Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1877-11-01

! mas gone down under them, but on
the whole the voyage ia considered
! practicable. A few endeavors have
been made to reach the same seas by
a northwestern course some of the
adventures have come back to tell
of their defeat some have lett their
bleaching bones amid Polar
ices to advertise their defeat mot
one has succeeded. He who should
urge you now in spite OF past exper-
fence to ship by that route advises
You TO assume grave risk, and if
you accept it, you must not be SUR
prised if you lose your cargOes.
| Each one Of
Mr.. ALLIs' PROPOSITIONS
invites comment. | can only notice
a few. but those are fundamental.
| LIS IL true that the world suffers
from ignorance of the true relations
of debt to progress2 Or does it suf-
fer because it knows those relations
too well2 | had myself supposed
that if there be any relation in life
diligently studied, amply illustrated
and thoroughly understood, it is the
relation of debt to progress, My own
theory of that relation is that debt
judic'ously contracted will aid pro-
gress, out injudioiously contracted
will retard it.
| Mr.. Allis maintains that the idea
of bank notes convertible into coin
is pretense. | hold on the contrary
that promissory notes issued not un-
der the pressure of any great and
disastrous emergency, not conVerta.
bic into coin, are a fraud, no matter
who issues them. He says the
banks have not always been able to
redeem their notes on demand that
is true. Perhaps it is not safe to as
sert they ever will be able to do so.
But it should be noticed that the
likeness between the present nation
al banks and
THE OLD STATE BANKS
is very slight. The old banks were
hostile to each other by force of their
very constitutions. They had no in
ducement to uphold each other; they
had on the contrary strong induce
ments to prey upon each other. The
banks of New York, for instance, is.
sued notes secured by the stocks of
that State. Wisconsin banks secured
their notes by tho stocks of Southern
and Western States. Whenever q
Wisconsin bank closed, a rival in
business was extinguished, and as its
securities were flung upon the mar
ket, capital had new opportunities
for Investment. If the operation re-
suited in depreciating Mississippi or
Virginia stocks, it appreciated by
contrast, New York stocks. For
similar reasons the banks of New
| England were at least resigned when
Now York bank was driven to the
wall. Each bank was obliged to
protect its own assets, by It's own eff
forts. But
THE NATIONAL BANKS
ali issue notes upon the same secur-
ity. -Four hundred millions of bank
capital and three times that amount
of private capital are invested in that
| security. National banks can fail n
business like other banks, and have
failed. Depositors and other credi-
tors of the bank may lose and have
lost by such failures. But the notes
| of such bank have never failed of
redemption, and cannot fail of re-
| demption until the national secur-
tiles fall at least 10 per cent below
value, and two billions of capital is
interested to see that such securities
do not depreciate at all. Only one
bank | believe issues notes to the
amount of four millions. If the Ma
tional Bank of Commerce of New
York were to close its doors to-day,
the streets If the city might be
thronged by its dcpositors, but not
bill holder would 90 near it. Its
| notes would circulate as freely to-
morrow and next week as they do to
dav.
Mr.. Allis may be right in affirming
that the debt of nation to It's own
people is the refinement of debt and
the highest form of value now
known, but happily or unhappilly
there is 90 such debt-never was
and never will be. What we call
the national debt is debt due from
the whole people, but not dollar is
due to the people. Some of it is due
to individuals among our people and
some is due to individuals scattered
| th r0ao.h tho uorId
BUT THE sTRANGEsT PROPOSITION
among Mr.. Allis' theses is that it is
the business of government to SEQ
that we have money in abundance,
poor money, even, if we cont get
good. Upon. this proposition |
pause.
L. it the business of government TO
see that you and | have an abun-
dance Of money? If so, government
is sadly in arrears to me. | have
been more than hundred thousand
dollars short all my life. Perhaps,
however, no more is meant by this
proposition than to affirm the duty
of government to coin money suffi-
eient for the business wants of the
people. So stated, the proposition
is rather more plausible, but not a
whit less unsound. How can the
government discharge that duty ?
If money is to be coined from motals
only, then it is to be remembered
the government does not make the
metals, nor mine them. Ii can on
ly refine and stamp the goods
brought to its mints.
But it may be said the vegetable
and not the mineral world should
supply
THE MATERIAL FOR MONEY
that money should be made of paper
and not of gold and silver. Well,
admit for che sake of argument that
the government can in time of peace
rightfully under the constitution
stamp upon paper the quality OF
money; of course the government
can make parer in unlimited quanti-
l. l..