The Massachusetts spy, and Worcester County advertiser. [volume] ([Worcester, Mass.]) 1825-1831, 1828-12-24
ALLIED RANKS.


When the Frenchman desired to run the hot
poker into the Englishman, he offered him the
alternative, if he chose it, of paying for heating
the poker, and thereby escaping the meditated
'nfiiction. The Suffolk bank, less magnani-
nous even than the Frenchman, insists upon
using the poker, and being paid for heating it
TOO. The country banks are forced into an I'M
natural warfare on each other, by which the
circulation of their bills is greatly curtailed ;
they are required to be at the trouble and ex-
Pense broadening their bills in Boston, and,
for doing this, they must give the Suffolk bank
from to per cent. on their capitals, free CT
chsrge. Only per cent. was originally de-
manded, but the success, which attended this
requisition, has had the natural effect of excit-
ing their cupidity and emboldenirg them to at
tempt further extortions, and they now require
D per cent OF some of the banks, so that bank
with 100000 capital, must pay $4,000 for be-
ing run through with the hot poker of the al
lied banks. If they submit to this additional
injury and degr adation, where is the point at
which they will stop?
The editor of the Boston Courier says he
"cannot perceive how the placing of deposit
in Boston, whcrewith to redeem the bills of a
country bank, can be an injury to that bank .
He will remember, that, in addition to such a
deposit, the one above mentioned, of per
cent, for which no benefit is derived and which
Is, in fact loss of SO much capital, is also re-
CURED But, were it not for this, the necessi-
ty of an almost daily renewal of the deposit for
redeeming bills, or of making it unreasonably
large, if less frequently renewed, subjects the
banks to the loss of so much time trouble, and
expense, in the Transmission of funds, as to be
a most serious injury TO them. But they are
more injured by having their bills taken out of
circulation, almost soon as issued, by an I'M
natural and forced system. If they were re-
quired to redeem their bills in Boston no faster
than they came there in the natural course of
business, there would be less cause of complaint.
But, under the operation of the present system,
every bank is compelled, as a measure of self
defence and self preservation, to use all means
of collecting and forwarding to Boston, for re-
demption, the bills of all other banks, and near
ly every director, stakeholder, and customer of
bank, therefore, instead of giving a natural
circulation to the bills he receives, carefully
selects all, except those of the bank in which
he is particularly interested, and deposits them
in bank for that purpose. Thus, the whole
business community indirectly become agents
of the Suffolk bank for preventing the crcula-
ton of country bank bills. Each discount day
the bank directors find that the bills, discounted
the week before, have been carried to Boston
and redeemed, and are already returned to the
place whence they were issued So, they are
obliged in order to keep any given amount in
circulation, to redeem their bills eight or ten
times, where, in the ordinary and natural
course of business, they would have to do it but
once; and, each time, they are subjected to the
trouble and expense of transmitting funds to
Boston for that purpose, and of bringing their
own bills back.
In all this, do the country banks, indeed, re-
ceve no iyurys" Most Of them, it is true,
submit to il, but il is as the submission of those
who have no alternative, but between oppression
ard DEATH They submit to it rather than to
hazard the danger of being crushed by encoun-
terng the active anddeadly hostility of pow
erful combination of banks, welding a capital
of millions, the whole of which would be direct
Can such system exist, affecting, as it does,
the whole community, without epgendering
unkindly feelings2 The citizens of Boston
may, indeed, affect to see no reasonable cause
for their existence yet, as the people of the
country do not see with their optics, then NAV,
perhaps, be excused for coming to different
conclusion, That these feelings do exist, and
are increasing, is admitted on all hands Their
cause, whether reasonable or unreasonable, is
unquestioned; and, that the effect on Boston is,
and will be, such as we have heretofore suggest
ed, there can be no doubt. Yet we do not in the
least, expect this will induce the Suffolk bank
ITO alter It's course, because the present system
is most conducive to the promotion of its own
individual pecuniary interests, and we have no
reason to expect it to be influenced by any
higher motive.
The Boston Traveller, after mentioning the
fact of the Leicester Banks withdrawing its
allegiance to the Suffolk Bank, expresses hope
that the example will be followed by others, till
the system shall be overthrow. While we
admire the independence which induces any
Bank to resist, we must confess that we have
but little faith in the probability of much good
being effected by the withdrawing of few
scattering Banks. It gives the Suffolk Bank
an opportunity of subduing them in detail,
while the warfare against them must necessa-
rily curtail their discounts still more than while
they remain tributary, and affect, unfavorably,
the interests both of the Bank and the public in