Daily Davenport gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1854-1855, 1855-08-16
aAHKS Ann BANKING.

lu0 NUfCagu pafCfs hHsssttSS ssS ~ 60
ixation OF new bank--she Agricultural
Bank Of Tennessee = capital of
Sl0esOso. The controlling portion Of the
stoch Is owned BY Mesrs, Davisson and
McCalla. of the Chicago Bank of Commerce,
and the Press of that city says the charsc-
tiers Of those gentlemen will create conf
dence in the issues Of the new bank.
We think it is the general impression Of
business men, that is of all business men
except money dealers, thst,here are already
entirely too many Of this smPhbious kind
Of institutions. The individuals who own
and control them have the community CON-
pletely at their mercy, and. as we heard one
Of our merchants remark, as long as they
make money BY the operation, they viii
keep the notes in good credit. but if at any
time it would pay better to rePudiate, they
are generally equally ready for that kind OF
a transaction. There are exceptions to
the rule, but the history Of This species OF
fnanciering SHOWS tha, men who buy up
these banks calculate upon success or fall
ure, ~ the one or the other may premise TO
be the moet profitable. The consequences
il tina, persons having the notes are never
certain for day whether they are worth
any thing. or are completely worthless
Radical Loeofoco legislation has SO arrang-
ed matters in this State, that the people Of
Iowa are more liable to be imposed on by
this kind of currency than the people Of any
other part Of the country. We think. how
ever. the prevalent opinion is that they have
been vexed and piltered long enough, and
as q majority of them doubtless believe that
banking system chartered by and under
the control Of their own representatives,
can be so organized as to afford perfect Sc
curity las far Is anything human can be
perfect to the note-holder and at the same
time yield revenue to the State, we hardly
think another session Of the Legislature
will pass without something being done
towards accomplishing 80 desirable an OBJ
ject.
But 4 few months have elapsed since
many Of the Indiana and Illinois banks,
which furnish the larger portion of our cur
rency. went through regular process OF
cessation, liquidation and resumption, and
now we notice that the Chicago papers,
f.r reasons bes, known to themselves, are
throwing on, strong insinua,ions against the
soundness Of the Illinois banks. The Times
Of that city, without any circumlocu.ion,
charges that the banking system Of that
State is radically unsourd, and that there is
bound to be crash; the Press, more eau
tious if not more correct, argues that in such
and such contingencies, the banks will fail
il . failure be profitable, and that the cap
italists who control them can defraud the
notehoiders At any time they may see prop
er to do SO, and leave them entirely without
remedy. Such we take TO be the meaning
of the articles of the Press on the subject.
But whether it and other Illinois papers are
altogether correct in their fault-hnding
structures, il is msnifestly unAise for the
people Of Iowa to oblige themselves to use
seurrency which is thus spoken Of by those
who ough. 10 be fully acquainted with its
characteristics. The immense increase Of
business in our State demands that we
should have banking system of our own,
and We are pretty confident not only that
the old settlers are becoming of this opin-
ion. but that very large majority of the
enterprising and sensible men who have
settled in Iowa within a year or two, de-
cidediy desire that proper banking system
should be established by the next Legisla-
ture.