The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1857-02-11
The Effects of an Increase of
Banks.

There is a disposition on the part o
some politicians u this State to increas'
the number of Banks, without even con
sulting the wishes of the people, as ii
required by the Constitution shall b
done. This increase is to be justified
by the plea that the interests of the State
demand II. Immense quantities of GOLD
have been brought from California tt
this country, and yet there does not seen
to have been any material increase OF
gold in our circulation. Banks are moi
established in these days with a view Of
specially bene6ttiDg a community
They are established for the purpose o.
beutfttipg stock holders. If they did
not figure out a fair percentage upon
their investments, they would have moth.
ing to do with them. We cut the fol.
lowing from 3 late number of the Phila.
delphia (Pa Ledger, an independent
paper, which furnishes a corr ect idea as
to what influence q multitude of Banks
exercise upon the country. Give 1T an
attentive reading:
INFLAFoN OF PRIcEs On more than
one occasion during the earlier part Of
tnCIf n u 1NOtucCutl0o WCfC n"O" T."
to charter a vessel, load it with specie
and publicly despatch it to some port
where it was we'll known that confidence
was gone and ready money in great de-
.mand. TX such a case, stocks and secu
rites were of course very low. and the
Roth,c il had reviously fought large
ly at these pri. e. No sooner would
the news come of the arr wi q fthis god,
than every house of standing would an
tici ate being able to get ! rye discounts
on favorable terms, aud there would ba
a strong upward { ndency in the money
market. Stocks aud shares would add
vance. Then the Rotbschilds would
cautiously sell out; aud now having at.
tanned their end, the vessel has been
known to depart just as she entered, now
consigned to souae other port, and actu-
ally without unloading q dollar of her
speci. Things would of course, by de-
grees, resume their old course, aud only
the Spectators have made money.
This may serve as an illustration of
the effect on prices, caused by'any large
increase OF the circulating medium =
Within the last eight years We bsv ha /
shiploads of gold arriving at New York
aud deposited at our mint. to be
rendered available in every way for the
purposes of money. The result has
b en- of e uFse, a great increase of prices
Of all other articles. as measured by the
standard of pold.
Th re, is this comfort, however, ia
these cases, the gold has not been ship
ped to New York On speculation or Oh
credit, to be withdrawn as soon as il
his answered the end cf a few de
signing capitalists. On the contrary.
it has all been produced at the mines,
by the hard toll of our own citizens
So far, therefore, as this rise of prices
takes place upon a strictly specie basis.
there is 40 unnatural iLfation in it. no'l .
ing whirh tends to react on aud its con
sequrItt fucfuation in prices.
Unfortunately, however. by the mod
crn process of banking. ledgcrdemaiR.
for every dollar of specie We get six or
seven dollars in currency. We will lot
here question the safety of this system.
We will not ask each merchant and
dealer in a city like this, how much he
loses by bad bills, forgeries, Sc, but
sup osing it all safe, aud not a dollar
lost in this way. it is clear that just in
proportion as this paper currency an
swers instead of gold, by just so much ii
creates the same iuaation of prices which
would only take place naturally, if from
three to six or seven times the gold
we're actually produced. The effect of
the whole, therefore, is just the saIne
upou the market as If not Que or two,
but six or seven tins as m.uy steamers
came in laden with gold as Is actually
the cise.
During the last six months, between
twenty aud thirty new banks have gone
into Operations iu New York alone. Que
ofthese started with a capital of 81. 000.-
600. and another with a capital of 600.
600. For every ten mllIions of bank
ing capital here is an expansion to the
amount of Fifty or sixty millions of what
passes for currency, aud the increase in
the price of goods must ultimately be i'll
exact proportion to the cast ef This cur
rency regarded as q schOIe-
Tuere are many, perhaps, who are
ready to say-"Be it s." 1t is Il me 9
nominal lpHatio of awiccs, not a real
augmentation Of value. A bushel of
wheat costs no moro labor to raise; We
only agree to give the laborer so much
more of our currency, because it Is
worth so much less, repay ing ourselves
by charging a proportionably higher
price for the whest. 1t is only the la
borer who, is cheated q little, by being
made to think he is receiving a larger
um for his labor than is actually tn
case.
But this imitation of prices makes all
he difference directly We come to ex
port aud import, aud i is not alone the
/ .borer, bur every man in the country
who is Oh a ed. Every .xtra cent put at
he price OF W Sat in C Gag, aid New
York, makes a ruporFiornbiy less de.
mand for this produee in England and
France. And while it decreases our
exports, it.rro pnrtionably increase our
Imports. No wonder the most expeu-
i've silks of Prauce, the laces. the fuss,
the ~veIvets aud the tapestry earpers
the plate, the j~ewelry AID watches OF
Europe are literally poured in Immense
cObsignments Into such establishments
as Stewards aud Bills of New York
Snch costly ~luxuries must go VAere
prices are tie highest. And while Hun
tingdou can swell the current notes by
foreigners, or other Wall street men by
bogus banks, money Will be cheap
enough with them aud they eau aud will
pay %roundly for all the costlirst import
ed Injuries of Europe. Thus onr spe-
Gle passes out Of the country, till noih-
inv but the worthIess name, Remains fur