The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1866-04-16

try, with wonderful natural resources, mNy
help us to stave of the evil, but 1t win come
for all that, unless we avoid the errors Of
France and England, and change our present
financial policy.
the so-called national banks out of existence
within q reasonable time. They constitute an
immense moneyed monopoly of the fundhOlders
that can control the resources and business Of
the country for the advantage Of the few, and
will have the power Of controlling the govern
ment ITSELF Such stupendous mistake as the
creation ofthese banks was never committed be-
fore by any men calling themselves statesmen.
Admitting that their circulation will amount
to only three hundred millions, the amount pre-
scribed by the present law, they will make
about forty-five millions of dollars year out
of the public That is, they. make seyeniperI
cent on the bonds deposited, and about eight
per cent on the profits Of their circulation, in
Guiding interest and discount They pay the
government or the people, nothing for the
privilege of this circulation. Even the Bank
of England, with all its advantages to the gov
eminent, pays the government q handsome
percentage for its circulation. There never
was a greater fraud upon the people than
these national banks. They are dangerous at
the same time The profits on this circulation
alone, placed at compound interest, would liqui-
date the entire national debt in about forty
years. The next step should be to consolidate
the whole debt and make a uniform and re-
duced rate of interest A sinking fund, look
ing to the cxtinguishment of the debt in forty
or fifty years, should also be established.
This would give stability and confidence, and
would tighten the burdens of The people. The
greenback legal tenders onght to be the cur
rency Of the country, the same as Bank
of England notes are in Great Britain.
There should be central establishment at the
commercial metropolis similar to the Bank of
England, over which the government should
have proper control, and all banknotes, If
there should be others in circulation, ought to
be redeemed in legal tenders 1t Is impossible
to 90 into the details of such measures here,
Dub Incy are pTdCucdblc, ueCeSSdIy w SdVc I'd
from the evils we are running into, and are
sound in principle. If we would avoid the
evils of vast moneyed oligarchy, which
great national debt tends to create through the
fundholders, we should begin at once to provide
against it. We see what has been the result in
England--the absorption Of all the wealth Of
the country in the hands of few, and the de-
preston Of the laboring masses to the lowest
degree Wese the same tendency In France
now, notwithstanding the immense number Of
landed proprieiors there. The number of these
are becoming less every year by the same alb
sorbing process-thc poor becoming poorer, and
the rich richer. 1t has been and still is 10 in
every country with great national debt. Let
us begin in time, then, to avert similar evils
from our great, happy and virgin country. And
let us hope that statesmen may be found who
can comprehend and grapple the subject
Thus, not only will the well-being Of the labor
ing masses be- preserved, but we may become,
what England ia now, the moneyed centre of
the world.