The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1876-03-01
COMMUNICATIONS.
BLOATED BANKERS.
MAGNITUDE OF THEIR MISCHIEF
MAKING.

To the Editor of the Sentinel:
SIR: If there is any one diabolism IN
legislation recorded upon the historic
pages of this country th.t exceeds
another, it is in that act OF congress which
organized and protects the present
national banking system. 1t is fraugbt
with more oppression, outrage and
plunder 10 the tax payers of this country
than all Of Tweed's robberies of public
funds in New YCrk, and the crooked
whisky" frauds On the public revenue
combined together. 1t IL fully devel-
oped cancer on the body polite, eating
out from year to year the vital strength
of labor. Ii is as remorseless as Dante's
ninth and lowest "limbs," and. like
Solomon's three things that are never
satisfied, it's greedy aIpstite for the
hard earnings of honest in
dustry is never appsased. 1t Is
like the sanguisage, or, horse-leech upon
the waters edge crying, ever, give! give
give! Lst us here take a brief survey OF
its operations, and see il we are not justi-
fed in thus denouncing il. In the first
place A, or A, B, G, etc., desire to start
national bank. Under and by virtue OF
the provisiors of said law, they take (for
illustrstion) their 100000 in government
bonds, drawing five per cent. per annum
interest in gold, payable semi-annually,
Then upon the basis of that capital thus
depc sited, the bank is authorized to Issue
500. .OOO or 90 per cent in national bank
currency as a circulating medium. This
"black back" currencyis loaned out 20 the
people ct one psr cent. per month on
pap Jr, renewable every thirty to ninety
days. In ether words, the interest at that
rate is compounded on an average of six
times year on their entire outstanding
issue. This interest alone amounts to the
considerable sum OF over$l1 900 profit on the
banks private transaction, and, in addition
to this the government pays TO the same
bank over $1,000 per annum in gold as
INTEREST oNTHE BONDS
deposited with the secretary of treasury ss
security for the banks circulation. Now
let Us next examine and see how this
aggregates over the " hole country through
the entire system of bank circulation. As
shown by the Official statement of the
comptroller of the currency the national
bank note circulation outstanding on the
1st day of ofNovember, 1875, was S34S, ZIG ,902,
add ID this 10 per cent. and you get the
value of bonds On deposit with secretary
OF treasury as security for this circulating
issue which amounts to S34 S2l $50 which
makes the grand total OF bonds on deposit
1885,, 3,03S, ,592. This lag sum draws interest
five per cent. per snnum payable
In gold and amounts to the enormous sum
of SIG, Isl ,929 per year. This large sum is
every year changing through the channels
of taxation, from the earnings of the
many into the Golfers ofthe few-"making
the rich richer and the poor poorer" How
long a. that rate would IL take the national
banks OF this country to absorb the entire
taxable wealth, real and personal, land
will say right here, that the law requires
the assessment of properly to be made at
its fair cash value) of the state OF Indiana?
By reference to the last report OF the audi
tor of state / find, exclusive OF Marion
county, that the entire taxable property,
real and personal, of tbis state, amounted
to SS0S. SIG, ,009. Dividing that by ninety
counties we get the average valuation per
county st IS S33, ,143. 1t will thus be seen
that the amount paid by the government
as interest on bonds, the security of
national bank circulation would, in
round numbers, exhaust the
personal, of two and ope-fourth average.
counties esch and every year, or, in about
forty years, the average lifetime of one
generation, would exhaust and
ABSORB ALL THE TAXABLE WEALTH OF
THE STATE
of Indiana, exclusive of Marion county.
Now let us next see how long 1t would
take to absorb Marion county. By the
last report of the auditor of state it is
shown that Marion county has 500. 90 8, ,774
of taxable wealth. As heretofore shown
the annual interest on bonds. the basis oi
national bank note circulation, is about
twenty millions dollars. 1t would then take
about four years and eight months for the
national banks OF this country to literally
swallow all the taxable wealth of Marion
county, Indianapolis included. And yet
the recent republican state conven-
ton had not one word ID utter
In condemnation of this vile and
ubiquitous system of robbery. But let
us at this point take another view of this
question. By reference to the last report
of the auditor of state 1t will be seen that
the entire wheat crop of the state for the
year 1874 amounted to %, $50, ,0O9 bushels.
The interest paid by the government that
year to national banks would have paid
for every bushel OF wheat raised by every
farmer in the state traction less than one
dollar per bushel in gold. Or. as per the
same report, there were 50, ,7SO, ,997 bushels
of corn raised in the state. The interest
thus paid to the banks would have paid a
fraction less than twenty-five cents in
gold for every bushel of corr Or, as per
report above, there were 51l ,136 horses in
the state. The iLtsrest would have pur-
CnoS0N ONOiJ Ohr, OAO db0 SOunkS kOOO,
bad and indifferent, at the rate Of about
thirty nine dollars per head in gold. Or
there were 1,133,l79 head oi
CATTLE, old and young, big
and little, which the interest would baye
purchased at the rate OF little less than
$50 per head in gold, or, there were 2, ,40S, :
667 bead OF hogs, big and little, old and
young, which the aforesaid interest would
nave purchased at the rate OF fraction
less than 70 per head in coin. Thus IL will
be seen at q glance what this
UBIQUITOUS NATIONAL BANKING SYSTEM
Is costing the people OF ths country every
year. But, do the republican party
leaders propose to stop at this seemingly
overdowiDg measure of outrage and or
pressionf Not at all. They are proposing