Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1877-10-25

| When it was enacted, a silver dollar
was worth more than gold dollar.
Since then-not in consequence of the
act, since we have been using an ire
deemable paper currency and that act
therefore has had no influence what
ever upon the demand of silver in this
country, nor has it thrown an ounce
of silver upon the market-but be-
cause of the recent enormous produc-
ton of silver mines the falling off in
the demand of silver in Asiatic coun-
tries, and its decentralization in Ger
many, which did throw a large amount
of it on the market, it has at times
within the past three years fallen 20
per cent. as compared with gold and
is now about s per cent. below gold.
| Now the "Greenback party and
sthe Peoples Reform or Demo
cratic party, demand the immediate
reconciliation of silver and the indef-
mite postponement of resumption. A
moments reflection should satisfy any
intelligent person that those two de-
nands are utterly inconsistent. Sill
yer can no more be coined and enter
into general circulation without re-
sumption than gold. The subsidiary
silver coin we now use only circulates
because it is less valuable than green
backs. The reconciliation of silver
means making the greenbacks paya-
| BILE in silver. When it is done, green
backs will bear the same relation to
silver that they now do to gold, and
without resumption they can never
quite reach par of the coin in which
| they are to be paid. All talk of re-
monetizing silver and putting it in
circulation, without resuming specie
payments, is sheer nonsense. Intelli-
gent men who, in the same breath,
oppose resumption and urge the re-
monetization of silver, as if that
| would bring some great relief to the
country, are not honest men. Re-
| monetization, without resumption,
would have no more effect in bringing
the silver dollar into general circula-
ton than the Pope's Bull had on the
comet. The Greenbackers are fond
of saying that "gold is a coward;"
they would find remonetized silver
characterized by the same pusillani-
nous traits in the presence of ire
| deemable paper. The latter will in
evitably cause any money possessing
an intrinsic value to retreat before it.
THE NATIONAL BANKS.
L L. Ill hot fh., oof o,.fh
ing National Banks creates monop-
oily; that its provisions, in other re-
spects, are unjust and oppressive
and it's immediate repeal is demanded
Now, there can be no monopoly in
a business which is free for every
body to engage in. Any man or as
ISOLATION of men are just as much at
liberty to establish National Bank,
as they are TO establish a hourinn
mill, printing office or wooden fac
tory. The charge of monopoly is
| false. Of course they must possess
some capital to engage in any of these
enterprises. 1t is no more requisite
in one of them than any of them. The
charge of monopoly is therefore
groundless.
1t is sometimes asserted that these
banks gain all of their circulation that
may be destroyed or lost. This was
true of the old State Banks, bat not
of the National Banks. The latter
are required to deposite Government
bonds in the u. S. Treasury, to secure
all the notes that are issued to them;
and every bank is required to return
all the notes it has received, or "other
| good money to the same amount" be-
fore it can recover the securities it
has deposited. IF bank fails, the
| Government sells the bonds it has de-
posted and redeems its circulation.
Many banks have failed, but no hold
er of national bank note has lost a
cent. The note of bank that has
failed is just as good as before, since
it is certain to be paid. So, too, hun
dreds of thousands of national bank
notes have been lost or destroyed,
but the government and the people
| have gained thereby, not the banks.
If people would read and understand
the law authorizing the banks before
they criticise it, such misconceptions
would be impossible.
DO THE BANKS GET DOUBLE INTEREST?
| Next it is said the banks get double
| intereSt-interest on their bonds de-
posted in the United States Treasury,
on which their notes are based, and
/ Al. a..a.,tat.4n lanna1 70 Tho
pie. But out of this double interest
comes all Of the expenses of conduct
| ing their busness--taxes, rent, insur>
ance, salaries of officers and clerks
books, stationery, postage, etc, be-
sides losses on bad debts, legal costs
of forced collections, foreclosures. etc.
When these items sre deducted from
the double interest, the profits remain
ing are very small Their average
net profits on their capital en-
ployed for the whole country, as
officially stated in the last report of
the Comptroller of the Currency, was
only 81 per cent. Scores of national
banks have. within the past year given
up their charters and recognized as
private banks, because they found the
taxes levied upon them as national
banks too onerous. The fact is that
but for their business growing out of
deposits, national banks would be a
poor investment; so much SO that
many banking houses decline to avail
themselves of the provisions of the
national banking law, and remain
merely banks for deposits and loans,
thus escaping the tax which the gov
eminent levies on the circulation OF
national banks. The government has
nothing to do with the deposit bust
ness of national banks except to tax
it. We must, therefore, in consider
ing the profits of national banks, dis
criminate between the advantages
they derive from privileges conferred
by the banking law and their profits
merely as banks of deposit.
BONDS HELD BY THE BANKS ARE TAXED.
Again, while bonds held merely as
bonds cannot be taxed, they are, the
| rnopoant fhav hecoma hank capital