will regulate the value of money, precisely as
it does the value of corn, wheat, flour and all
such things that enter into consumption, in
practice there is in fact a difference. The
value of daily food and clothing depend upon
a great many more contingencies than does
the value of money. The contingencies of
season, climate, rain, drought, war and
peace, affect the value of those things. Those
circumstances occasionally somewhat affect
the value of money, but not to so great an
extent. Money is affected more by seasons of
speculation, demands for speculative pur-
poses. Not withstanding all the experience
of the past, those seasons of speculation will
start, money goes up, the fever rages, and it
goes on until one of those periodical collap-
ses occurs, with which we have become so
familiar. And then men begin to get cau-
tious for a time. But soon experience is for-
gotten, and the whole thing is gone over
again. When one of those collapses take place,
as in 1857, it necessarily affects the monetary
affairs of the whole civilized world, because to
a greater or less extent the system of credit
prevails everywhere, and there are debtors
and creditors in all civilized countries. And
where one of these collapses takes place debt-
ors are found to be in a very bad condition ;
and those who depend upon them for the
means to pay their debts are also in a bad
condition, and so on.
And the result of all this is that it has been
found necessary in practical experience that
this matter of interest should be regulated by
law. And I think that such is the experience
of the country; such is the demand of the
country. And why do I think so? Because
it is certain that money is power, as much so
as knowledge or anything else. As it is regulated
in this country now, it is very much
in the hands of the few. How many men are
there in our counties who have surplus funds
on hand and undertake themselves to loan
them out? They take their money to the ci-
ties, and place it in the hands of their com-
mercial agents, the brokers and bankers,
whoever they may be; and the money is left
there for investment under the direction of
those who make finance their study. The
man does not trouble himself about it, provi-
ded he gets his interest. There are many
persons who do that; and that is one reason
why money is so hard to be obtained in the
country. That would not be altered by the
repeal of your usury laws. On the contrary
I think the trouble would be increased. The
matter is now in the hands of the financiers
of all your cities, who are all more or less
connected together. They all have their cor-
respondents, and their houses of connection,
throughout the entire country, from one end
to the other. If they do not have in every
office a telegraph connection with their cor-
respondents in other cities, they certainly
have telegraphic communication with every |
city, and not only daily but hourly reports of
the condition of the money market in those
cities. With all this power of concentration
in the hands of the few, and with all the nu-
merous conventions and legislatures every-
where, yet they never have been able, not-
withstanding the terrible onslaught that has
been made, to break up these usury laws.—
It is true that in the western States, where
there is a great demand for money to make
improvements, they have necessarily to make
a higher rate of interest in order to attract
capital. But capital that far from home is
somewhat in danger. A man has to intrust
his money to the management of others, if
he has a mortgage on land in Missouri or
Illinois, the interest on it must be collected
by others; so that the farther from home
money goes, the more danger there is of los-
ing it. And hence there are very few who are
induced by the higher rates of interest to ven-
ture their funds so far.
I have been very much surprised to hear
that in consequence of money bearing seven
per cent. interest in New York, capitalists in
this State are sending all their money there
to be invested, and that too in face of the
advertisements read by the gentleman from
Howard (Mr. Sands,) that money is offered
for five and six per cent. in Baltimore city to-
day, I was told by a gentleman in Baltimore
within the last six months that be could bor-
row all the money he wanted for five per cent.
for one, three, five and ten years.
Mr. STIRLING. The longer the time the ea-
sier it is to get it on good security.
Mr. JONES, of Somerset. I do not see that
there is any necessity for sending money out
of the State, when it can find investment
here, such as it is. Old Ben Hardin, of Ken-
tucky, used to make a great many speeches on
every financial bill in Congress, and uniformly
wound up with the declaration—"Finally,
Mr. Speaker, I am in favor of good money,
and plenty of it."
This legislating upon money., except to the
very limited extent to which it has gone in
regulating the rate of interest, has no very
good effect. And I think it has been found by
the experience of all age?, and by Our own ex-
perience, that the removal of the restrictions
by the last convention of this State, is going
quite as far as public opinion would justify
or require, I think the mutter is now in a
very safe condition. I think there were
many onerous and harsh conditions imposed
before those restrictions were removed. The
forfeiture of three times the amount loaned, be-
cause a greater than the legal rate of interest
was taken, in many instances might operate
exceedingly unjustly, I do not think it at
all immoral for a man to loan his money for
whatever he can get on good security. But
assuming that it ought to be regulated, there
are many instances of oppression, as in other
articles necessary for life. But it is more |
