Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1870-11-29
National Paper Currency.


lanch of greenbacks. The party
that was willing to destroy the life
of the nation by hostility or indiffer-
ence would have had no scruples in
assassinating our national existence.
We may justly suspect all financial
schemes that originate with that
party either of quackery, impracti-
cability, reputation or treason. We
think their assaults on our national
bank system are of this class. What
is truly faulty in the system they
tolerate, what is valuable they assail
We will either have national or state
banks. The people may have their
choice. To do the business of a great
producing, manufacturing and trad
ing people with the hard and heavy
medium OF gold and silver is utterly
preposterous. The idea belongs to
a semi-barbarous age, when credit
did net exist, when commerce was
carried on by Jews, aud warriors
were iron-clad in vestments woven
Of wire and steel chains. A trading
community must have banks where
merchants can deposite their money
and draw it out by checks, where
people may deposite their surplus
funds, where they may obtain tenn
porary loans, where they may buy
bills OF exchange if they wish to
send money to other States or to
Europe, where they may sell debts
and notes duo to them at future
time, for money in hand, and where
they may pay their debts, and re-
coivo debts due 20 them. Many
years ago, there was IN opposition
to banking in this State but as trade
aud commerce increased, and towns
enlarged to cities, the necessity for
banking institutions overleNped all
law and Mr. Mitchell, tho present
democratic member elect to Congress
from the First District established a
81 bank in Milwaukee, issued a paper
currency in defiance to law, and the
people sustained him in it. That
banks have survived tho revulsions
and disasters and commercial distress
occasionod by their failure, is a con-
vincing proof Of their necessity. Ex-
perience showed that at least three
fourths Of all the money in circula-
ton would at all limos be in the Gus
tody Of banking institutions whether
solvent or not, and the problem to
be wrought out by fnanciers was,
what security shall banks give to the
public that tho money entrusted to
their care shall be secure, aud that
only responsible men should under
take this most important of all trusts,
that is, hold and receive and disburse
the money belonging to the CONNER
cial world. 1t is not necessary to
give Il history of all the various ex-
pedients resorted to, to make banks
perfectly secure, and beyond the con-
tingency ofbankruptcy, experiments
tried in all the States and other
countries. Undoubtedly the best
system in principle was that adopt
cd by our own and other States be-
fore the war, Of requiring banking
corporations before entering upon
their business, to invest their capital
largely in the purchase Of State
bonds, wheroupon the State Treas
urer delivered TO them, in some
States an equal, and in other States a
less, amount of bank bills, to be loan
ed out by the bank as money, fer the
redemption Of which the pledged
bonds were q perfect security and
BY tho laws Of most States, the
amount Of bills not equaling the
amount Of pledged bonds, there was
q large margin TO secure the other
creditors Of the banks than the bill
holders. Besides, corporation ca
pable Of depositing with the State
Treasurer 100000 in State bonds
was sure to possess vast reserve of
financial ability in tho wealth of its
members. But the State banks
thus secured did not satisfy the COM
munity We were compelled to pat
ronizc counterfeit dotectors, and
when We carried Wisconsin money
into IN adjoining State, we were
shaved upon it and whom we brought
Eastern or Southern money into Wis
consiu, we were shaved upon this.
The resurrection of this pernioious
systcm will doubtless follow the de-
struction Of the national banks for
we have shown that tho business of
the community requires banks. And
while our State banks were in oper-
alton, no democrat ever thought of
declaiming against them, because
"thoy sucked two teats," and drew
interest on their bonds pledged to
the State, and interest on their paper
money which they loaned out to
their customers. Yet this is the
identical objection urged against the
national banks, which are founded on
the same principle as that of our for
mer State banks. But the national
bank currency has this advantage
its value is the same from one ocean
TO the other. and throughout the ira