The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1857-12-03
The Cause 81 the Present Financial Tsow-
biss,


i,suing . paper currency" and supports thu
proposition by an almost Irresistible array
Of facts and figures. An abstract Of the
views Of the writer will not be- unincrssting.
We are now in the mdst, be- argues, Of
the third great financial revolution, that
has occurred in this country since the de-
strtIction Of the Continental currency, which
proved 10 disastrous to the bushes. Of the
infant Republic. They occurred in loli, in
1887, and in 1851. Each period found IL
self under the control Of the same baDefnl in.
iluencc The hrgea circulation NJ paper on,.
reney, and The smaiiea sprcn bias ever known
during our existence M nation and "a at
each Of thee periods, all the banks through.
out the coublry--except iew in ISL
failed. II IL but a ji.st inference 10 suppose
that their management Of financial affairs,
was the handspring 10 the calainitics that
beiell the people.
The writer quotes the following statistics,
exhibiting the condition Of the banks at three
distinct psriods, within twenty years, from
which he makes some interesting deductions
The number Of banks IN the United States
IN 1897 was ,ss in lsiI il was .l5 in
ls5. IL IL 40.
The bank notes 10 circulation IN I-3I
amounted TO $40 sj.sJ0; IN lei7 they
mounted to 5.5lo,16G they amount in
i-51 10 s2ll,1iS,322.
The specie held by the banks IN 10, war
s37.ol5.5I0, IN lsi1 Il was S35, 1886 !;
in 1897 1t IA Sos ,3i9 r3s.
The Indebtedness of the people 10 the
bank. in 1891 was s12jl IL, iO2 their in
dcb,ednoss 10 lst1 was S3iO,2s2 9l5 and
in 1851 il is SGsi .4jGSAi.
The capital stock Of the banks in la.
was s2yO.I12 09l in lsi7 il was sos.
0I0G22 and ia 1884 II IL s3iO.sJi21i.
Upon these figures, the writer in the Re.
q eT comments ~ follows
The number of banks in 1851 il marty
double that OF 1897, and the bills in clrcti-
Iation sixty slS millions of dollars more than
in 1887, while the specie held by the banks
Is only twenty millions greater than at the
former period There Is also large in
crease IN bank stock. and IN the indebted.
meas of the people 10 the Banks, from s31
to 1887, II we compare the hcaltbiu and
quiet condition Of business in lsiI. with
the diseased and excited financial periods Of
1897 and 1887, the influence controlling
each u still more apparent No one will
deny that the substantial resources Of the
country were largely augmented and It's lee
ultimate business vastly increased from the
year ls31 tn lHiI, and yet the baLk bills
IN circulation in the latter period were but
u fraction ab I'VE one hundred and five mil.
lions of dollars, whereas IN 1877 they were
over one hundred and iorty.nlnc millions. or
about iorty per cent more. while the spc
cic in the vaults of the banks nj this time
exceeded only about one million and "a half
the amount held in lst1.
We think these facts u successful reply
TO tho popular delusion, that the resources
OF our extended country require the institn.
ton Of banks Of circulation, or that these
establishments contribute TO any considcra.
bic extent 10 the material prosperity OF the
people.
Again. IN 1897 the average amount Of
paper in circulation leaving out fractions
was about four dollars to- one in specie held
by the banks IN lSi,. IT was ihr,r to one
In many instances in 1887. banks were
known to have issued from fifteen to twcn-
" dollars in bills Ia every one In specie
AMI in some cases. one dollar in specie IN
bank rcprScnic, one hundred dollars in bills
out Of bank,
Asa whole, the Indebtedness Of the pco
pie to the banks and the liability Of the
hanks over their bona his resources in s31
Us compared with lSi., CLEARLY polat 10 the
causs Of the unsound condition OF credit and
the rampant spirit Of speculation, OF the Tor
mer period, which terminated IN the susp'n-
sion of specie payments by the banks. and
the consequent destruction oi all credit and
paralyzatlon of every branch Of business.
The present iinancinl rcvulson APPEARS
more remarkable and embarrassing than any
tina, prcN.d it. |, occurs IN "a season of
unchampl,d health unprcc"ientedly large
crops of every variety and kind and while
the nation is ir,c from war, comparatively
FREE from deb, and divorced from the banks.
with fair proportion Of the precious met.
MS on MANU- ~ tlitfN lis pNh Hapll'ltN
Herr W. again employ igurs, which are
said 10 he lnal,ihle, carrying our comrari
sons down irum lsis Ia ls11 in the .aulc
manner rs Ne hciorv carried them up from
lst1 Ia lrJ., thus adopting the compare
lively sound financial period of ls,1 as the
"stanl point Tor illustration As prevl-
ousy remarked, there were in round mum
bsrs. one handrel aud me- mR'ions ot ,iojiar,
in bank notes in circula,ons in Isl. against
nro Aundrei and fourteen nal ons in 1850
To NEST this immense excess of one hun.
dr~d and nine millions IL patrr, the bank,
in ls5, held only twenty-five millions ot
specie more than IN ls!T. IL will al-o he
perceived tina, while IN lsi, the BUS in
circulation weie three 20 one against spar
in bank, in l-5, they we're nv 10 ont
These comparisons woud show the sane
results in regard To the condition Of the