Glasgow weekly times. (Glasgow, Mo.) 1848-1861, 1860-03-15

thing like currency, whether called by che
name CIR another, they supposed they were
excluding from the operations Of our banks.
Every demand Of every kind and charao-
ter made upon tho banks is E.ade payable
in SILVER and gold, or TIE notes Of specie
paying banks yi lie State Of Missouri, which
notes, it is pam and obvious, the frar2ers
Of the law supposed would be lie cqu.ys-
lent OF s.!:er and gold at lhe lime sid
place where The transaction might occur.-I
" Currency" IS = term well understood in
Missour! by all commercial aud business
men; It is generally used 20 designate for
eign bank paper, bu; is made more specific
ally applicable 10 uncurrent bank paper Of
ali kinds. It never once entered bs brain
Of any man who voted for ;he bank law, that
Missouri bank notes would, bY the acts Of
ne banks themselves, ba degraded 10 The
levsl OF currency" Hence they placed
silver and the notes CT specie paying banks
Of the State Of Missouri all upon on equal
footing. One, they supposed, wonld he tie
equivalent OF the other. Il was fact well
known 10 every member OF the General
Assembly, at the time Of passing this law,
that Missouri bank paper had always heen
as good as gold on every inch of Missouri
soil; aad in framing the existing law, feel
well assured they never, for one moment,
supposed the pape. Of the existing banks
would be worth any less.
Il would be most violent assumption 10
thinl, otherwise, for il IS impossible 10 dis
cover tie wisdom Or the prnprie:Y of permit
ting our banks 10 deal in one kind OF cur
rency-and that the most inferior kind
when. at The same time. they are pro-
hibited from the rse CT another and better
kind. But strange and unreasonable as
such q line Of policy would seem, it is but
too true that all our banks have assumed
this le!enceless position. Precluded from
the use Of currency under lis proper name,
they have soug ght 10 iusugurate q system OF
banking hitherto unknown to cur people,
Uy The substitution of new name for on old
thing, and by these means are now dciHG a.
mast their entire business upon what they
call ..banhaOis iuHds,' which, in reality, is
but currency at last-currensy, too, which.
ordinarily ranges in this city, from three
quarters TO one and half per cent. discount
and within The last month mas been as low
as two Fsr cent. under gold. The truth Of
The whole matter is that in practical sense,
our banks cannot justly lay cialm 10 tie
name of specie-paying banks. Every bank
and branch bank is dong lis business CT
''tankable funds" Under this name all
their accounts are kept; under this head all
their deposits are made and are SO entered
in The pnss-bosks Of the depositors. AL
cheeks are drawn payble in '.5ankable
funds" No bank pretenas 10 do business
upon is own paper. speak in general
terms; there are doubtless some exceptions
Some OF the country banks. here snd there
may pursue a different course, but in this
city, ana generally in TIE cauEtry, his is
the manner Of conducting their business.
NnOa silver and geld is deposited
which are rare cccurrences-as \ matter oi
course i: is entered under lis proper head
and checked for accordingly. This is tbs
manner in which the general business Of our
banks IS conducted. The holder Of cheek
payable al Warsaw is paid oiI in no.es re-
deemable at Palmyra; checks payable at Pal
lnyra are paid of IN paper redecmablc {;
Springfield, or the notes o?sono other dis
tant bank; and thus the game played through
out the Stale, commencing and ending on
''baakablc funds" Ths effect has been
{ as was Anticipated and foretoid by mapy
persors) to deprecia!e our bank paper. step
By step, until IT is DOW dragging here. IN
the city of S.. Louis--ihe great c,mmcrcial
metropolis Of cur own Stale--at the heavy
discount Of IRON enc TO ons and hall per
cent. tor goiI and what IS s;ill more nogli-
wing 10 the pride OF every MIssonrial, i.
las been for the last week or two actually
one per cent Lelow the bank notes OF lie
STATE B-uks OF Indiana, Chic, Kentucky,
Tennessee and Louisiana. Surely tie peo-
pc OF N.lsSou.i never oace dreamed Of lie
inauguration o. :. banking system such as
this. an unwilling 10 bsiieve that any
single neubur oi tho General Assembly
who participated n the enactment Of The
law ever, teg oas moment, contemplated
anything of the sort. No people living
have been more jealous Of their rights in
this respect than the people Of Missouri;
none have been more uniformly opposed
than they to the introduction and circulation
of deprecated currency within the limits
of their jurisdiction.
Il requires no argument trust, at this
enlightened age Of The world, 10 prove that
every people whe conduct their commercial
trsnsaclions upon spurious or deprecated
medium, must necessarily and inevitably
suGzr the loss consequent upon such depIc-
citation. The laws OF trade are no less ex-
acting in their demands than are the laws ei
nature and no people can violate the one or
the other without iucurring the penalty
Justly imposed fer breach Of their cbser-
vance. The people Of Missouri are now
paying the penalty of their temerity in ven
turing upon system Of banking which
has, wherever, it has been tried, left moth
ing in its history but bankruptcy and ru-
IN 10 mark upon lis wayside its dssolating
traces. No people can expect to advance
in wealth and power By such ploicy.-
The wealth OF people, real and substan
tial, can only be increased by well directed
labor and healthy production. Banks Of
circulation, 10 say the least, are Of exceed
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