New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1864-04-21
BANKS AND CURRENCY - THE
STATES AND THE UNION.


The desperate assiduity wherewith the Cop
perhead faction everywhere puts itself forward
as the champion Of State Banks and Banking
can hardly have escaped the notice of any in
telligent reader. Let us elucidatc it.
We scarcely open journal of the Vallan-
decentralization persuasion which has not its
little fling at the effort of the Administration to
" crush the State Banks" Analyze this ca
pression-recur to the facts which are relied on
to Justify it-and you will find that it amounts
simply TO this: The policy Of the Gorsr"ment
tends 10 dirost the State Banks Of the Pririiege Of
furnishing the country mih It's circulating medium.
And, thus reduced to its just proportions, we
consider the charge substantially we'll founded.
But We deny that any Banker or Bank, any
moro than a restaurant, cotton-iactory or grist-
mill, is crushed by diyesting it of the priyi-
lege of circulating its promises as money and
thus drawing interest on its debts. We favor
no dog-in-the- manager policy, and deem it no OBJ
lection to practice or policy that it subseryes
the pecuniary interest of others. Believing the
4
regard with favor its issue by State Banks, as
having subserved a good end and expedited the
development Of our National Industry, the rapid
increase of our National Wealth. Though our
recent Currency system embodied some serious
defects, and two or three glazing anomalies, we
thought well of it, praised it, stood by it.,
throughout the score of years preceding the
present National crisis.
But circumstances have suddenly and radi-
cally changed. A desperate, atrocious Rebellion
has inaugurated the most gigantic Civil War
that the world has ever seen, imposing on our
Government an enormous and protracted Ex-
penditure. Tax as vigorously as we may-and
we should have taxed sooner and more heavily
than we did-we must nevertheless borrow
heavily, and keep borrowing, till the War shall
be concluded and our vast armies disbanded.
In this emergency, the Republic needs the
fullest use and enjoyment Of its own credit 1t
needs that the constitutional assignment to
Congress Of the exclusive power to coin money
and regulate the value thereof" and "to borrow
with the denial to the States Of the power to
"emit bills of credit" be made operative in its
behalf In other words-since somebody must
enjoy and profit by the privilege of supplying
the Circulating Medium Of the Country, and as
the Government-that is, the Nation-abso-
lutely, imperatively needs that every latent re-
source be made available in its behalf, it seems
too clear for argument that this privilege should
enurc to the benefit of the whole country rather
than to the profit Of certain favored individuals
And this is the gist of the controversy now
raging respecting National and State Banks.
1t would very much simplify the matter il
there uere no National Banks--Or rather, if these
issued no other notes than those of the Govern
ment-and this is what we should greatly pre-
fer, if it were possible. But we desire to return
to specie payment and perfect solvency at the
earliest moment; and this is deemed incompat-
ible with currency Of Greenbacks alone. That
is to say; a Circulating Medium of Paper,
issued directly by the Government, cannot be
kept steadily convertible yet uneonyerted into
COM while that issued by National Banks but
uniformly resting upon the credit and faith Of
the Government, can be. A Bank of Ten Mil
lions capital, invested in interest-bearing Gov
eminent Stocks, may keep aaoat several mil
lions of paper money, yet redeem with specie
every dollar of its issues when presented, while
the Government would fail in attempting TO do
so. The National Banks, therefore, are devised
to achieve two important public ends: /. To
support and strengthen the Public Credit, by
creating a large and constant business demand
for our National Securities; and, 2. To secure
to the Government and People the largest pos
slbe share of the profit accruing from the circu-
lation of Paper Money consistent with its ready
and constant redemption. And these ends, we
trust, will be achieved though Avarice and Dis
LOYALTY should combine to defeat them.
AS to State Taxation Of National Banks, the