, 1861-07-25
DEHT BANKING AGAIN.

No cne can estimate quite to his own
satisfaction the amount OF deb. that is Gre
atcd by tile debt banking system; but it is
US vns. as it is useless; its ctftcts being to
cripple tho ycry banking that creates it, as
we'll as the general commerce Of the conu-
Try, and III every way to ipjure or o',struct
tie public welfare. An illustration will
show .Ac utter folly Of this business, and
may give The reader some idea Of the ex-
lent to which, like Jealousy, it makes the
meat il feeds on" 1t is necessary to COM
p1ehend that commerce is virtually barter,
always; it is an exchange Of commodities,
whether simultaneously delivered or net,
which it is possible, and sometimes con-
vcn;ent, to effect without money. 3lill
very correctly says: "The difference be-
tween country with money, and a coun-
try altogether without it, would be only
one Of convenience; a saving Of time and
trouble, like grinding l1y water instead Of
by hand.". Commodity pays for con2mod-
ity, whether we employ money or debt, or
nothing at all, in e1fecting the exchange
Suppose a to have 1000 hides to sell,
and 10 be wanting 1000 barrels af flour,
while B, having 1000 barrels Of -four,
wants 1000 hides; obviously a simple cx-
change satisfies both these parties, if they
consider their commodities Of equivalent
value. But they have no acquaintance
with each other, or with each others
wants, and need the services Of q merchant
10 facilitate Tie exchange. Now il tho
currency Of the community he money
existing capitalize merchant will have
money, whether he owns or borrows it, to
ray a for his hides, which 4 pays for D's
-four, and there is IN end Of the trslnsac-
lion withou. debt or Inconvenience; It is
triangular barter: Debt banking, hosFsy:
RI, conpot exist uron this principle; it
puts stop to this cash business and
prompt settlement ly making debt
NECESSARY to create the currency which
rxpels the money, dissipatcs so much capi-
.al, ard forces this otherwise simple
c1cAabge through debt and credit. The
money is forced 10 Europe and to the end
Of the earth, and is lost to us in dcgrada-
Ton Of value by the debt currency which
*upplants it. And now the merchan! be-
comes the tool Of the bank Of fiction, deal
irg from necessity in bank discounts antl
fictitious credits instead Of money. He
makes his ,note, say s., 1000. with which he
Lnys AS 1ides, and his note $4,000
with which lie buys BIS flour. We
waive profits and interest to SIM
pity the illustration, and consider the
price Of the hides 10 bc S. each, and
of the flour S. per barrel, throughout the
exchanges. a must now give his note oI
$4,000 ;or BIS aour, and B gives his mole oI
$1,000 forA's hides, and the dt1t factory, fol
Tie operations Of which all this paper is
raw material, exists only to convert il into
currency; it discounts all these notes and
gives in return, What? Not money, fol
that is not its business-that wou1d no
create or increase the currency, nor cheap
en- mcney, nor cxpel gold, nor yield a prof
10 tile institution, nor 10 any mischief. I
gives in return nothing, for it has notl,in.
10 give; it inscribes credits 10 4 and B ant
the merchant for $4,000 altogether, or i
n.ay issuc bank bills which emanatc from
this credit or fictitious deposit and ;s,noun
10 the sunle t1'irg, and the sum total O
debt created is Us follows: