Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1858-02-17
This is two wears after the expansion began

This is two years after the expansion began
to haunt all mems minds.
I do not think the people generally under
stand how little use there is Tor banks IN collil-
try villages, and what limited field for lcsitl-
mate banking such localities afford. They ne
cessarily become mere brokers' officers. using
the privilege of issuing bills as means OF re-
turning large profits to the stockholder To
illustrate the subject, l will suppose that am
the banker, with a South Carolina charter Tor
half million, bound hand and foot, as you have
all the banks. We will suppose that locate in
Sumter The first thing to be done would be
to have some two millions of dollars OF bank
bills struck off, large portion Of them SIS
the next move would be to get them i'll circula-
tion. / would get my ncighborS to swap off
enough of them for Charleston bills, to bring
me specie funds My next object would be to
appoint agents in Lexington and Louisville,
Kentucky, to supply horse dealers and get drafts
on Charleston; then in Nashville Memphis and
Huntsville, Tennessee; New Orleans, Mobile,
Montgomery in fact, in all the towns where
money is paid for cotton. At these points, my
bills should be freely put out for drafts on New
Orleans; when collected, to be invested in
Northern exchange. When the Northern funds
matured, would purchase, through an agent,
the notes Of all the men in South Carolina that
I knew to be good as we'll as those OF Georgia,
and other States of similar character. would
shave rs deep as possible, and get, suppose, in
quiet times, from 10 to Is per cent; in tight
times, from Is to 80 Per cent. During the dull
months of the year, when my funds could not
be so employed, 1 would loan to New \ ork
bankers, on call, ut per cent, and take good
stocks for collateral. The shaved notes would
call domestic exchange-my call-loans, reserved
specie funds.
as to consider the good Of the country, and loan
money at home at per cent, the limit pre-
scribed by the charter? If you do, you arc
very much mistaken. might, to crafty pri-
yate friendships. or to silence noisy politician,
occasionally make such loans; but such instances
would be exceptions. My great object would
be to deal III domestic crchanSe. w hen Gus
toner came in, who knew was obliged or de-
tcr1nined to borrow, would begin by stating
that T had no money to loan on ordinary paper,
that the bank was dealing entirely i'll exchange.
Scan YOU not give us some New York cX-
change" The party has no correspondent
there. "Then You can surely draw on Char
lesion % The customer has no acquaintance
there. and cannot draw. "Well then, if you
will draw draft on yourself payable in Co.
lunbia, and that | know you can do, will
discount it at per cent. interest and l-2 per
cent. exchange, per month, which amounts, in
tcrcst and exchange, to just y per cent per
annum."
In crises, like the one just passed through, |
would use all the appliances in my power to
prevent the necessity OF a suspension, and when
found such 4 result inevitable, would act
like General besieged in a strong fortress,
hold out until the merchants and people around
sent me in strong petitions to suspend and re-
lieye the community. would then close the
the vaults and refuse to pay the banks debts,
in order to "savc the people and country al
large, from bankruptcy and ruin" which hao
heiped to bring upon them. This may be con,
sidered an extreme picture, but think some
slight shades of allowance will make 1t lit some
of our new banks.
Is il not manifest that such a bank would be
of little or no service to Sumter village; 1t Is
plainly to be seen that it would not be the III,
terest of the bank to loan to tradesinen and
others, who would make the money useful tc
the town and immediate country around; anc
having no other field Of action, it would neces,
sariy lend its power to the mischevo,,s purpose
of initiating the currency, to the serious injury
of the whole country.
!. Every man who is conversant with the opera
tions of the banks, must be aware that it is
struggle with them, to avail themselves o.