Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1846-07-29
Bankers and Bank Monopoly.

Bankers and Bank Monopoly.
Some sage writer, figuring in the ed
itorial columns of the Summit Beacon,
has made the discovery that granting to a
set of men the privilege ofbanking-ofcor-
rupting and controlling the currency ofthe
country, and consequently governing the
price of labor and its productions--of issu-
ing their promises to pay to circulate as
money.-of being exempt from taxation up
on their capital, and finally Of winding up
their existence and defrauding the people
who have reposed confidence in them, with
out being individually liable for their prom
ises as are other individuals not viola
ton of the principle of equality, because he
contends that any person having the means
may become the owner of stock in bank!
In some states there is a property qualifi-
cation for voting, by which q man is bound
to have certain amount Of wealth before
he is permitted to vote. Will it be con-
tended that the people of such states enjoy
equal privileges? Upon the principle of
the writer in the Beacon, they do, for every
individual has the right to acquire the
wealth which will entitle him to this privi-
lege! In both cases the man of wealth en-
joys privileges which are not common to all
citizens -one portion of the people are by
law made superior to the rest and endowed
with the power to plunder them for the pur-
Ipose Of increasing their own wealth with
out applying their hands to labor. The
people have times without number suffered
loss by the failure Of banks, and the banker
has not been, nor could he be, held respon.
sible for the debts of the bank. Notwith
standing this-and it is as true of the pres
ent system as any that ever preceded tit
is claimed that bankers enjoy no special
privileges, no favors at the hands of the
legislature which are not common to every
citizen of the State. 1t would not answer
for these men to come out boldly and ask
for these privileges, admitting that they
were special grants of power by which they
are enabled to rob labor of its reward, ,.and
upon the industry Of others to grow rich.
They could not, making such admissions,
hope for the continuance of this power.
But is it not true that the banker, without
adding aught to the wealth Of the country
manages to secure to himself riches from
the productions of others? Is it he who
tolls beneath the scorching sun who receives
the production Of his labor? The wings
themselves tell US that the banks Of this
State are making sufficient profit out of
their swindling operations to compel tnem
to pay an equal amount of tax with other
property; to do which they must make net
profit Of % per cent, and this amount they
extract from the productions of others by
means Of power granted them by the Leg
islature. Still these whig editors claim
that bankers enjoy no special privileges!-
And why should they nota are they not the
hired vassals of these plumber shops9
If banking is necessary, as we are told
by the wings it is, why is it not left to grow
out Of the necessity for them, and left to be
controlled by the same laws which govern
other business operations? Then every
individual would be privileged to issue his
paper to be used, as bank paper is now used;
and every person issuing his paper would be
held individually liable for its redemption
as are men in other business now. There
can certainly be no other reason for the
conferring of these privileges than a de-
sire to place men of wealth above the COM
mon citizen in point of privilege. And so
long as the bank nobility shall have the
power we may expect continuance of this
species of favoritism, and that the industri-
Gus farmers and working men Of the State
will be saddled with the double burthen OF
enriching the bankers and sustaining our
State Government.
How long these things shall thus contin-
ue remains for the people to determine.
1t is against these practices and this unjust
principle Of fayoritism that the democracy
are now contending. And armed as they
are for the right; contending as they do for
equal political privileges to every citizen
Of the country. who can doubt that their ef-
forts will be crowned with victory?
The TALIsMAN AND ILLUSTRATED ODp
Fellows MAGAZINE, is the title of new
monthly periodical just commenced at
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