Wis con sin State Agricultural Society . 
255 
five per cent., and all the better say one per cent. I would ask him to 
follow it up and say it shall be nothing. Who is going to come 
here and furnish money at five per cent.? Nobody. Is anybody 
coming from abroad to furnish it at five per cent.? It will not be 
forthcoming any more than wheat would be forthcoming if the 
market price was one dollar and we should only offer fifty cents. Gov¬ 
ernment can fix the rate of interest at five per cent, but it cannot 
make any one furnish the capital at that rate. 
Will I take the easy course of lending my money, or will I take 
the more laborious course of entering into business? If I cannot 
get what I can make in business, I will enter into business. There 
are plenty of men even now who prefer to do their own business 
because they can make more than to loan the money, and if you 
undertake to say you will not give what the money is worth, for it, 
they will keep their money at home and do their own business, 
and you will have no money. You must follow up your law by 
saying men shall lend to you. Your law is just good for nothing 
if you don’t do that. We may as well say that men in the west 
must sell wheat for fifty cents because we want it at that. The wheat 
will not be forthcoming, and we then send constables to see that it 
is forthcoming. 
The gentleman has no limit to his proposition. Why not say, 
instead of a hundred millions, just as much money as we want? 
Then the first boy in the street would fill his pockets and step into 
the store and find that his pocket-full would not buy a stick of 
candy. Then he would empty his pockets again of that worse 
than worthless stuff'. I can sit at my table and write paper money, 
and I can make myself rich according to your plan, but I can tell 
you the world is not made on that scheme. You and I will have 
to work for our wealth. 
President Stilsoist. It is sometimes to be regretted that theory 
and experience do not agree. I must beg to disagree with the learn¬ 
ed president at this time, in the operation of the usury or interest 
law. My hair is now gray and a little over half of my years have been 
spent in this beautiful state of Wisconsin, and I have seen the time 
when we would take in exchange for our commodities, the Marine 
and Fire Insurance Company money of Milwaukee, which had no 
banking powers, had no collaterals whatever, except the integrity 
of Alexander Mitchell, and yet we were very glad and anxious to 
