The Portland daily press., 1865-09-26
THn MYsTnRrNs on RAnK1Na.

- @@~@4 - - @1a6AMS OG 6AM0LN VI
Your correspondents aE. II. Tsgand at. r.
E." whose names resemble each other sun
ciently to be officers Of two rival corporations
firing OFF paper volleys at each other from two
adjoining Bank parlors, seemed last week 70
be exposing some of the tricks of the trade.
have waited for further developments of the
mysteries of their several callings, but as dis
Greet silence has fallen upon them. conclude
no more glimpses inside of the glass doors win
be afforded the public, and take the liberty to
comment on what has been already disclosed.
One Bank in Portland makes this exhibit OF
| its prosperity:
Interest n - = .''u ula"ins $e5o,ooo
Circulation loaned and drawing interest ses,OOe
De terest ' -''s' -'''u ulA"'ns ~ 1,77ocoo
| Surplus-loaned and drawing intarast 100000
= ~ ~ 2,0Os, 900
Loan-by the books, includes all bonds 80
| held by the bank, or owned though AVl
pledged as collateral '-' 2,75o,OOO
| Cash on hand 236,0Oo
r From which it appears that an association
Of citizens who pay in $65o,0O0 and procure
an incorporation secure thereby the privilege
ofreceiying interest at 6or per cent. on more
than four times their capital, or what is the
same thing rs per cent. on their actual invest
ment. sAJU
The deposits "mostly loaned and drawing in
terest" suppose include-bills of other banks
and q. s. circulating notes so far as deposited
and used in loans or discounting commercial pa
per- 2sSEsE EaAa
That corporationwith such enormous
privileges should be able to boast that it has
paid its regular dividends, and accumulated ip
half dozen years as large surplus IS other
banks have acquired in thirty years, Is not at
all surprising But it seems that not content
with such privileges this prosperous institution
is issuing as currency and receiving interest on
several hundred thousand dollars of bills of a
bank, that has no corporate existence except
for the purpose of winding up its affairs!-
This practice acknowledged to be In violation
oflaw it is naiyely admitted other banks are
lkeacise guilty Of. 1t is charged and not de-
MED that 100000 is the amount of this over
issue, and thatitforms> part of the loaned
deposits above of 81 100000.
So then in addition to the at present ire
deemable paper which the United States
through its discussing officers is paying to its
creditors without the intervention of banks, to
She amount of hundreds of mi lions, here is
one single bank of hundreds in the country,
that is contributing about 81 100000 to initiate
theredundant paper currency in circulation,
Estimating the number of banks, and suppos-
ing them all in the proportion of their several
capital to be bankiag in the same thrifty way,
some idea may be obtained Of the vast volume
of paper promises-to-pay that choke all the
channels of business sch sEsoa
Isit to be wondered at that with the pock-
cts Of the people stuffed with this paper , be-
sides the fractional currency, which they have
fairly ceased to distinguish into genuine and
counterfeit, all the standards of value have
become deranged, prices are only limited by
the limit of human effrontery and extortion,
and the war-bmdens shut down upon us just
as heavy as they were year ago, though the
!: war ended four months ago, and the national
debt has ceased to grow, and the Treasury is
in funds to pay all the interest on it, included
about s4oOoo,OoO in gold.
Last year the war was an immense business
to absorb and require portion at least Of this
en- ormous amount of circulating currency
But has private business started up to pay the
prices and make the demands upon the pro-
ductive industry of the country that the war
did? Are men building houses, ships, facto-
ries, railroads and machinery, are they clear
ing lands, settling states, opening mines, carry
ing on foreign trades even up to the average
activity of the prosperous years before the
WARP should be glad to believe SO. But is it
not the fact that every body is waiting to buy,
to build, to repair, to invest, to start new en-
terprises. till the present abnormal scale Of
prices based upon an inflated currency shall
subside, and only buying from hand to mouth
what is necessary for immediate wants?
There may be even an unusual activity in
certain branches of mere trade, not the crea7
ton or development of any wealth, but the
creation of profits, such as the cotton, coal
and produce trade. But this activity is sign
of disease, rather than of health. 1t is based
upon the facilities which bank credits give
wholesale dealers and jobbers, to hold on to
articles bought at high prices, till the consum-
er is compelled to take them off their hands at
correspondingly high profits. m ~
How long shall this state Of things be en-
dured Are the people to sit in suffering si-
lence while bank officers mock them with pub
lished boasts of the large dividends they re-
cciye in violation of the law Will the Iegis-
lature do anything the coming winter to take
away the money-creating power of corpora
tons that have surrendered their charters, or
win it be enough for a bank president to write
to the bank committee, most of them perhaps
bank officers, that if the banks cannot be allow
ed such powers they cannot loan the towns
money to pay soldiers's bounties Or if not
that. what delusiye dust can be thrown effectu-
ally to induce the people to settle down under
abuses that load them with burdens compared
with which the taxation entailed by vast
war is not worth complaining of ? si59
HaEe4n BUMPUs.
TILE REPUBLICAN, PARTY.
II Senator Wilson IF Mace ;a ..oxr ~ +hn