Democratic standard. [volume] (Georgetown, Brown County, Ohio) 1837-1850, 1844-04-02

"Sf - AN@oN pPoh AuO otbONut ~
capital, instead Of the profits realized. I
the caPatGl invested Ia banking during
those thirteen year, had been invested
in other pursuits, il would have yielded
a revenue 10 the State, perhaps more
than twenty fold as great. IfcaPital with.
ia the last year has been Withdrawn from
the business Of banking, large propOr
ton oft has been invested ia other
branches Of business, and become more
productive Of revenue % the State than
formerly. i'ite
Upon the other hand, let the inquiry be
instituted as TO how much the banks have
taxed the government and the productive
labor Ofthe country. II is an undeniable
fact, that the banks produce no capital
they only concentrate, or unite together,
in their particular business, capital and
credit already existing in the country
And il is one Of the plainest maxims Of
political economy, that capitol is produc-
ed only by labor, or the produc~
tive industry of the country, Banks re-
ceive an interest Of six per cent, in ad-
vance, upon every dollar Of PAPER which
they issue. This is paid, in the frst in.
stance, by the borrower 10 the bank, but
he is under the necessity of making it
up in his trade with the rest ofthe com
muniiy, so that, 10 the long run, the cap
ital paid.tOtbe bank as interest, come out
Of the products of the labOrof the coun-
try. Thus, il is perfectly clear, that banks,
lay a tribute, or tax, of six per cent.
compound interest, upon the products Of
The interest Of the cOuhtry, for theft enI
tire circulation. Of paper; and by this
means, is properly imperceptibly transfer
red from the hands of the predicting or
laboring, to the hands Of the non. pro.
ducing part Of community. But this is
mol all. The extensive losses sustaiD ed
by the depreciation Of bank paper, ATis-
ing from bank suspensions, bank frauds,
and bank explosions, fall chiefly upon
the productive industry Of the. country,
and thus constitute wide spreading
means oftransferriOg property from the
producing to the non. producing classes
ofsociety. The extent Of The losses in
fiCted upon the people of Ohio, and up
on all branches and departments of the
governmeNi BY paying .ans interest 10
&nks, and ~ bank suspensions, frauds
and explosit M, since the year 1881, is
beyond the IeOcI Of calculation. II m ust
amount to many millions. The SecIeta-
ry of the Treasury Ofthe United States,
in a report 10 Congress, made in lS4l f,
;hus sums up the losses sustained By
banking institutions in this country:
Among the banks that have failed
the part of their capital owned abroad
has not been large, if the last suspen.
sion of The United States Bank be not
regarded as failure. Very little de-
duction, therefore, should be made on
the whole computed loss to our own
people on that account. Bot it might re.
quire something ]" "
"The aggregate Of the losses, since
1859, 10 the people, through theI exist.
ence Ofbanks and the use of bsnk pa-
per, are estimated as follows: Is
1. Losses by bank fail.
ures $lOs,ss5, ,72l
2. Losses by suspension Of
specie payments by banks,
and consequent deprecia-
lion on their notes. $4,000, 900
3. Losses by destruction Of
bank notes by accident. Z l2l ,332
4. Losses by counterfeit bank
notes beyond losses BY ="
coin. 4,444, ID
5. LOssesby fluctuations ID
bank currency affecting al
prices, extravaganza in liv. 40
ing, sacrifices Of property,
and by only part Of the o.
other incidents TO the ban.
king system, not computed
above, at least l5GOOO,OOC
Aggregate, computed. 1886, ,451 ,S97
The report Of the Secretary estimates
the amount paid by the community L
the banks, annually, the last ten years
for the use Of banking institutions, as fol
lows;
"Tke result has been, that the who'll
payments made to the banks foE The US
Of them. their capital, g.. during the las
ten years, he's been in the saegFegst
$2s2 900 90
This would be aHnually,Oh
3 an average. $2e, 200, ,OOC
] fnd, ina statistical work Of hig
IS character, published in Philadelphia, a
j extract from the Exchange and Trad
y Register, presentthe disastrous effect
n The bank paper reVuIsion il this connir!
IN from 1887 10 l642, as follows:
n, These items, saying nothing of sue
ls concerns as thu North American TFu
ID and BankingC Company, and the BallimoI