forty-five to sixty-five cents on the one hun-
dred dollars of the capital. He has to pay the
United States, at present, three to five per
cent. upon the interest. All this is to come
out of the six dollars which he is to receive
for the one hundred dollar bond. It reduces
it to about five per cent, A Baltimore and
Ohio railroad bond, which does not yield above
five per cent., is selling to-day at one hundred
and fifteen or one hundred and sixteen dol-
lars. What does this prove ?
Mr. CUSHING. How much did the same bond
sell for three years ago, when money paid the
same amount of interest? Less than forty
dollars.
Mr. CHAMBERS. That has about as much to
do with this question as what it will sell
for three years hence. Three years ago a
very different state of things existed. They
were in debt, had all sorts of obligations im-
posed upon them, and they had been strug-
gling to make a dividend. I say as a fact
within my own personal knowledge—and I
appeal to gentlemen everywhere about me to
confirm it—that money has been abundant.—
Your newspapers have been advertising it.
Every lawyer in the country I suppose has bad
offers from gentlemen of funds in Baltimore to
loan out money at six per cent. interest. There
are now outstanding offers ready for the ac-
ceptance of anybody who will give ample se-
curity in real estate, to loan money at six per
cent.
Mr. SANDS. Will the gentleman allow
me to read some quotations from this morn-
ing's paper? "Baltimore city 6 per cents.,
due in 1870, 116; United States 6 per cent.
bonds, coupons, 106 3/4 5-20s, 111." These
are all six per cent. securities.
Mr. CHAMBERS, These are six per cent. se-
curities; and in these cases the parties who
own the stock have to pay the taxes. I say
further that money may now be had at five
per cent., I believe in abundance, by persons
who can give real estate security, the only
security that is now thought to be perfectly
safe. I have lent to gentlemen myself a few
dollars, and my contract is that it shall not
be paid; I will not allow it to be paid until
the circulation becomes more settled, and
money has a more definite character than at
present. I have been applied to within a
very short time afterwards to receive the
money, because the gentleman could go and
borrow it at five per cent.
Mr. SANDS. If the gentleman will excuse
the interruption, I will say that here is an offer
in today's paper of $40,000 at five per cent
Mr. DANIEL, On what sort of security?
Mr. CHAMBERS. Another argument of the
gentleman was that gold was only the repre-
sentative of value because stamped by the
government,
Mr. CUSHING. I said that that made its cir-
culating value; but that did not give it its
actual value. |
Mr. CHAMBERS. The government stamp
cannot make a circulating medium. Yon
may indorse a man of ample means, and
your indorsement does not have much effect.
Does the government stamping ingots make
them a circulating medium? It is a mistake.
Gold has an intrinsic value. Silver has an
intrinsic value. That value is derived from
the fact that there is a limited amount.
Greenbacks have not that value; because the
authorities in Washington can manufacture
them as fast as they can get them printed. 1
do not believe anybody participates in the
apprehension of the gentleman from Balti-
more city that gold is to be so plenty that
we shall look for some more precious metal.
It has been the standard of value for all time,
and I think it will continue so for all time to
come.
1 therefore say that the evidence is all
around us that six per cent. is enough. We
have always been limited to that. The coun-
try is habituated to it. There has been, so
far as I know, no complaint about it. Money
is abundant at that price. The very moment
you advance it to seven per cent. interest it
will be all the other way. There is no mistake
about that. But I say that is not a just
rate. I say that six per cent. is enough. And
1 say, above all, do not legalize the extrava-
gant amounts which young men, indiscreet
persons, of unripe judgment, and choleric or
any other habits, of strong anticipations
about future profits will agree to pay, and
thus enable that class of people thoroughly
to ruin themselves for the benefit of others
who are certainly not particularly entitled to
claim our protection. The additional sec-
tion which I propose, I take it. fur granted
would have been adopted by the committees
if it bad been before them—the provision for
the payment of taxes. I intend to move it
as a separate section if not adopted as an
amendment to this.
Mr. NEGLEY. The gentleman from Kent
(Mr. Chambers) seems to argue that in order
to prevent the prodigal and reckless young
man from spending his patrimony, it is neces-
sary to prevent him from borrowing money
at a higher rate than six per cent. That 1
understand to be his proposition, and that is
the reason be gives why there ought to be a
prohibition upon the lending of money
throughout the State of Maryland, to con-
fine it to six per cent., because if that be not
done some extravagant and reckless young
man may go to a money lender and agree, in
order to get money, to mortgage his property,
or pledge it in some way, so that he may have
the means by which to squander his estate.
Does the gentleman forget that we ought to
prevent that same young man from going
into the market and buying at an extrava-
gant price a pair of fine horse's or a magnifi-
cent carriage ? |
