Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1876-07-22
CHEYENNE, WYOMING rrRnfro-

to it:
CHRrRNSE, WYOMING TERRfro~
June 10, JesH'
,1n hDl 13,k !SrELL1eEscEa In ys'. ISIS issue Of
notes for national bank nstes y nj. ling treasury sls
soO. 600 Per year." Allow y .onid save 20
%a'dsn, no. This viii Ns {, one ne g 1 Tni: s sum- ln it Is
the bonds b. Which SI g out Of the interest on
secured Out will > ne e b na,t4n draw anV The less
the a. ~ rssir SUI rendered to the banks. after
q democratic o far Rem hitler il it's father
ersI "ovora. , we must demand that the gen.
its ieS,tsI inent be restricted to the exercise Of
and ~ .sht to get out of the banking business
:. the banks do it.
IN reply to the above we have to say
That the writer nswers his own ques,
:, ton. He says: "This SUM, it is pre-
sumed, is to be saved out of the interest
on the bonds by which the national
bank notes are secured" Precisely so.
The next question, however. shows that
subscriber" does not fully comprehend
the effect of substituting treasury notes
for national bank notes." He asks,
"Will the bonds draw any the less in.
terest when surrendered to the banks,
after the banks retire their c%urrency?'
We answer-if the national banks
should retire their circulation and take
up their bonds, now held by the govern
ment IS security for their circulation,
and nothing else should be done, then,
the interest on the bonds would con-
tinue to u precisely as it does now
But this would not be substituting
greenbacks for national bank notes.
Let us suppose, for illustration, that
the national bank circulation has been
retired, and that the bonds held by the
government to secure the redemption
of said circulation has passed back to
the possession of the banks. What will
then be the financial situation? Instead
of having between seven and eight
hundred millions of currency in circula-
ton. as we now have, all of which finds
profitable employment in business chan
nels, we would then have only $780,
100000 In "greenbacks" and some $780,
OOO. 900 in fractional currency" Now,
by substituting" greenbacks for ma
tional paper, the government would be
able to take up interest bearing bonds,
thus replacing a debt bearing interest
with one bearing no interest. The bonds
SO taken up might not be the identical
bonds owned by the national banks, but
the saving would be the same, and
would amount, IS we have said, to $22,-
OOO, 900 a year.
The proposition of subscriber" that
-"As democrats we must demand that
the general government be restricted to
the exercise of its legitimate powers"
is certainly sound doctrine. But the
further proposition that ..the govern
ment ought to get out Of the banking
business and let the banks do it" is
based, as we think, on a misconception
OF the legitimate functions of a bank.
The emission of bills of credit by the
United States is not a ''banking bust
ness" Legitimate banking, as we I'M
derstand it, is disceunting commercial
paper, and buying and selling ex-
change. The United States should not
engage in banking in this sense of the
term. Nor should the government
employ an agent to put forth the credit
OF the United States. in the form of ma
tional bank notes, at a cost of 1922, OOO,-
600 year-especially when the afore-
said agent. in addition to the large
amount so paid, every dollar of which
comes out of the pockets OF the people,
is permitted to charge the people anoth-
er exorbitant amount in the way of in
terest for what is in fact their % cred
H. n has been from the beginnine--l
subscriber" IS mistaken in suppos-
ing that the idea of substituting green
backs for national bank notes originated
with Ben. Butler. 1t was first brought
forward by Tom. Ewing, ST., of Ohio, as
back as 1868.
Nor is the plan advocated by us, in
The editorial referred to by sSubscriber,"
wanting in endorsement by the great
leaders of the democracy of a former
generation. Thomas Jefferson, the ia
Their of the democratic party, in one of
his famous letters to John w. Eppes,
"Bank paper must be suppressed,
and the circulating medium must
De restored to the nation, to whom it
properly belonps
John. c. Calhoun, in a speech deliver
ID in congress, Oct. 3, 1887, said: 81
that government credit in
the form 1 suggested Ii. e. in the form
II curency-Ed.) combines all the re-
1uisite qualities of a credit circulation
n the highest degree, and also that gov
'rnment ought not to use any other
redit but its own in f~inancia! opera-
!
"Subscriber"..will see from these quo,
atoms that u plan is in the direct
me of democratic precedents; and we 1
eel assured he will see also that the =
substitution of greenbacks for national
ank notes. would, as we stated, save
ONE $50. OOO, 900, a year. =
Hon. Benz. j. Franklin was renomi-
ofnd Nr n