Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1875-09-09
FACTS ON FINANCE.
For the Consideration OF Every
Honest Man in America.
the Cincinnati Commercial.

From the Cincinnati Commercial
L. Two and two are four-aiways
have been and always will be.
=. CDe hundred cents make one dol
lar.
3. A promise to pay dollar is not a
dollar.
/. The value of a promise to pay a
dollar, or to do anything, is regulated
by the integrity and good faith of the
maker in fulfilling the promise.
D. The more promises to pay which
man, firm, a corporation or Gov
ernment issues, wSthOut fulfilling
them the less they are worth.
6. Whena man, a firm, corpora
ton, or a Government issues and sells
bond, a note, mortgage, or any 9TH
er obligation, he (the maker) has no
further control of it but to pay when
due. If he attempts to do anything
else he will lose his standing and cred
it, and be ruined.
7. The Government bonds which the
National Banks are compelled to buy
and deposit at Washington to secure
the people against loss on broken bank
bills-(if the banks should fail)-are
bought and paid for by the stockhold-
ers of the banks. The bonds are the
private property of individuals, pledg-
ed to secure the bills of the banks.
S. Banks, or private bankers, who
do not issue bills, do not have to buy
Government bonds.
8. 1.-THE National Banks were not al
lowed to issue bills, the stockholders
would not need to invest their capital
in bonds, but would keep it for use
as private bankers-aS any bank does
which is not National Bank, or which
does not issue bills.
TO- If National Banks were to be
abolished, or not allowed to issue bills,
they would have to send their bills
back to Washington to have them de-
stroyed, thus contracting the currency
without substituting gold, or anything
else in its place, to the extent of $780,
O00, 900. Then the stockholders in the
banks would take away their bonds
from Washington and sell them in
New York, SO as to get back their
money which they invested in the bu-
sinesS.
IL. The bonds from New York would
rope; and the gold interest which the
NONei ulilelll upW pays " ihC oiOIh-
holders of National Banks at home, it
would then have to pay to foreigners
abroad.
u. By authorizing National Banks,
the Government thereby creates home
investors for $3.50, 900 of its bonds,
which would otherwise be held in Eu-
rope.
I3. BY having the bonds held by
stock holders of National Banks at
home, instead of being held in Europe,
the Government is enabled to get back
a large part of the interest it pays on
bonds by taxing the circulation and de-
posits OF the National Banks. The to-
tai amount of interest paid by the Gov
ernment in 1874, on bonds deposited to
secure National Banks, was S25, 100000
currency. The total amount received
back from the National Banks in pay
ment of tax on circulation and depos-
its, during the same time, was $751;
O00, 0,OOO currency. Therefore the Gov
ernment vets back three-fifths ofall the
interest it pays to National Banks on
bonds owned by them or their stock
holders.
IA. Anybody who has money, prop
erty or credit can start a National
Bank, or join with others in starting
one, any day he chooses, and there is
no limit to the number of banks or cir
culation. The business is free to all.
15. Honesty is the best pOlicy-al-
ways has been and always will be.