, 1870-05-04

Address TRIBUNE COMPANY.
Chicago, II.
WEDNESDAY. MAY 1, 1870.
GENERAL GARF1ELD's FUNDING BILL.
Tho fBin to increase banking facilities"
reported by AIr. Garfield, from the Com
mittee On Banking and Currency, proposes
some good and some evil, and, like any bill
proposing either good or evil, viii not be
likely to be effectively acted upon By the
present Congress Progress in the man.
agemcnt ct financial questions can only be
expected where some one efficient financial
leader is at the head Of the Treasury, OF Of
the Committee of the Ways and Means OF.
the House, or Finance in the Senate, in
whom Congress has confidence, and whose
commentators are not such az to forfeit
confidence. So long as our Secretary Of
the Treasury is engaged in wa1ziug against
the credit of the government by trying to
force its creditors to take lower rate of
interest than waz promised to Them, we can
look for no leadership in that quarter.
And, 30 long rs the votes of Congress are
divided between four OF five leaders aud
policies, the 1east 1nischierous thing wa can
do is, perhaps, to do nothing, though there
are some things that greatly need doing.
Mr. Garfield proposes, first, to issus
Ss5, ,0o0, 900 more National Bank currency
redemable, like the present, in greenbacks,
k.1l
heretofore issued leRs than their proportion
Of notes, and to purchase. and cancel the
; per cent certificates to an amount
equal to the amount of bank notes issued,
so long rs any per cents are outstand-
ing, and when they are all retired, then to
redeem and cancel Uqitad States notes
Greenbacks) to further amount equal to
so per cent Of the bank currency issued.
So much is very good Then the bill at
tempts the same blunder which condemned
the Funding bill, viz. To force the Ma
tona1 Banks to take y per cent bond,
buying It either at par with coin, CT giving
&C per cent bond IN exchange for it at par,
under the threat, that if any bank fails to
forfeit Is per cent Of its capital in thisman-
ner within one year, t' its right to issue
notes for circulation, shall cease" md
its circulating notes, theretofore issued,
shall be called in and cancelled There are
two reasona why such provision should
be spurned by Congress, as An attack on the
good faith and honor of the government;
Thess are. frst, that It violates the Con-
stitution Of the United States, by taking
private property for public use without due
compensation. The bonds held by the
banks are their private property, rs COM
pletely as their desks nnd Office furniture.
They are now worth 81 in gold, while y
per cent bond would he worth one-fouzth
less, or &C. 4 bank of 800, 900 capital
would be called upon, In effect, to con-
dbute 425, 600 to the payment Of the ma
tional debt This Is certainly taking pr7-
vate property for public use, and utterly
without compensation
But, it is claimed. the right Of Issuing ci1-
cu1ating notes Is sufficient compensation
for this conhscation of fourth Of the cap
ital On which they are issued- Banking
must be done at q pretty high charge for
the uso Of the money, If the profits are e1-
pected to be sufficient to pay for sinking
the entire cnpital invested once every four
years. But the right to issue circulating
notes has already been sold by the govern
ment TO the banks for twenty years. Until
that tenn runs ous, the government is NOR
ally bound by the terms of the National
Banking law Of June 8, 1864, which pro-
viles that the National Banking associa-
tions may continue, under certain 'condi-
tions, for twenty years from the time they
were authorized by the Comptroller of the
Currency to commence the business of
banking under national instead of State
law. / Z. of Issuing these yery circulating
notes. What the government now proposes
to charge the banks fourth of their whole
capita1 for, it has already sold them.
This forms the second objection to the
massage of this ordinance of fobberT, VIZ,
that what the government proposes to COM
pel the banks to buy, st cost Of one-foulth
their capital, is already theirs. II onr she1-
mans, Boutwells, and spiuners are deter
mined to swell the 1nnks Of the repudiatorB,
why follow they at 60 respectful distance
behind Brick Pomeroy and the Hon. Nun
rsn7. Why repudiate % per cent Of the
uincipa1 OF a bond, when it involves no ad-
ditianal infaDy, and caves IS per cent in
cash to the taxpayers, to repudinte the
whole7 We are astounded that gentlemen
who profess come attachment to the party
whose mission is to defend the honor and
maintain tho credit of the government,
should not see that every plan to cheat or
<.,a,-n., +1,. ,,,,f3;, r7a73fnr &c mn nesan1f m