, 1861-01-19


van, Benton, Car,ni and Equality, J; for all
know that it means money --zcgular, down.
right, hard cash. Tho next day itgoes to
the counter where it first saw dayIght, and
1t is never seen again. u.
Why was it that the legitimate systems In
vogue eight OF ten years ago winked out Of
sight 80 suddenly: Why is it that there
Is now no Marine Bunk Of Chicago, but in
stead thereof a " Chicago Marine and Fire
Insurance Company" to which The Marine
Bank loans Its capita1P Why is it TINT
the the Exchange Bank has been superseded
by H. 4 Tucker &Co? Why is itthatwc
have food Of bank notes but no banks?
We need not go back to the history Of the
Georgia wild-catting, baleftl as that was,
to find the answer. Bad money always
drivcsgood money out Of circulation. Tho
law, so far rs it can recognize val1ein pa
per money, makes no distinction between
the myriad issues Of inaccessible paper
mills, nnd the bona fde notes, put forth "
bona fde capital, to be redeemed with bona
tde cash wher demanded. Tnlk Of "crip-
pling".e Bank which never had any money,
heScr had President or Cashier, never
had door nor counter, whose notes
were signed at so much hundred hY>n
copyist! Why the very bonds upon which
they wercissued were borrowed. They werie
borrowed for sixty days of Wall Street
broker; they wcro given 10 tho Auditor
for an equal amount Of currency; the cur
rcncy was paid out for an equal amount Of
wheat; the wheat was sent to New York
and sold for IN equal am5unt IT gold; and
the gold, minus the psohts in the transac-
ton, was paid over TO the broker. This is
ycur bank; and this process is chilled
.noring the crops. That wheat .yss sold for
hard money, but tho people have accepted
in its plsrc the nredeemablo issues of
bank said to be located somewhere in Sa-
line count1y-iszues which are never at
par anywhere, not even in the kahilet
where they are dated, and which at the
present time nrc worth somewhere
from eignty-fve to ninety-tiye cents on the
do.iar. What bank can afford to pay out
and redeem its own issues in the face Of q
competition like this. II have sold rny
" four banks to the State Ct Iliihois, and I
shave no further Interest in them ,'ssays a
prominent New York operator in State
bonds, whose only purpose in visiting I'LL.
nols at all isto take M L possible, few
first class bond, which were inadvertently
deposited with thcAulitor, and to snbsti.u:s
third class bonds in thcR ESitace. These,
gentlemen, atc Jour banks; you bought
them ahd paid for them. They have no
capital except such rs you put into them;
and their issues will never be redeemed cx-
cept as you redeem them. But Q, "don't
cripple the banksr'
If the State Of Missouri VENTED
to borrow firo millic3S Of dollars.
or if the solid, ecl4ent State of 31assachu-
sets weated to borrow that sum, how much
of the loan would be taken by the fss.&i!tihiers f.
Of Illinois? Probably hi tsttt one cent. There
might be nd ob) lection to the security OF the
t1to Of interest but it would be replied to
the negotiators that we are not capitalists
we have no money to invest in that way;
we can use our funds to better advantage in
other channels. But If it was proposed to our
farmers to loan five millions to Missouri
teithcut 1ntsstsl, how much more ridicu-
lots would the proposition become! Ner-
crthcless, this is precisely what re are
doing. We sell our corn and pork for the
reduced fractions Of multitude Of Nlissou-
ri tonds-the wheat pays tie holder Of tho
bonds dollar for dollar in genuine United
States money-he draws the interest On tie
bonds, and zoe redeem all of the money
That ever gets redeemed The merchant
redeems it by paying ono, five or ten per
cent premium for exchange, and he is
obliged, Of course, to charge it over to his
customers, or make an assignment. But
we are entrcated, forsootl, not to cripple
he banks! |
There is an insane notion in the minds |
If some people that if this brood of wild |
:ats arc unceremoniously "cleaned out"
nc shall have no money. 1t is not pro- |
,osed, we believe, to clean them out as they
'ught to be cleaned out, for the reason that
&c cannot abrogate vested rights. But is
t possible any one can fail to see that if VIC
:ould get rid Of our bad money we should
'egin to have COED money? Do not our
PRODUCTS scll for good money in all the
markets Of the world? It does not follow
hat VIC ought to have the gold and silver
artcd to our doors for every cargo ofgrain
" provisiors that We send East, but it is
leyertheless q fact that we could so have
if VIC desired it. Nothing is palmer in
be world. 1t docs follow, as we think,
hat We ought to hare @ currency worth
ne hundred cents on the dollar, or as near
that as the tritling difference Of exchange
r cost Of redemption shall permit, and it
! the business Of our Legislature to give us
uch currency if they giyc us any.