The Cadiz sentinel. [volume] (Cadiz, Ohio) 1864-1911, 1867-09-18
Ben. BATTER ON National BANKS

| A correspondent of the Boston Adrerttse
correspondent and paper both Radical
has had long talk with Senators Sumne
and Wilson and Ben. Butler. The latte
led Oft on currency matters McCulloch
the Secretary Of the Treasury, has the idei
into his head that return to specie pay,
ments in the United States would be a pan
acea for all the Ills cf Government. Butte,
argued against this idea and contended tha
the bonds Of the United States, with spe
cial exceptions, were not payable In gold. -
| Butler said:
The argument used why we should pay
| them in gold is that our capitalists and ban
kers took them, when the country was en-
| gagged in war, as an act of patriotism: bu
with gold at 200 and from that to $50, one
can not forget that they had an eye to pro
ceeds as well, in this that they shaved then
at from fifty to sixty per cent Now, why
| should the country be called upon to disar
range its business relations, to reduce its
values, to burden its people with taxation,
in order to ray from the poor mans labor
into the capitalists pocket this immense
premium too, this investment es-
capes taxation, which is thus wholly thrown
upon productive industry? 1t would seem
to be wisdom in the first place to have all
national securities taxed, and while ono
should recognize the fact that during the
war The country might raise money upon
any terms, and that those terms, whatever
they were, should be faithfully kept--yet,
now that peace has returned with it should
come return to financial policy which
shall raise the money to pay off these un-
taxed obligations at the eariiest possible
moment, and substitute for them securities
liable to taxation.
Another and vital mistake in the finance,
it seems to me, is allowing the national
banks to issue currency. There is some
four hundred millions Of this currency. on
the issue Of which Government substantial.
" pays some thirty million dollars yearly.
That is, it. instead Of these bills. it issuo4
its own IegaI-tender notes to the amount of
four hundred million dollars, il conld with
draw that amount Of scventhirtv bonds.
the interest Of which would amount to more
than thirty millions Now, can there anv
reason be shown why this amount should
be given to the national hanks? On four
Fundred millions Of capital, their July re,
turns show that they have over sixty mil,
lions surplus. Now, banking business, if
properly done, is the safest possible, and it
is an axiom in finance that safety in invest
ment correlative with low rates of inter
est. Hazard in business should bring in
torest in proportion, tut now it is the safe
business of banking which returns from six
teen to eighteen per cent? Yet strange
he were not banker, and gov
arned evidently by the banking ideas ofI
Wall street--Mr. McCulloch is retiring as
fast as possible the lcgal-tender notes, and
for currency the national bank
notes. Why should not the precise opposi
lion be done? The Government is respon-
,ihe tor all these notes, national bank notes
Why should not the Government take the
profits on their issue, and thus save from
hirty to fifty millions yearly?'
As there is more OF sense and OF honesty
n the above than in anything Butler has
atey said OF done, we give it place in our
columns.