The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1870-05-05
spinner and the National
Banks.
TREASURY OF THE UNITED STATES,
WASHINGTON, April %.

TREASURY OF THE UNITED STATES,
WASHINGTON, April %.
DEAR SIR:-Your letter of the Dist
inst has been received. Your bank is
no doubt all right and willing to do all
it can voluntarily and without compul-
sion to assist the Government to fund
its debt at q low rate of interest, under
any bill funded in equity" There is
just where the difficulty lies Who
shall decide what equity is? Shall it
be the people, through their representa-
tives, through whom the banks were
created and now still live, or are the
banks to decide what equity is in their
own favor? Congress has re-
served the right to "at any time
amend, alter or repeal the act
under which you and all the other ma
tional banks are organized, and, of
course, has the right to prevent the
banks from issuing any circulation
whatever; and if it authorizes them to
issue any paper money, it is on just
such terms and conditions as it may
choose to grant them. If Congress
shall think fit to enact that the govern
ment shall hereafter issue all the paper
money, and the banks none, you would
prObabl Y take up your bonds of 1881
and sell them, and invest the avails in
some other way; and if it should pass
a law that none other but the bonds Of
the new proposed law shall he depos-
tied by the banks as security
for the redemption OF their circulating
notes, You would probably sell
your 1881 bonds at large premium
and invest in the new bonds at par.
There is no compulsion about this, nor
is there any about the Funding bill now
pending in the House of Representa-
tives. Under that bill, if it becomes
a law, the banks may sell or continue
to hold any desirable United States
stocks that they now possess. All that
will he required of them will be that in
case they desire to continue TO issue their
circulating notes they must deposit
stocks OF the new loan to secure the re-
demption OF such notes. This, in view
of the valuable franchise that Congress
grants to the banks, is certainly n"very
great hardship.
Now let us look at'your own particu-
lar grief You say your bank holds
SO 900 in United States bonds due in
1881, on which she paid premium in
March, 1868, of nearly $1,000 because
she thought these bonds had sixteen
wears to run and that during that time
the government would not disturb them
The bill now pending does not propose
ITO disturb them You may continue
to hold them, and continue to receive
in the future, as you have in the past,
Your six per cent. per annum interest in
gold, or you may sell them, and at pres
ent rates receive more than their face
value in gold.
You say for Your bank that "she
acknowledges that the government has
the power to compel her to substitute
four, four and Il half or five per cent
bond for these the bonds of
lSSl-"but she is unable yet to discover
how it can be done in honor, justice
and good faith" You seem from your
standpoint to see that great injustice
is about to he done 10 Your bank. The
people will, however, be apt to take
Your own statement of the case, and,
after doing little ciphering, will say
to YOU that their view Of the case is
that your bank bought these bonds at
about Ill in currency, at a time when
gold stood at POI, which would he about
equal to %! in gold; thatyo have since
then received back again on the nom
mal amount, for interest, thirty per
cent in gold; that you bought these
stocks with your own circulating
notes, on which You have not paid one
cen, Of interest, and that Won can now
sell these bonds above par in gold, and
that, should you so sell them, You will
receive and have received on the 3d.,
600 of United States stocks so purchas-
ed, held and sold by you, So, 800 in
gold, for which yOu paid five years ago,
in then gold prices, but SIS, 425, there
by making n clean profit, less duties
and taxes, on this single investment, of
over $4,000.
Now there are few people who would
net like to have the government honor
them with just such justice and good
faith. The wonder is that any one
should be disposed to find fault with
such treatment 1t is doubted whether
anv individual man would But YOU
speak for the bank, and banks have
been said to be soullesS, and the case
under consideration does not 90 very far
in disproving the saying, To-day a gen
tleman said in my hearing that not
corporal's guard could be found voting
Off the Funding bill now before the
House, unless the section in regard to
the banks should be stricken out. |
don't believe it, and won't believe it
until | see it, and then we shall see
what we shall see, what the people will
have to say on the subject
Being bank stakeholder, my inter
csts are identical with others who, like
me, have an interest in national banks.
| am, therefore, in no sense the enemy
of these banks. On the contrary, |
would have them continue to live and
prosper, and it is for this very reason
that ! would have them cheerfully give
their assent to the best bargain for
final settlement that will probably be
offered again for their acceptance.
Very respectfully yours,
F. E. SPINNER, Treasurer [. S.
j. L. SwAyzE, Esq, Merchants Ma
tional Bank. Newton, y. j.