The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1875-09-17
FACTS OY'FINANCE.
For the Consideration Of Eyery5Honeat Han ia
America.

l. Two and two are fOur-always have
been and always will be.
2. One hundred cents make one dol
lar.
3. A promise to pay dollar is not
dollar.
4. 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.
5. The more promises to pay which a
man, firm, a corporation or Govern
ment issues, without fulfilling them,
the less they are worth.
8. When q man, a firm. corporation,
or a Government issues and sells bond,
a note, a mortgage, or any other obligil
ton, he (the maker) has no further con
troll over il but TO pay it when due If
he attempts to do anything else he will
lose his standing and credit, and be ru-
ined.
T. 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
-Gf the banks should fail ARE bought
and paid for by the stockholders of the
banks. The bonds are the private prop
erty of individuals, pledged to secure
the bills of the bank.
6. Banks, or private bankers, who do
not issue bills, do not have to buy Gov
erament bonds.
9. If 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 pri
vate bankers-as any bank does which
| is not National bank, or which does
not issue bills.
10. IL National Banks were to be abol-
ished, or not allowed to issue bills, they
would have to send their bills back to
Washington and have them destroyed,
| thus contracting the currency without
substituting gold, or anything else in its
1 place, to the extent of 1852, 900, 600.
| Then the stockholders in the banks
would take away their bonds from Wash
ington and sell them in New York, so as
70 get back their money which they in
vested in the business.
IL. The bonds from New York would
| go to London and other parts Of Eu-
rope; and the gold interest which the
! Government now pays to the stockhold-
| ers of National Banks at home, 1t would
| then have to pay to foreigners abroad.
II. By authorizing National Banks,
| the Government thereby creates home
| investors for $3.50, coo, 900 of its bonds,
| which would otherwise be held i'll Eu-
| rope.
i3. By having the bonds held by stock
| holders of National Banks at home, in
| stead of being held in Europe, the Gov
| ernment is enabled to get back a large
| part of the interest it pays on the bonds
| by taxing the circulation and deposits of
| the National Banks. The total amount
| of interest paid by the Government in
| 1874, on bonds deposited to secure Ma
| tionaI Bank bills, was S22, 500, 600 gold,
| equal to say S25, 900, 600 currency. The
total amount received back from the
National Banks in payment of tax on
circulation and deposits, during the same
time, was SIS, 900, 600 currency. There
fore the Government gets back three
fifths of all the interest it pays to Ma
tionaI Banks on bonds owned by them
or their stockholders. And it may be
added that the National Banks pay State
and Municipal Taxes on their capital
the same as though the capital was not
invested in United States Bonds, which
makes their annual taxation about equal
to all the interest paid by the Govern
ment on the bonds held to secure circu-
lation, so nearly so that capitalists are
not anxious to start new banks, and
these banks are the only parties required
to pay taxes on capital invested in Uni
ted States Bonds.
IL Anybody who has money. property
or credit can start National Bank, or
join with others in starting one, any day
he chooses, and there is no limit to the
number of banks, or amount of circula-
ton. The business is free to all.
-. Honesty is the best policy.-al-
ways has been and always will be.