Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1861-08-28
VOL. XIII, NO. II.


grant or law shall have any force or effect
tGHtil the same shall have been submitted u
ia vote Of the electors of the State at some
general election, and been approved u a
majority Of the votes east on that subject
lat such electioa.
j On the 9TH day of March, 1851, law
was passed providing for the submission Of
THE question Of "Bank" or mo Bank" to
the voters of the State at the November
ELECTION Of that year. The question was
voted upon and the result was that 3 l ,2l9
votes were polled in favor Of Blanks" and
9,l26 against them At the same election
members OF the legislature were elected up
ION whom would devolye the duty of franz
ling banking law in case the vote were in
favor OF such measure. The whole ques-
ton was in this way fully discussed. On
the 10th Of April 1852, the present bank
ing law was passed, and at the succeeding
November election submitted to the people
and approved by the following vote: 3d.
$50 in its favor, to Sill against it. The
people thus again aud again declared in
favor of some system Of Banking. They
did so in rejecting the first Constitution
and again in adopting the second They
did so in their direct vote on the question
lin 1851, and again they emphatically en-
dorsed the identical system we now nave
in force by their vote in 1852. No law
upon the statute books has been so thor
oughly and emphatlcaly endorsed by the
people as has been our present banking
law. Those who organized banks under
this law probably had the same object in
Iyiew that almost if not quite every other
man has, to wit: to make money. 1t was
perfectly proper and legitimate that they
should do So
The people had made the law and thus
invited them to organize under it. If the
law did not suit them they had the power
to alter it, and from time to time have done
so as passing events have shown the neces-
lsity OF so doing. And what has been the
history Of Wisconsin Banking up to the
breaking ont of the "save holders rebel
lion" Every dollar that has been placed
in circulation by the banks Of our State W, s
kept current aud circulated freely among
the people, without loss to any one up to
the winding up Of the Bank of Eau Claire,
IN the spring of the present year.
Can the same be said Of the Banking
ystem ofany other State?
Since that time, as we all know TO our
sorrow, we have sustained great losses.
But who is at fault for this? Should L all
be charged upon the Banks? / think not.
1t has grown out Of their misfortunes rath.
er than their crimes. The real cause Of all
1.-THE trouble has been the action Of the
Southern rebels. The Bankers of the State
purchased the bonds Of Southern States
and deposited them as Banking security as
the law authorized them to do. The le-
belIous States have virtually repudiated
their bonds when held by Northern men,
and in this way they have as really robbed
the holders OF these bonds as though they
had refused to pay for goods purchased, or
had stolen their ships or other property.
In this way the property Of many Of
these Bankers has been entirely taken from
them by the action Of these rebellious
States, and they are as unable to pay their
notes as though their property hal been
stolen IN som vay, and they are no
more deserving Of censure and abuse than
they would bave been had their property
been thus taken from them by ordinary
robbery.
What the people have lost by the depre-
citation on these Bank bills the Bankers who
issue them have not gained, The Bankers
have really been the greatest losers, many
| Of them having lost all they possessed. In
the midst Of our general and mutual troubles
and losses let us deal fairly by ALL There
are several other points would gladly have
noticed briefly, but my article is already
TOO long and must stop.
SAMUEL d. HASTINGS.