The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-09-18
The National Banks and National Cur
rencys

The National Banks and National Cur
rency.
From the ". Y. World.
There is profound and widespread dissatis-
faction with our present financial and none
tary system. 1t is inevitable that great and
cardinal changes in it will be carried, in some
shape or other. 1t behooves as well those
who profit by the system as those who suffer
by it to examine the ground on which they
stand.
We shall resolutely oppose any violation Of
the faith pledged to the public creditors; but
every amelioration of the oppressive system
consistent with the national honor will have
our hearty support. One of the first and least
questionable changes to be sought, is the up
roofing of the swindling, and rotting if not
already rotten, national bank system. We
trust there will be no war on bank capital or
legitimate banking business. But every bank
must stand on its own bottoms on the unbiased
estimate formed by the community of its
solidity and integrity. The prestige which
weak and mismanaged banks derive from
their connection with the Government must
not much longer delude people into risks and
losses like those incurred by the creditors of
exploded and exploding institutions. We
raise the old Democratic cry of a divorce of the
Government from the banks. When the ill
omened nuptials were proposed, we forbade
the bans, and we shall do our best to secure
dissolution of the tie.
We desire return to the specie basis; but
we do not expect to see it until Mr.. Chase's
brood of monsters is exterminated. The sys-
tenn was not devised to furnish the country
| with a sound currency, but to create new
market for the Government securities. In
this view, it was perhaps of some utility as a
means of propping the public credit amid
| the shocks and conclusions of great war.
But it was so wrong in principle and fraught
| with danger, that we opposed it, as we did the
| arbitrary and dangerous measures which origi-
mated in the State and War Departments,
which also claimed justification by temporary
| exigencies. However much opinions may
| differ respecting the merits OF the banking
| system, nobody will dispute that it had its
| origin solely in the desire of the Treasury De-
| partment to create an additional market for
| the Government debentures. We concede its
adaptation to that purpose; but it is certain it
would never have been thought of as means
of supplying the country with sound cur
rency. This was a mere pretext. at the very
best these institutions were temporary scat
folding to the public credit, and now that the
building can stand firmly without them, why
should they cucumber and disfgure itP
AS between national bank notes and green
backs, the greenbacks are altogether prefer
able. If hold a note even of the very sound
est of the national banks, its value consists in
the fact that / can 90 to the bank and eX
change it for a greenback | can pay no debt
with il unless my creditor chooses to take IT.
Int If | tender him a greenback, | am pro
teoted from all further legal consequences o
the debt. Greenbaoks are therefore better
currency for the people than any other kinc
of iTredeemable paper The substitution