Daily Iowa State Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1859, 1858-03-16

~ Being soon to enjoy that pre-
cious blessing, "a banking system" in
IOWA, we will doubtless experience an
immediate relief from all the ills that
flesh is heir TO. Unfortunately, every
rose has its thorn, and among the little
annoya noes which are inseparable'from
those great eleemosynary institutions,
banks, may be mentioned the following,
which are well presented by an able
writer in the Evening Post. 1t is safe
to assume that what banks have been
and done elsewhere, that will they be
and do in this State.
liza Peoples Independent Treasury
we're established and our deposits were
kept in it, how should we get our dis
counts
Banks create no capital. They add
nothing to the quantity of capital seek
ing, what capital always is seeking, in
terest. A bank, in getting subscrip-
tons to its capital stock, simply gath
ers the capital, already existing in nu
merous hands, into one large mass
Instead Of leaving it distributed in the
hands of its many natural owners, it
concentrates it and places it under the
control of a few. A bank is one large
capitalist, artificially made up ont of
many smaller ones. Those who would
otherwise constitute numerous class
Of lenders, are combined into a single
great lender. Competition among the
lenders is thereby lessened, to the DIS
advantage of the borrower. 1t is plain
that if one man had control of all the
capital which seeks investment in mer-
camille paper, he could make his own
terms. II ten men had it all under
their control, the competition among
lenders would be somewhat increased,
vet not SO much but that the lenders,
be ng few, would have the advantage
of the borrowers, who are many.-
Large capitalists are as valuable and
necessary as any other class in the
community; but Providence, under
natural laws, furnishes us with just the
right number Of large capitalists
There is no necessity for an artificial
creation of them by the Legislature.
There need be no fear that capital,
left to itself, will eagerly seek what
capital loves interest. The drying up
Of our present banks would bring out
An immediate and abundant crop of
discount houses. Where there is now
one there would then be a hundred lust
such places as John Wards, Robbins,
anc the like, affording an open market
where borrowers and lenders would
meet on equal terms-a market in
which men ofexperience and skill, now
connected with banks, would find their
skill available for themselves and 9TH
ers-a market which capitalists would
visit every day to sell their MONEY!
just as regularly as the farmer visits
Washington market to sell their pota-
toes-a market which would be SO we'll
supplied with borrowers and lenders,
that all borrowers and all lenders would
always find somewhere in it what thew
wanted-amarketi in which there could
be NO sudden contractions resulting
from q common fright among lenders
The lenders would be too numerous
and too independent of each other to
Be I'll acted upon together by sudden
general impulse Of panic; every man
lending his own money, they would
ct sach for himself not governed b.
general bank statements, or statements
sfwhat every one else was doing, 70,
thege could b no such statements got
1p. The men who lent money would
beleadiag their own money, and wonld
- = - - glad - Led n vithaat
tan1 $500 tAsk snteses 49,