Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-01-10

realities are before us: We have banks; we
! have paper money"
We have banks; we have paper money.
| That is the "equal force and directness." It
seems exactly equal. Gold and silver are
'ingenous and beautiful visionsn Paper
money is practical reality Practical real
tiles are pretty hard to realize on most of the
| time.
But making paper money is only branch
of industry; a "division of labor" We
never heard it called by that name before
GAS a matter of fact, banking is but one Of
the divisions Of labor into which commerceis
subdivided, and among every commercial
people the business proper of the banker is
| as indispensable to that of the shipper,
transporter or consigner in transacting the
! business of the country"
Producer shipper, transporter co1signer
and buyer; and then amaker of paper money
to provide the currency for each of the
"other divisions of labor" and take the
lions share of the profits. Heaven save the
producer; for with all these on his back he
can be saved by nothing shorter.
| We can not afford to quote the Governors
argument. The DAILY Press is limited in
size, and certain expectations have been cul-
tivated in the minds of this people, so that if
any thing heavy is found in the paper, it ex-
cites general solicitude for the health of the
editors. But the following contains about
the whole argument:
$50 long as the people of Ohio are in bust
ness connection with the people of other
States, we are and will be in the receipt and
use of the issues of the banks of other
States w;;ci; Circulate With With the Issues OF our
own banks, of which, to the extent of their
existence, they take the place and become
the substitute. The practical question is not
whether we are 10 have paper money, or
gold and silver as the common currency of
the State, but whether we are to have the
issues of foreign banks or of banks existing
within our own State, responsible under our
own laws, and regulated and controlled by
our own action. The experiment has been
tried, not only in Ohio but in several other
| States, of dispensing with bank issues under
| State authority, with one uniform result
the introduction of debased foreign cur
rency, inconvertible into gold and silver,
with all the disastrous and demoralizing
consequences Of such currency"
This is all the argument that can be made
in favor of banks, for, as an original ques-
tion to talk of increasing wealth or facili-
ties for trade by increasing the quantity Of
money, would be as sensible as to inject
water into the human veins to double the
circulation of the blood.
But the actual facts show its fallacy.
Every bank of issue is but another machine
for circulating foreign and debased currency.
Every man knows that. That is the way
it ciEculates its own money; and out of the
depreciation it makes profit. When the
collapse comes, then the banks are the first
to discredit the currency which they have
given circulation to; and the people-gen-
orally the frugal laborers who have saved
little money-are left to suffer the loss
Talk of chartering banks in Ohio, to drive
out foreign and vitiated currency Why, if
the Ohio banks that have circulated more of
this currency in Ohio than of their own,
were wiped out, there would not be a soIi-
tary bank in Ohio.
"The experiment of dispensing with bank
issues under State authority has not been
! tried in Ohio. An experiment to get rid of
a currency so thoroughly fixed in the habits
of the people, can not be tried in a day, nor
in one or two years; and there were always
too many persons desirous to undertake so
light and genteel "division of labor" to
permit the. Legislature to rest in peace while
such privileges could be had for the asking
or for a consideration. Nor has the expert.
ment failedwhere it has been tried. Califor.
mia and Oregon have no banks, nor has Missis-
sippi They realize the ingenious and
beautiful visions of gold and silver cur
rency." And just in proportion as the other
States and the Territories have avoided
banks, have they escaped the losses of a vi
tiated currency.
There is no such thing as a sound bank
currency. 1t exceeds creative power. Should
the losses Of the people from bank currency
be levied upon them directly by the GevNSn-
ment for any purpose, they would revolt
before they would submit to it. And they
ought to. A Government which provides
institutions for swindling its own people, has
no right to exist.
The Bank currency of the United States is
estimated at $500, 900. The average loss
by this political panic has been not less than
five per cent. on the whole amount. Here
are 500, ,OO0, 900 sunk. This was robbed from
labor. In 1857, about the same loss occurred
from financial panic. Besides this, there il
the constant loss of the cost of exchange
which is throughout the West usually threC
OF four times as much for the currency ofthC
country as for specie, or as it would cost L
remit specie. And when it is taken into the
account that the remittances from West tC
East are several times the amount Of the
: Doney Of the country every year, and that il
costs on an average one per cent. extra fol
the paper money at every remittance, 1t will
be seen that, even if there could be no finan,
cial panics, the depreciation in paper money
would eat up its face In a limited time. Doe
any body suppose that this is paid by any
thing but labor2
The delusion is too gross for an intelli
gent people. 1t is not necessary that W
should have this disease because other State
have 1t. When the surrounding States hay
, deprecated currency, is the most favorabl
. time for Ohio to abolish it. The bankin
interest in Ohio fosters and protects thi