it might be shells
called cowers, it might be iron lo(r,,
break All these articles and nianY,
others have lieen money in olden
times, or it may be gold and ,silver,
as at the present time, used and pre
ferred because of its intrinsic value.
Yet valuable as it is, intrinsically, a
largo. proportion of our own people
prefer stamped paper as more con
venient, especially when used for
large transactions. Money'- never ,
was, and, in' a proper state of socie
ty, never can be a commodity. It is
simply 'the machinery of trade and
the medium of exchange, and very
largely, in my judgment, must the
present long- continued prostration
of bpsiness be - attributed to this false
and' mistaken thought, that it shall
be bought and. sold like articles of
merchandise for any price that the 1
cupidity of man may-demand.. The
second - point so often. used against
the passage'of stringent usury laws
is the old argument of the money
lender. That being a commodity,
the way to get it at the lowest possi
price is to let the trade in it be free
and unrestricted. . •
So manifest is this error that it
would not seem to require argument
to answer it. ® But capital invested
in money,being always on the alert
with an abundance of sophistry to
whisper into theear of every listen.
er, is. constantly at Work trying to
secure to itself greater power over
labor, and nothing is more common
than the persistent repetition of the
declaration that money is a commod
ity to be dealt in like other articles
-of commerce that enter into the gen
eral trade of a country. In refutation
of this gross error, I propose further
to remark. . How different is the
situation then of a party to a con
tract to borrow money from the pur
chaser of everything else. The bor
rower and the lender do not meet on
equal terms ' • one has a' note to pay
gn a Certain day, for five or ten.theu
iand dollars ; he must pay it when
due, or he is ruined ; he can do o
only with money made a legal tender
for the payment of debts by the goV
ernment. Does this man meet the
cashier or president of a bank on
equil. terms *hen he goes there to
ask for an extension of time, or does
he not go there in the capacity of .a
beggar with the humility of a French
dancing master ? The bank officer '
knows and feels his power, and too
often uses it. And his answer is too.
frequently
frequently that the note must bepaid
1 when due; he will often direct his
victim to some friend -who will help
him to the money for two or three
per cent.,a month,and the customer's
note finds'its way into the bank, and
quite too, often the interest
at two 'per—cent. a month alsO:
Will it be pretended that both par
ties to this contract were as free as
Men in the ordinary business trans
actions of life ? Do they meet- on
\ equal terms ? Certiirrly not. The
avarice 'of one on the one side, and
tli., neceiiities of the other on the
other side, make the contract. What,
then,`is the difference - between a pri
soner o 1 the bank and a prisoner of
the ja I, \ and a contract made'q a
prisoner 6 secure his release from
jail will be s declared void, if undue
advantage is taken yet the power of ,
the jail to rinnhe individual is no
greater than the power of the rnemey
lender ; is it consistent to holditbe
latter, contract void, which only' oc
curs at long intervals, and hold the
one valid, which happen hundreds of
tines each day ? The person wish
ilia' to purchase - an rrticle \ of mer
chandise, meets the seller on equal
terms. If they cannot agree on the
price to be paid for it, he can, go
1 elsewhere, .to some other_ town \or
`city, if he cannot suit himself or he
can postpone his wants to som ther)
time; besides the seller is ways 1
j
anxious to meet him, and r dy to
deal on equal terms, This is the way
parties meet who deal in commodi
ties,
and if the article is high it is gen
erally
because the article-is scarce:'
Not so with money. The scarcity-in
money is often artificial, and if it
exists, it is because the money lend-
er makes it, or pretends it is so, and ,
the borrower has no means of know
ing to the contrary, and, believes'
what is told him by the lender when
he goes to get a-loan. A moment's
reflection must convince every Intel
' ligedt mindthatthere is just as much
money at-six per cent. as there is at
twenty per cent. or - any higher rate
of interest ; and do we not luiow that
it requires no more money. to do the
business of soeiety at one price than.
it does at another. Is not the scare._
ity purely a fiction, made for the sole
purpose of exacting a higher rate of
interest ?
Another question occurs to me; •if
the repeal of usury laws would make
money cheaper, why are; all the
Banks, Bankers, and money lenders
in favor of repeal, and for free trade
in money ? They, like other people,
want to make the most money possi
ble out of ,thecapital employed in
the business; this fact alone answers
the whole argument, for if they be
lieved that the rate of interest 'Would
be less than it is now, they would be
in 'favor of more stringent, instead of
more liberal laws on this question.
In the second place, I object to this
position, that even of it were true est
to commodities in the case of old es
tablished nations dealing justly and
honorably with other nations and
with their individual citizens or sub
jects, it' is not true, for instance in
this country in fact, but I, by no
means,- admit it is trus here or else
where. • • -The lowest ,possible price
can be'reached. only in two wart;
one is by the enactment of stringent
usury laws, and the other by the
creation of a super abundant quan
tity of the circulating mediuM called
money, to such an extent as to ren
der it easy to be had cheap. This
latter course might make a free trade
in' money possibly desirable, if the
oils resulting from it were not great
en the good, attained. The trade
in money in this case would be free
without regard to fixed rates off in
terest brit• the evil results growing
out of unusual and needless expan
sion of the currency have been so re
cently experienced in this countryas
-to need no argument now to prove
its deleterious efiebts upon all the
business interest of the country.
But its expansion was one of the
necessitleli of the late war, and yet
it is my firm belief that we might
have come back to a reasonable limit,
without producing all the sad results
that have flown in part froui - a too
lipid curtailment of our currency.
I 5 'then, we cannot luive cheap mon
ey without making too much of it,
we, can "o nly hate it by passing and
enforcingthe Moat severe and strin-,
gent laws regulating the rate of
terest that May or 'Shall be paid for
the loan or .of money. And as
money is not a commodity, a fact
made apparent brthe additional fact
that any person whhooses and can,
may make or create all the wheat, all
the corn, all the grain Ofany kind, or
all the iron he pleases. n all these
articles there is no restrictions but
law of supply and demand. The gov
ernment does not interfere witk th eir
production ; they are the result la
bor and of industry, and all May
duce them. Whil6 on the other hand \
money is an artificial prOduction cre.
ated under and by authority of law.
Its creation and circulation are con
trolled or may be absolutely by the
government both in kind and amount,
and although banking may be nomi
nally free, yet it. is in no sense free
in its supply and demand, like the
commodities that enter into and
make up the gtat internal and ex
ternal commerc 1 of the country.
And to talk of free trade hum article
created and controlled by the law
making power of the land, simply for
the convenience of tilde ash com
modity, is to my mind simply non
sense :
I repeat here what I have said be.
fore;that if you would make money a
commodity, you must not only allow
every person to produce and make
it, but you must also
.give to the
people the right tai pay debts in the
commodity they tray produce. In
that case money would be cheaper,
because it would lose its exclusive
power to pay debts, and 'I submit
that if you persist in treating it as
an article of commerce and a com
modity, it shall have no greater pow
er • than such articles have. But so
long as the government assumes en
tire control (as it justly anti properly
does) of the currency, and says that
currency shall be gold or silver, or
paper, giving to it absolute power as a
legal tender to pay debts, just so long .
will it be the bounden duty of thatgov
ernment to regulate and and fix by
positive law the amount that shall be_
paid for the use .of it- as between
the borrower and lender. . .
And it seems to peke but little
differance to the free. trade theorists
in money how often the fallacy, of
their doctrine is exposed. They still
insist that it will bring the price down
to a minimum ; fortunately however,
'the answer does fi ot rest upon mere
assertion, but is a question of facts,
and of 'history, as well as of theory.
What are the. facts, and what is the
history of the past, in relation to
this.
Remember that the - position as
sumed by the opponents of stringent
usury laws, is that free and unre
stricted trade in money would cheap
en the rate of interest. Let us see ;
fortunately we do not grope our way
on this subject in . the dark. Fts,
which are stubborn thing s, rise uS in;
• almost every financial history, and
confront the latest-efforts to show us
"'how not to do it."
We turu over the pages of English '
history, and we find that usury laws
were repealed in 1844. In June,
1865, Blackwood's Magazine, admit
ted to be good . authority, had the
following: \ . CI
"The other point worthy of atten
tion is that while working this Sys. ;
tern of incessant \ variation, the bank
has managed greatly to raise the gen
erallevel of the rate l of the interest. *
In the twenty-five years previons to
'the passing of the bank act (from
1810 to 1844), the rated discount
used to be four per , cent, when the
bank's stock of specie ranged between
110,000 1 000 and X 7,000,000, rising
to six per cent. (as in 1839=40);.when
the stockcif specie fell to X 3,000,000.
* * * But now it charges four
per cent, when it has £15,000,000 of
gold, and nine and• ten per cent. when'
its stock of specie still amounts to
£13,000,000. Inthis way the bank
has been steadilY\ 'working . up the
rate of 'interest, until it has reached
its present high levelLthat is tosay,
double what it used, to , be under sim
ilar circumstances in former times.
* * * In this way the level---
the base line, so to speakpc.fthe
rule of interest has become perma
nently raised. Trade, of course is,
proportionately mulcted. The bank,
in fact, and all the banks which wil
lingly, as well asof necessity, folloi •
its example, now claims a larger por
tion of the profits of trade than be
fore. And: thus industry is merited
to the advantage of capital." -
The London Economist, of Octob
er 6th, 18'12, dwelling particularly
upon the operation et interest in
England since the rep4l of the usury
laws, adds to its testimony, takes
from the records, as follows :
i." The . rates vary from three to
thirty-six per cent., per annum, in
eluding bonus., Only one of them
(alluding to banking companies) cle
elares a semi-annual dividend of
eighteen -per cent.; sixteen declare
annual dividends of twenty per cent.;
six of eighteen per cent; three .of
sixteen per- cent ; ten of fourteen per
cent., seventeen of twelve per cent.;
twenty-one of ten per cent.; and so
on down, without counting fractions.
The reserved eurphisofthese institu
tions is not stated." ' '
The writer in ißlackwood's Mega
rine slso itaysovith the force of im
pregnable fact, that, " for along time
previous to the passage of the repeal
of the usury, laws 'in England, the
rate of interest at the Bank of Eng
land and in the local banks, bad nev
er varied to the extent of even one
per cent, and that the average rate
had 'been slightly below the legal one.
It seems that the usury law was the
tight rein to hold' in check„the grasp
ing and' covetous disposition of the
greedy money lender., The experi
ence of England is our expert
.ence. It is but the showing of the
business of money lending in Penn
sylvania since the passage ofthelaw
1 of 1858 ; the rate of interes ,has
I steadily increased , until , the av, rage
rate of interest is aboie, rathe than
1 below ten per cent; The fact ii that
i,
I .1
most if not all our banks and bank
ing institutions chargetrates varying
ing from seven to ten percent. Some
do it, in a direct and honorable way,
other discount at six percent and re
quire the boirower to -- keep from
twenty to thirty per cent. of his line
of discount on deposit, thus increase'
ing the rate of interest paid by busi'l
ness to a rate not less than ten per
cent. •No legitimate business can
Proper for any length Of time with
this burden upon it. *
, If this be true, and I do not believe
anyone can have the hardihood to ff
deny it, what a terrible load must
our people be struggling under at
this time.
"The' Hon. Edward Everett of
Massachusetts,' in 1859—50 _ says
Mr. Corey, who, is admitted 'to -be
good authority,—was led, after
careful inquiry to estimate the pure
ly personal debt of the country,
and agricultures, at fifteen- hundred
if illion dollars, a mountain loadoas
r. Everett described it, more dead-•
ly i, n fever or plague,, more 'de
strutive thnn the frosts of winter, or
theilght of summer." And yet
Mr. Co b rey adds that multifarious as
were the evils then so clearly pres
enting thethselves to him as result
ing from so end a state of things, he
evidently failed \ to appreciate to a
tithe of its realxtent, the power
thereby giVen to capital in its con
test with labor. T \ show how gnisr:
log this money po er \ks, it is stated
that 'some' borrow rs in England are
paying as high as five hundred per
cent. 'while of sixteen milli n of per
sons in this country, capabl of con
tracting debts, large or , smal ;\nine
teen-twentieths were paying interest,
varying frorif ten pi two hundred
per cent It is in the knowledge of Ov 7
cry one in this House, that the rich
are not thelnkfferers in these cases. It
is the labor and industry, the. real
Wealth producing power of the count
ry, that is being 'devoured by the
vultures. On this. point a member
of our late Constitutional Conven
tion, Mr. Struthers, very pertinently
, said : I have in my mind instances I
, have known, of manufacturers who
were a little hard up, who thought
they could secure present relief, and
advance their, prOfits, and all' that;
they-were tempted to go into the
market to borrow money, and they
borrowed it. It was loaned to them
often in v iolation of our present laws,
at excessive rates, at larger rates in
ft than they could possibly make
1e
b the successful persuit of their
'b, siness.
('lf they had the money 'on hand,
the profits in the exercise of • their
business would not be equivalent to
the amount 'they were paying for_
thp loan of the inoney. The conse
quence inevitably was that such con
'terns were entirely broken up and
ruined, and their property fell, at
fifty per cent. of its value, perhaps,
into the hands of the capatilists loan
ing the money, soh that the ',capatil
ists made not only the ten per cent.
on their investment or loans, while
the luckless sons of toil were driven
into bankruptcy, thrown out of the
house and home, end all thecomforts
laid up by yeais of hard labor,
industry and economy. This is but
one case, but it is the history of
thousands of others. And yet gen
tlemen continue to defend •the ini
quitous laws that help to make such a
state of things, possible.
= In 1858, in an evil hour and under
evil intluencee, - the ,Legislature of
our State repealed a most wholesome
and beneficient ,law regulatingi the
rate" of interest and providing for
the punishment., by the forfeiture of
the entire amount of the debt and
interest' due in cases where more
than six per cent. was charged and
received by the lender. c
This most' humnne Arai just law
had beeti upon the statute book for
more than' five generations of men
whose wisdom had approved it, we
had grown from a. thinly populated
State to State embracing within its
borders more than three millon of
people, prosperous happy and con
tented, all the various industries in a
prosperous condition. Money for
all ordinary business purposes could
be had in abundance for six per cent.
per annum. It
-was a sad day for
Pennsylvania when the nioney-lender
demanded its repeal. From that day
to this\ has money been finding its
way froth the many to the few more
rapidly and more surely than ever
before, aidthe result is seen in the
utter prostration of business every
*here, and theinnumerable number
of sheriff's kites of property through
out the State; andto-day the money
power is in this House, and with
' hands of iron and fingers of steel,"
holds 4 fear, the majority in its grip,
still demanding its pound of flesh for
the \ future as it has done in the past.
How long shall this thing last ?
May we not hope that the relief, so
often asked for, may soon be`grant
ed ? Suppose the illegal interest'paid
in the last ten years could be restored
0 the parties who paid it, would` it ,
not , be • suffieint to enable three , '
f firths of the business men to go on
rusperously with their business?
f this fact I have no doubt, and I
ere declare that it is my firm belief
list permanent relief 'can be found
illy in the re-enactment of stringent
snry laws.
- The repeal of usury lsors \ has work
:, adwhlyo
thoroughlyeverywhere
f this declaration I give thetesti.
ony of Mr. Nathan Cooper, of Boa
n,
the workings of repeal as it
as tried in some of . the Western ,
nd Southern States. Especially was
his tried in Alabama, Indiana and
Wisconsin. He says :
, s The experiment of repealing the nem
! was
r a Y m i tnned a :leven e mo in ntht a r t was ms
i mlo t rmed
in 1850, by. United States Senator Lewis,
l in a :est .l i n ga ss ted uPP i:
i from that State, that theywould not recover
from the ruinoult eoulip_quences under a
quarter of a century. Nearly forty years
ago it was tried in Indiana. In a letter
from Hon. W. W.:, Wick, dated at Wash
ington, D. C. March 7, 1849, who was •
then a member of Congress from that
State, he says: 'ln Indiana the usury 1
laws were repealed twelve or fourteen
years ago, perhaps more, and were not
reinstated for three or four years. The
results were frightful. • * * If I had
time I would be glad to make a sketch of
the desolations left in the track of the
userei during his brief reign, in Hoosier
land. I was-judge of one or our circuits
at the time, and was a Shuddering witness
to tbs,desobitkms. I have rendered ladir
MI
meat upon 'contracts for payments of fifty
or twenty maw s = a loan of fifty
or a hundred do and in some instan-_
'ces the interest has e morerthan ten
times the amount of the principal.'
know many men of excellent natural
gualitiek and much inclined to be Moral
and gay who become hopelessly demoral
ized 111311 i mbsanthropical. The moral des.
orations created by the absence of Awry_
laws will fall upon-any community to an
extent dulcet infinitely beyond the ruin
of estate.' s -* * - • *,
• * As years pass away, the evil re
sults will develop themselves ins geotaet r
Heal • ration. Long before ther.develop
their full force and effects, the communi
ty will demand usury laws, and the blight
ing curses df many a• withered or aching
heart will follow the , advocates to their
graves- 6 " In 1849; repeal was voted by
the Legtdature of W . 4monsin. In Janna
nr, 1850, the Hon. J. - P. i Walker, 17nited
States Senator from that State, -wrote a
letter seaking of the fruits of repeal. Ile
says : :"The argument in favor of this
policy was, that the competition in the
loan of money--the rate of interest =re
stricted—would produce .a - great influx of
capital to the State:. It certainly has pro-
duced all influx of money, but not of cap
ital. •The result is, (and is to be) that
money has been freely taken at an inter
est of from twenty to fifty per cent. The
money loaned 'wasthat of non-residents?.
A tsar later a letter was written and pub
lished by li. W. Wright, Esg., of Waku
sha, in which he says : " The results of
the law were= disastrous to the best in
terests of the State, and so contrary to
the expectations of his friends, in increasing
instead'of diminishing the rates of inter
est that the experiment was very readily
.abandifned. Its bitter fruits were left be
hind'. that they were left behind may be
infeired from a pemark made by the Gov
ernor of that Stits, in his message in 1856.
Ile said that the State would not recover
from the shock for a generation.
lnj Ohio, they removed all penal
ties for usury in 1851, and hallowed
an interest by contract of ten per
cent. The experiment proved a sad
one. In less.than four weeks after
the passage-of the law, parties from'
that State were in New England and
Xew York, soliciting large loans on
real estate at ten per cent."
With those historical facts befr
us, it 'would seem impossible to e
sist -the\tassage of the - bill un er
considers ions ; yet it is a fact that
up to the time our present financial'
trouble become .so serious, the money
power kept up a constant pressure
upon this and ether States to increase
the rate of interest by contract, a
measure practically abolishing the
usury laws. But the warning voices
and deep niuterings of the people
fleeced by stiylockir have 'Ain some
cases resta;ned them, and in time
will restore the control and compel
the re-enactment of just laws on this
subject.
In some of those States we are in
form that a desire - to return to our
" good old laws" is already -express
ed. I have heard the -State of Mass
achusetts quoted on this question on
farmer occasions, and may again.
She has practically abolished her
usury laws and I learn from good
authority that - all the savings institu
tions ia,Boston and other cities rais
ed their _rate of interest from six to
seven per cent., and in the country
from seven and one-half to eight per
cent ; and was no rate too high
there or elsewhere for the greedy
money lender. The consequence has
been disastrous in my county says
this witness, having diminished in
population more than one-quarter.. -'
Do the people of- this State desire
such results ? If not, then place the
stamp of ,repro bation upon the at
tempt to, defeat all reform in our
present laws.
I' have thus considered, and I be
lieve answered, most- of the argu
ments used by the _friends of free
trade in money. We deny thit money
is a commodity..
'We deny that the freest possible
triKde in it is the way to secure the
latest possible price. We deny that
tnibbolition of usury laws will bring
the price 'charged for the loan- of
money to a minimum.
We could very well rest, the argu
ment here, and be contented, but 1
propose to further show the -'deform
ity of the doctrine of free trade in
money.
If you ask my reason for proceed
ing I reply that I believe in punish
ment after death—notwithstanding .
Beecher and Ingersoll tells us there
is no hell, a doctrine that personally
I should like to believe in, but I can
not for the reason that 1 believe in
God's justice, and with the institu
tion abolished I can find no suitable
future home for the relentless and
and grasping usurer. The opponents
of this measure may deem this-course
fanatical, but I follow it in the in
terest of the weak - against the strong
and of labor in its contest with
.capi
tal. Money in itself is a power, and
always will be, but why make it our
master by yielding to it the whole
field, and saying to it ; Go work your
demoniac will upon the unfortunate
and helpless.
Why expend all our sympathy .on
the rich by law, and leave the help
less poor to perish? Gentleinen may
find it to their, interest tolegislate on
this: subject for the 'grasping avaric- .
ions money king, who with millions
holds whole cotlimimities at his mercy
'fiut—the friends of this measure chose
their side with the farmer, the manu
facturer, the _mechanic, the. artizan
and'the laboring man, and there we
stand ~-\ Cover it as gentlemen , may
by soft \ phmses, and asseverations
that oppose this measure, that it may
be cheaper And the borrower assist
ed, which binot true, the fact remains
that no legislatiob: in favor of op
pression ever \ lessmid its greed;
This power is the- more potent
beeause the cupidity Of man is prov
erbial, and outside ofithetanks there
,is as much money loaned' as by them
at an average far above ten per cent.
and some as high, as one hundred per
cenAn, Whipple remarks, money
is c oncentrative in its very \ nature.
Its home is the 'pockets of ttke •few.
Under the free trade in money \ sys
tem, this concentrative quality would
naturally increase. Merchandise, on
the other haw; is diffusive. The ola 7
ject of its creation is distribution;
consumption. 'This tendency , in mer
chandise, of diffusion among the
Imany, and 'in money of concentra
tion among the few, prevents an arti
ficial scarcity in, the one case and
facilitates it in the othe'r. To facil
itate the scarcity of money is weep
sarilt far more easy ihan in, the case
of grain - for general merchandise.
But I, by nb meguis,Admit - thiit there,
is any real scarcity of money. It in
\
RE
G
purely fictitioui; for the volume of
currency varies but little from month
to month, or year to year. The only
cause - to produce - a variation in the
quantity of currency in where the
balance of trade may be against ue
as a nation and in favor
.4 ofsforeign
countries; ors national bank or two
may wind up their bitsinces and sur
render their charters, or more 'may
be created. Thos . causes Of change,
however, are two, small a proportion ,
to the whole amount of currency in
circulation, being nearly eight bun
'tired millions of. dollars, as to be im
perceptible. Hence I say that this
periodical stringency in the money
market ts's fiction—the ,invention of
the banks and the money-lenders: to
pat up the price of money. - And
here I wish to quote from Tyler on '
usury—the clear distinction he draws
between money and merchandise for'
the rebson that it is - the error on this'
question that leads so many men
wrong. He says ; Money exists only
by legislation - -; merchandise is the
product of individual labor or pri
vate enterprise - money is the legal
standard by which value is measur
ed ;'merchandise is tliat which is mea
sured by this standard; money as
such, has no intrinsic value; mer
chandise is sought' for only because
of its intrinsic value; inoney is per
petual in its n4,pre and is designed
for all time; Witchandise is tempor
ary, and adapted to special wants,
and made fon wear and consumption; ;
money is a , legal' certificate of value
and is transferable for what it repres
ents; merchandise-is the thing val . -
ued for what' it is and its uses. If
money were merchandise as money,
then a yardstick would' be merchan
dise as much as the yardstick would
measure the ' cloth. It money be mer
chandise, and a law be passed •to
make it so, then merchandise, by the ,
law, should be made- money, which
would be the destruction of the in
vention of money. Money payi a
debt, at, the will of the debtor, but
law recognizes no such power in mer
chandise. Money is the instrument
of exchange. • Money-is authorized
bylaw- for convenience, not profit.
Money is an agent to promote want ;
merchandise applies it., Money saves
labor; merchandise sustains it.
Money makes the price; merchandise
pays it; Money is borrowed and
loaned; merchandise is bought and
sold."
- Whatever may be said to the•con- .
trari, these fundamental distinctiong
are. =universally acknowledged, for
while people are content to borrow
money on special terms of security,
all are earnest to sell merchandise
on credit and With Out security.-- Pun
chasers of 'merchandise are politely
and•urgently to buy, while
borrowers of money ale 4 ceremopi!
ously permitted to make their prop
.ositions.. And if - the iiroposition - .of
the borrower •is, suftleiePtly remuner-:
ative to exciteiS well as gratify
,the
eupidity of the, lender; the contract
is concluded.with pretended- indiffer-.
ence on the one handl and ,with hu
.miliatingobSequiousness eh the other.
All prcidncts - designed for use .or
consumption are to be weighed,
measured or valued. Therefore the
governments of nations make laws
regulating the way it shall ,fte done,
and hence we have- weights, meas
ures, test and . money ; so ordered
that , may.understand them, and
render them available 'at the -least
.possible expense to-the people. Pre
vious to 1837 the State of New York
trusted to the fallacious policy so of
ten demanded bY.money lenders, and
found by sad experience that it was
fatal to the industry of her i , people,
and at thattimdapplied a reinedy by
the passage of. very stringent usury
laws, more 'severe than of any other
Statc in the Union. The usurer is.
made nable to lose Atis whole debt,
to be- fined a thoucand doliars, and
be imprisoned for six months.. May
I not ask if: any one has ever •heard
of there being a scarcity of 'Poppy in
that State because of. the severity of
her usury laws-? And is she n'ot on'
the high road to prosperity and
greatness equal, if not superior, to
that of ariy.other State ? . And "do we
not find in. this fact strong araVment
in 'favor ; of returning to our''formoi
stringent usury laws ? for no one will
attempt to deny that all husinesS
pursuits, all.indnstries, are -tinder a
prostration. unequaled in our good
old Comaionwealth. - Are we not
then,„as -legislators, called upon to,
so far as we can, relieve our people
from the oppressive burden . that is
now upon them, and avert the pang
from 'fitiffering
.industry, and; not
longer continue` by bad ustuy laws
to •add unreasonably to the surplus
means of the rich? ; • - - -
I trust we shall not hesitate long
as to how we should decide this ques
tion.: The power, of money chained
by severe lain is stroncr b enoagh—too
strong - for man's'heet - gOod. if the
poor and induttrious citiien• must oc
casionally submit to the lacerations of
the icy fangs'. of .unfeeling Shylocks,
let it be as seldom as possible; and
let some fair Portia be, at hand to
weigh the flesh if any be found dar
'ing -enough to, cut it Money con
nected with labor and. industry- is a
blessing,'but as:an article of traffic,
alone, - is an unmitigated curse. The
extent of the • misery and 'suffering
produced, is meaitired by the numr
of victims that cross the pathwa, of
the - usurer in his merciless-aP un
feeling march through ful
dream- •
Governor Clark, of _New York, ." 4 1.11
his message, January,. 2nd, 1855,
treating this subject, uses the follo;,--
ing language, which is both poiutt I
and pertinent. Hess-marks: If yo
invest' -money by legislation with a
power which, if unre4ricted, enables
capital to oppress labor, do you not
-while impoverishing capital enslave
labor ? 'lf then „money is to be re
lieved from legislative restraint,
should it not also be divested of the
power conferred by • legislation ?
While our laws stamp intrinsic value
non coin, may not laws with equal
justice and propriety declare what
rate\et interest may be demanded
and received for:its nse? And while
legislation permits associations and
individualu to - circulate their paper,
promises topay money, is it not,
clearly a duty to limit the' late . of
usahce upon loans?"
- - Before declaring gold and silver
Ell
02 per Annum In Advanc,
NUMBER.a
and their, proper r.epresentatiYes trebt
it would, in my j udgment,' be Menai•
bent upon the government to assiml•
late money to the products of labor
by depriving . gold and silver and
banknotes of their artificial value.
Then, and then only, May money:be
safely left, like the product. of labor,
to be regulated by the laws of - trade. •
But government does not propose'
to leave money to regulate itself bi - -
cause of the great power it possesses ' •
independent of its value. Let me
illustrate this point by stating' that
five hundred dollars in wheat posses.
sea just as , much value as five hun
dred dollars in money. • But the -
money can be used in a great many
different ways to supply our wants;
and will command its Value in any •
article of merchandise .at all timest
and in all places, independent of its
intrinsic value It is•not becauie it _ -
is gold or silver or paper that it has
this power , but because it is money.
The wheatbssesses ne such - power.
The only powet which it has is a nat.
ural power, and like all other"com
inallties, is limited. The
_power of _
money is artificial, given - to it by the - -
State or nation, as' the case may be,
and therefore h as a power, to cam
mend any and all other articles, and
may be converted into anythiug else
needed to supply our wants ;' and
this power is conferred not for the
individual- member "of society, but . .
for the public good: It was never-
the,intention of the government that .
it should be used for the gratification
of greed and _an instrument of op., "
pression. It is asserted by some, and
especially by Bentham, that it is the
prejudice against usury, and the tak- - -
lug of usurious rates of interest, that
sustain usury laws. It is true thus
there) is a deep-rooted feeling of ab
"horreilice of the' usurer among our
people t and it has existed ever since
the invention and use of money be
gan, but why does this feeling exiii?
It is because'of the great suffering
produced - by the abuse of the power
possed by its owner. . It is the evi
dence of this suffering that creates,
not prejudice but abhorrence, in_ the
minds of the people everywhere, and -
a universal conviction takes posses- .
sion of the mind and conscience or
- man against the citizen who takes.
advantage of the necessities' of his
neighbor, and then the money-lender
goes on, step by step, unconacioas '
that he is becoming a vampire, feed-.
ing,upon the life blood of his neigh
bor, day by day and year after year,
without a gleam of light . to brighten
the gloom of his unholy life. It will
be said that this 'is not tine of all
men that loan money, nor do I assert -
that it is, but it is true of all that ' -
take Mega rates of interest. If a
man 'Starts in that road, he stops
when' he is obliged to, and not be
fore. And in any State or country
where there were no usury laws, has
money been cheaper than in C01113,-
tries Wherestrincrent laws existed.
But, on the contrary , it has always
been higher, and in most, if not all,
cases ruinous rates, have prevailed.
If this be true, stringent usury laws_ '
are but the healthy regulation for -
the use of money loaned.
•kr our own country theie is but
one . exception, that of California,
where the effect has been and is to „.
make but two classes— , the very rich /
and-the poor. In eleven other States /-
a higher rate than six per cent. -Is2l
allowed;.in all thesie the rate .is -
ited, and usury laws preiail. - It hns
been said that because New lark
and Ohio , allowed a higher rate, mon
ey, would leave Pennsylvania and
seek investments in those/States.
Thisls not true of that part / of-Penn- •
sylvania in which I reside, near - the.
New York State line, nor do I be •
-
lieve that any considerable amount
of Pennsylvania capital went into the
-State of Ohio; not enough, I imag
ine, to make the loss of it felt in our
business, and it is certain that there
is no evidence that the higher rate of
intere,st paid in that State has added
anything to her prosperity above that. -
of Pennsylvania. She has not, in- ,
creased equally with ourselves in the
number" of miles of railroad - built or
in her manufacturing industries.
EVen then, if it be true_fhat some
money has foUnd its wiy from this -
State into that, it does not appear to
have given to industry an impetus•
that made her equal to our own State,
and no person can &int out State or
country where no limit is placed upon
usance for money, that the people are
more prosperous and -happy because
of the absence of such laws.' But on
the contrary, show me a civilized na
tion that has laws regulating the rate
of interest paid, and I will show - you
one prosperous and happy. It is one
of the fundamental principles of all
good governments to protect the
weak against the strong. I believe •
'statistics have established the filet
the - increased annual wealth of 'our
country is about three and One-half
per cent. If this is a fact, can you
give me any good reason why the
owner of money • should in any case
hove more than six.per cent. increase
for its use ? If all the energy, all the
brains, simian the labor of the coun
try conneeted with capital cannot add
more than three and one-half per
cent. to the annual increase of wealth
of the whole country, there can' be
no good reason for
_paying It much
larger tribute to the man with money
who-lives uponthe profits of' the la
bor of others—a life of ease and lux
ury-, and • by , his own labor never
makes a blade-of grass_grow. He in
met adds nothing to the prosperity
of his country. I have not been able
to find in the history of any country
where free trade in money prevailed •
that evidence of prosperity which has
been found elSewliere. In• the early,
his •- - oryr of Rome we find that much
difficulty arose upon this , question.
At one time they had no laws_ regu
lating the trade in , money. The con
sequence was- unending quarrels be
tween Patricians and Plebeians. Af
ter many years the interest was re- -
duced to the smallest allowance, and,
finally abolished, which lead to equal
ly great troubles. So that emperors
were obliged to allow interest, the
amount to be regulated by law. .In
England, previous to the ,reign
Henry the . - Eighth," the customary
_rates were forty : per
_cent. tah- * .
lug Of any rate was dent:mitotic' us- _
nry. In the tbirty4eventh year of
(Contintes:l on /bur& Par.)
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