The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1872-01-31
The National Bank System insufficient
for the Wants of the Country.

III his late report the superintendent
of the Banking Department of the State
of New York discusses the Nationa
the State Bank system:
The condition of the country at tn
time of the passage of the law taxing thu
circulation Of the State banks, need no
be refsrred to .as it is familiar to all. The
imt5ositfenS of. the tax was regarded BY
many as necessary and importan
measure to enable the government t,
carry out it's financial policy, and raise
funds to conduct the, war in which it wa!
then engaged bnt may it not now bt
said that the necessity no longer exists
and that many who then regarded it az
a necessity are now of the opinion that q
repeal of the tax at this time would aid
rather than retard the government in its
present effortssa portion of its debt?-
Another forcible argument for the repeal
may be found, in, the fact that the new
lines of railroad completed in in the last
four years, and various lines now in pro-
cess Of constructioe, penetrating the in
terror and remote portions Of our State,
and furnishing facilities of communica-
tion "a 3thsffo isolated regions, have
created andwiilfurther create, at various
as !" the Haa methods ods'n and
necessities of business, multiplying the
nunberandenlarging the magnitude of
legitimate business transactions, requir-
Ing for their accommodation and sue
csssful prosecution financial facilities
such as banks alone can extend. Con-
ditions like these of growth and expan-
sion and change, the national banking
system is powerless to meet and supply !;
but that Of our State, once revived and
operative, would, judging from the past,
meet every emergency Unsupported
for. -, :
Another consideration that may be
urged in favor of revising and extending
the banking system of our State, is to be
found in the arbitrary limitation of the
national banking system to conditions
as thew existed at the time 1t was inau-
curated; a liidisStiofi having in view, at
he adoption Of Of the system, coDsidera-
tions of all entirely different character
from the ordinary business wants of our
people, and in fact leaving them almost
entirely out Of sight. This naturally
arose from the Importance of the great
uuestiuns then engaging the pnblic mind
nearSNy to the entire exclusion of other
subjects. 1t is unnecessary for me to
exlressm nay opinion as to how far the
national Banking system then adopted
was calculated te-meet the wants of the
yeople at thestitne, or to refer to the ine-
qualities of thr distribution of banking
&cilitiesfheR made My present pur-
possis answered by saying that it lacks
the first and chief requisite of q true ma
-. of inf a rio n.
he2ibility, Of itsanethods,o in it's lack of
adafHafi II toofife. business wants of a
groMfng, ai+ersified and changing popu-
1ation, with new and ever varying con-
ditions, wrought out from experience in
cident to great resources apparently DOR
mant and undeveloped, awaiting q grow
ing population and concentration of cap
ita1 to transform and utilize them, and
thus fails to reach and supply the wants
efeur people.
lthtnk it will be conceded that the
tendency Of things the past few years
has, Been toward the concentration of the
bushels Interest of our people in few
hauds, which has heretofore been re-
garded as prejudicial to the interest of
the:masses; and few will be found to
doubt that the Capitalization of power,
either political or of a business character,
is contrary to the spirit of our republican
form of government, and detrimental to
the we'll being OF the masses. The fos-
tering aaffehcounging. as far as practi-
cable and consistent by Legislative en-
actments, of the varied industrial pur-
suits of our people, seems almost desira-
BILE; for the more diversified such pur-
suits are, the less liable we are to be Sc
riously affected by the financial caanges
and revulsions with which we are so fre-
quently, visited, and from which we
haye.no reason to expect immunity III
the future.