Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1873-11-20

4
Of the Treasury, or any other officer
Tor officers; to say this or that town,
city or State, needs so much money,
and shall have so many banks and
no more. All that should be left to
The laws OF business and the wants OF
the people. 1t has no right to say
that an arbitrary distribution Of cur
rency, made in 1868 or in 1870, shall
be sufficient for the section Of country
receiving it in those years. The
Eastern aid the Middle States got
the lions share Of the banking cur
rency issued in 1868. The Southern
States were in rebellion, and of
course, didn't share it. Many of
the Western States were then sparse
ly populated, and the people were
poor. Ten years have revolutionized
geographical interests. The course
of capital, population and empire
have been from the eastward to the
westward. Look at the increased
number of Representatives from
Western States VINO will next month
take their seats in the lower house Of
Congress. They represent wealth as
well as numbers. Why should not
that wealth and those numbers
have the conyeniences Of property
and business exchange equal to their
wants?
The present provisions of the ma
tional banking system are open to
the objection that they give special
privileges to favored individuals
that certain capitalists who had the
ear or eye of Senators or Representa-
tives in Congress, or the Comptroller
of the Currency, or the Secretary Of
the Treasury, could secure charter
for bank; but that other equally |
responsible capitalists, in equally inn
portant business centers, could not.
An abrogation Of the limitation
clause, so that banking shall be gov
erned by general laws, like those in
many OF the States under which |
railway and insurance companies are
organized, would effectually remove
this objection, and place whatever
privileges there are under the system
within the reach Of all applicants
alike. Such modification would |
make market at home for our fedcr-
al bonds, and the semi-annual inter
est, paid in coin, which now finds it
way to foreign countries, would re-
main at home to swell the volume Of
metallic currency in the hands Of our
own people. National bonds, other
wise exempt from federal, State, and
municipal taxation, would, in the
form OF capital for the proposed in
creased number of banks, become
taxable, and thus bring new ele-
ment of property to bear it's proper
tionate share of the burdens of gov
eminent.
1t seems to rs that the present
panic has been already austicenough |
10 have burned into the understand
ing of Legislators the need for more
money to do the legitimate business
of the country. The masses Of the
people have not been reckless in the
Of debts. There has been |
no increase in the spirit of specula-
ton. There has been no general
failure Of crops. Since the Chicago |
and Boston fires there has been no
extended destruction of property. |
There has been 40 loss, but, on the
other hand, an absolute increase in |
the value Of paper money. Why,
then, are our most prudent bankers,
and manufactures palsied |
in the midst Of all this plenty, and
on the verge of possible
We believe IL is main
ly because of the Procrustean system
of our national monetary affairs, and
that unless Congress shall speedily
give us, in substance, q general bank
ing law it will come very far short Of
its duty, and leave the business
interests of the country in desper-
ate, If not hopeless strait.
" Unquestionabig The best sustained Work
III lie killn IN The Hnril.v -