Daily Iowa State Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1859, 1858-01-21
Florence Currency.

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Florence Currency.
The owners of this Nebraska wild
cat not only still insist upon keeping
this currency in circulation here, but
declare they have the right to do 80;
and yet without taking single step
towards redeeming it in gold, exchange
or other currency.
This state Of things may well excite
surprise and comment, and We venture
to say, that were the proposition now
first made by Cook d Sargent, to put
in circulation, as money, the bills Of a
wildcat Nebraska Bank, unsecured, and
irredeemable IN nothing, scarcely an
individual IN the community coald be
found to sanction the proceeding, and
yet, this thing, is now done by them
and has been for the past three months.
We observe that the merchants Of
our city, at late meeting of the Board
of Trade, without dissenting voice,
declare their hostility to this way Of
doing business. To be sure, their res
olutions are made to apply to fractional
shinplasters only, that is, to such as are
of less denomination than one dollar,
and AZ to them Of the denomination Of
one dollar and upwards, the Board Of
Trade is silent; Of the cause OF that 81
lence, we do not now propose to speak,
but may, at some early day, have a
word to say, upon that subject. We
simply mention, that the merchants Of
the city have eyes to see the fact, and
the whole fact, but they speak, Of less
than they see, at present.
The reason given by the Board of
Trade, why shinplasters should be driv-
en- from circulation, is sound-"tbe pre-
valence ofsuch stuff tends to keep silver
from the hands Of the people, and
forces 1t out Of circulation"
Have our merchants asked thcmsel-
YES the reason why this is So for of its
truth, no man cntertains doubt.
There is but one reason-it is because
shinplasters arc cheaper currency
than silver; in other words, of less
value. All men will, ifthey can, keep
safely the good or better, and paw out
the cheaper, or less valuable currency.
The circumstance mentioned by the
Gazette, recently, is an apt illustration
Of what we say. A merchant, who
himself issued and kept in circulation
these fractional shinplasters, slowed
away in his drawer, all the silver
change which came into his possession,
until he had accumulated sum sufii-
GENTLY large to warrant it, when it was
forwarded east by Express, to pay his
debts, he saving the exchange, and at
the same time leaving in circulation,
and drawing no interest, his paper
promises to pay. Let this thing be
continued for any length Of time, and
not one dollar Of silver change can be
found in circulation here. The opera
ton of this thing is already seen, and
understood by our merchants, save
those, alone, who find it profitable to
circulate the trash.
If our merchants would take one
other step in their investigation, they
would, if they do not already, see that
when they declare that fractional shin
plssters drive all silver change from
circulation, they but state general
principle they would see that the same
reasons which they offer for the course
Pufsued BY them with regard to frac-
tionA apply with equal force to whole
numbers. That it is a universal rule
in political economy, that poor or
chsap money will drive from circula.
ton, that Of better sort; that specie
being the basis, the bills of a sound
and reliable specie paying bank, will
force it out Of common use; and that the
bills Of > bank, equally As good, per-
hsps, but more difficult to reach, will,
il circulated, take their place; and
these, in their turn, will be supplanted
BY those Of non-paying bank, or wild
cat like the Bank Of Florence.
This whole thing has been 20 recent
y done, that it would seem hardly ne
csssary to refer to it. Yet We find
psrsous of - much intelligence - some
Of our merchant, who endeavor to
naks . distinction between the dollar
his q Cook 1 Sargent and Barrow
4 Pfstyman, and the ssvsnty-6vs