Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1857-12-19
rrEsIDEnT,s MESSAGE.


s In obedience to the command of the con
stitution, it has now become my duty " Z,
give to Congress information of the state o.
the Union, and recommend to their conside
ration such measures - sas / Judge to b,
necessary and expedient."
But first, and above all, our thanks art
due to Almighty God for the numerous ben.
efts which He has bestowed upon this pco
pie and our united prayers ought to ascenG
to Tim that He would continue to bless oul
great republic in time to come as he has
blessed it in time past. Sincea>be adjourn
ment of the last Congress our Constituents
have enjoyed an unusual degree of health
The earth has yielded her fruits abundantly,
and has bountifully rewarded the toll Of the
husbandman. Our great staples have COM
manded high prices, and, up till within a
brief period, our manufacturing, mineral,
and mechanical occupations have largely
partaken of the general prosperity.
We have possessed all the elements OF
material wealth in rich abundance, and
yet Notwithstanding all these advantages,
our country in its monetary interests is at
the present moment in a deplorable condi-
ton. In the midst Of unsurpassed plenty
in all the productions of agriculture and all
the elements If national wealth, we find our
manufactures suspended, our public works
retarded, our private enterprises of different
laborers thrown out of employment and re-
ment which is chiefly derived from duties on
imports from abroad has been greatly redu-
ced, whilst the appropriations made by Con-
gress at its last session for the current fiscal
year are very large in amount. Under these
circumstances a loan may be required before
the close of your present session. But this,
though deeply to be regretted, will prove to
be only slight misfortune when compared
to the suffering and d stress prevailing
among the people. With this the Govern
ment cannot fail to deeply sympaShize,
though it may be without the power to ex-
tend relief; the inquy is what has produced
these unfortunate results, and whether their
recurrence can be prevented. 1t is apparent
that they have proceeded solely from our
extravagant and vicious system of paper
currency and bank credits, incting the peo-
pie to wild specnlattiicc.:ii ana gambling in
stocks. These revulsions must continue to
recur at successive intervals so long as the
amount of paper currency and bank loans
and discounts in the country shall be left to
| the discretion of 400 irresponsible bank
ing institutions, which, from the very law
of the nature will consult the interest of
their stockholders rather than the public
welfare.
The trainers of the Constitution, when
they gave to Congress the power GO to coin
money and to regulate the value thereof
and prohibit the States from coming money,
emitting bills of credit, or making anything
but gold and silver coin tender in payment
Of debts, supposed they had protected the
people against the evils of an excessive and
irredeemable paper currency. They are not
responsible for the existing anomaly that o
government endowed with the sovereign at
tributes of coming money and regulating
the value thereof should have no power to
prevent others from driving this coin out of
the country and filing up the channels of
circulation with paper which does not rep
resent gold and silver.
1t is one of the highest and most resron-
sibie duties of government to insure to the
people a sound circulating medium, the
amount of which ought to be adapted with
the utmost possible wisdom and skill to the
wants of internal trade and foreign exchan-
gcs. If this be either greatly above or great
ly below the proper standard, the marketa-
Bile value OF every mans property is increas-
ed or diminished in the same proportion,
calculable evils to the community are the
consequence.
Unfortuna ely, under the construction Of
the Federal Constitution, which has now
prevailed too long to be changed, this i'm
portant and delicate duty has been dissever-
ed from the coming power and virtually
transferred to more than fourteen hundr, d
State banks, acting independently of each
other, and regulating their paper issues
almost exclusively by a regard to the pres
cnt interest of their stockholders Exer-
cising the sovereign power of providing a
paper currency, instead # coin for the
country, the first duty which these banks
owe to the public is to keep in their
vaults sufficient amount of gold and silver
to insure the convertabilty of Their notes
into coin at all times and under all circum
stances. No bank ought ever to be charter
ed without such restrictions on its bu mess
as to secure this esult. All other restrIc
tions are comparatively vain This is the
only true ouchstone, the only efficient reg
ulator OF IL paper currency-,the only one
which can guard the public against over-is
sues and bank suspensions. AS a collateral
and eventual security it is doubtless wise,
and in all cases ought to be required, that
banks shall hold an amount of United States
or State securities equal to their notes in
circulation and pledged for their re-
demption. his, however, furnishes no ad-
equate security against over issues.
On the contrary, it may be perverted to
initiate the currency. Indeed it is possible
BY this means to convert all the debts of the
United states and State Governments into
bank notes without reference to the specie
required to redeem them However valua-
be these securities may be in themselves,
they cannot be converted into gold and sill
yer at the moment of pressure, as our expe-
rience teaches, in sufficient time to prevent
bank suspensions and the depreciation Of
bank notes. In England, which is to con-
siderable extent paper money country,
though vastly behind our own in this respect,
it was deem advisable, anterior to the act
of Parliament of 1874, which wisely sepa-
rated the issue of notes from the banking
department, for the Bank of England always
to keep on hand gold and silver equal 10
one-third of its combined circulation and
deposits. If this proportion was no more
than sufficient to secure the convertibility OF
its notes, with tho whole of Great Britain,
and to some extent the Continent of Europe,
as a field for its circulation, rendering 1t al
most impossible that sudden and lmmedi-
ate run to dangerous amount should De
made upon it, the same proportion would
certainly be insufficient under our banking
system.
Each Of our fourteen hundred banks has
but limited circumference for its circula-
| ton, and in the course of few days the de-
positors and note-holders might demand
from such a bank sufficient amount in spe-
Gle to COMPEL it to suspend, even although
| It had coin in its vanilla euual to one third
of its immediate liabilities And ye; nm
not aware, with the exception of the banks
of Louisiana, that any State bank through