Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1871-05-10
Our Ragged Bank-Notes.

IhC natlonal-Dank ring Is deter
mined to make itself odious. From all
parts of the country come complaints
of the bad condition of the national
banknotes They are filthy, ragged,
! illegible, pcstiferous and pestilential.
The complaints had become so general
that even Congress could not disro,
gard them, General Garfield, chair
man of tho House Committee on Cur
isrency and Banking, the other day re-
ported a bill providing for the issue of
fresh notes General Garfield, though
Radical, is esteemed as man of
honor; but he and his committee are
faltogcther too much under the inHu.
enco of tho national banking interest,
and the bill reported provided that
the new notes should be issued by the
Treasury. at the public erpenSe, an in
justice so gross and fragrant that it is
astonishing how, man of Garfeld's s
reputation aud intelligence could be
found willing to father it. The mo.
ment the bill was offered, Mr. Hol.
man, the Democratic Representative
Of tho Second District of Indiana,
moved what the tools of the bank ring
call ga very obnoxious amendment" 7"
providing that the banks should pay
the expense of issuing the new notes,
an amendment so just that General
Garfield could not refuse to accept it,
and that many Republicans, not d.
rectly under the influence of the bank
ring, joined the solid Democratic
phalanx in its favor. Tho amend.
ment was carried by liberal majori-
ty. But when the vote on the bill
itself was taken, on a motion by Mr.
Campbell, of Ohio, tho Democratic
successor of Schcnck, tho bill was
ordered laid on the table by very
light vote, and this much needed
measure again postponed
1t may not be so readily apparent
why the banks should oppose the issue
OF new notes, even at their own ex-
pcnsc. The cost is not so great but
that it would be amply compensated
for by the convenience of the hanks
themselves The true reason of their
objection TO the new notes is that the
old notes are constantly wearing out,
are destroyed aud lost, 1t requires
only one moments thought to rceog
nizc the fact that a new, clean, crisp
white note is not half SO easily lost
and destroyed as an old, dark, limp,
and soft one and, of course, all notes
so ost and destroyed are a direct gain
to the banks, as it is not called upon
TO redeem them. Now, the people of
the United States pay the national
banks annually about twenty millions
Of dollars for tho service which lboy
arc supposed to render the public in
furnishing IL with three hundred mil.
hons of bank notes, which tho public
might have entirely FREQ of cost, fit
but choose to say the word. Yet
when the people complain that instead
of a decent currency, for which ;bey
pay a fabulous price, they are furnish.
ed with indecent rags, We are coolly
told that we may perhaps have new
currency VI we lho people, choose 10
pay for it; that VIC certainly shall not
have it unless We do, but that even if
we choose to pay for it, it is by no
means certain that our masters of the
national bank ring will allow us to
have it, because they make in the long
run little additional percentage over
and above the twenty millions, by
compelling the people to use the dis
guSting, filthy rags which these inn
pudent monopolists tender us as a su-
perabundant return for their twenty
million subsidy. Verify, verify, the
the worst enemy of the national banks
could not hurt them so much in the
public esteem as their own unscrupu.
lous rapacity does every day.-N Y
! World.