Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-09-10
Ben. Butler ON National Banks.

BEN. Butler on National Banks.
A correspondent of the Boston Aduerti-
ser--correspondent and paper both Radical
has had long talk with Senators SUM-
NER and WILSON and BEN. BUTLER. The
latter led off on currency matters. Nc
CULLocH, the Secretary of the Treasury,
has the idea into his head that return
to specie payments in the United States
would be panacea for all the ills of Gov
ernment. BUTLER argued against this idea,
and contended that the bonds of the Uni
ted States, with special exceptions, were
not payable in gold. BUTLER said:
sThe argument used why we should pay
them in gold is that our capitalists and
bankers took them, when the country was
engaged in war, as an act of patriotism; but
with gold at 200 and from that to 250, one
can not forget that they had an eye to pro-
ceeds as well, in this that they shaved them
at from fifty to sixty per cent. Now, why
should the country be called upon to disar-
range it's business relations, to reduce its
values, to burden its people with taxation.
in order to pay from the poor man labor
into the capitalists pocket this immense
premiunl-while, 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 one should recognize the fact that
during the war the country might raise
money upon any terms, aud that those
terms, whatever they were, should be faith
fully kept-yet, now that peace has return
ed with! it should come a return to finan-
cial policy which shall raise the money to
pay off these uutaxed obligations at the
earliest possible moment, and substitute for
them securities liable to taxation.
'sAnother and vital mistake in finance, it
seems to me, is allowing the national banks
to issue currency.S There is some four
huHdred millions of this currency, on the
issue of which Government substantially
paws some thirty million dollars yearly.
That is, if, instead of these bills, it issued
its own legal-tender notes to the amount
of four hundred million dollars, it could
withdraw that amount of even-thirty
bonds, the interest of which would amount
to more than thirty millions. Now, can
there any reason be shown why this amount
should be given to the national banks? On
four hundred millions of capital, their July
returns show that they have over sixty
millions surplus. Now, banking business.
if properly done, is the safest possible, and
it is an axiom in finance that safety in i'll
vestment is correlative with low rates of
interest. Hazardin business should bring
interest in proportion, but now it is the
safe business of banking which returns
from sixteen ito eighteen per cent! Yet.
strange enough-if he were not a banker,
and governed evidently by the banking
ideas of Wall street. Mr.. McCulloch is re-
firing as fast as possible the legal tender
notes, and substituting for currency the
national bank notes. Why, should not the
precise opposite be done? The Govern
ment is responsible for all these notes, ma
tional bank notes. Why should not the
Government take the profits on their issue,
and thus save from thirty to fifty millions
yearly?"
AS there is more of sense and of honesty
in the above than in anything BUTLER has
lately said orld6he, we give it place in
our columns