Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1878-09-06

by the Constitution or decision of the Supreme
Court exists to Justify such an issue.
I IL would at once drive out of existence the
whole system of National Banks, which have
been the means alone by which State Banks have
been prevented from issuing circulating notes.
The only franchise the National Banks receive
from the Government which induces them to
maintain their corporate existence is the right,
under limits fixed by law, to issue circulating
notes. Take this from them and they would at
once cease, without exception, to be National
Banks and would be organized again as before
the war, into State Banks, with such powers az
any state might give them. The inevitable eff
feet of this policy would be to revive again the
system of State Banks without any common
ganization, without any security for their notes,
upon such terms as any State might prescribe,
and thus all the evils of State Bank money,
which the people experienced before the war,will
occur again. Nearly generation has passed since
the lncongruous system of paper money which
existed before the war was swept away by the
National Banking act. 1t is safe to say that the
injury done to the people of the United States by
the failure of these banks, by the uncertain val
ne of their paper money, by its limited local cir
culatiun and by successful counterfeiting
annually greater than the interest of the entire
National Bank circulation of the United States.
lt Is easy to oppose banking corporations. In
stead of having political power they are the
weakest members of a community say what you
will of them, their substitution for state banks
was one of the wisest and most beneficial acts of
the general Government since the commence
ment of the war. Personally | have butt little
interest in or feeling for National Banks. But
for the benefits derived from them, | would not
care what became of them. Their continued ex-
out cost or trouble to the United States, to main
tain their circulating notes at par with United
States notes or coin. If they fall IN this they
ought to be abolished. If they do 1t they ought
to be continued. They are useful financial agents
scattered through the United States in exchang-
ing the products of industry and in localizing
capital. They paid last year to the Government
of the United States S7076,0S7 in taxes, and for
State and local taxes 80 7O1 1872 total of sl6
777,Sl9, or nearly four millions more than Judge
Thurman estimates we Will save to the people
by issuing greenbacks instead of the bank notes.
These taxes would all be lost TO the United States
and TO the States if the National Banks were
abolished. Their notes are secured beyond per-
adventure, they are protected from counterfeit
ing far more successfully than any former
system. and, to their credit be it said, not one
dollar has been lost on any National Bank note
ever issued. Wherever you go you may
carry them with safety, without examination
to where or when they We're issued. They
good everywhere in the United States.
Senator Thurman has stated some objections
to the National Banks, to which | will briefly
ply. He says:
In the first place National Bank currency
means the indefinite perpetuaton OF the public
debt.
As National Bank exists only for twenty
years from the date of its organization, and is
liable at any time by act of Congress to be abol-
ished this does not seem very potent reason.
| am sorry to say that the prospect of paying
debt soon the life of a National Bank is not
very fattering, are they likely TO deter its
payment. As for the influence OF these instltu-
tiOns, so much feared by MIR. Thurman; 1T is not
an object of alarm for it cannot be combined, or
if that attempted it could be overthrOwn by
single wave of popular opinion.
| His single objection to the National Banking
| system is that it tends to combine concentrate
and intensity the money power
| This again is an Elusive fear. There is
power in this country that is weak in political
management as what is called the money power.
| 1t never has been nor can it be concentrated
as to affect political questions. The tendency of
our institutions makes 1t easy to combine at once
political opinion and power against 1T. Party or
ganiZatiOn is infinitely more powerful for combl-
| nation than the money power. My own experience
| r1f.ttfa mo A
bank Presidents you will have ten different opln-
| IONS while party organization brings even Judge
| Thurman and Gen. Ewing on the same platform.
The third objection stated by him to the Ma
| tional Bank circulation is that it Is special
privilege and takes many millions out OF the
| pockets of the people. This again Is untrue IN
| point of fact and illogical IN argument. The
| National Bank circulation is not special prlvi-
lege, but is open to every assoclatlon OF nve
| United States. To call 1T special privilege is
| absurd. The same privilege might be granted
to every individual citizen of the United States,
but experience shows that corporation Is more
| wisely administered when it is composed of a
number of persons, not less than five, than when
it is controlled by single person. and corporate
authority is essential to preserve its existence IN
! case of the death of a partner. But for this
the special privilege might be granted to every
citizen who could give the requisite security for
the redemption of the notes issued by him.
As to putting money into the pockets Of the
! shareholders. this again is absurd. The Govern
| ment pays nothing and contributes nothing to
a bank. The shareholders buy the bonds OF the
Government and deposit them with the Gov
| ernment for the security of the notehOlders.
holders and not to the government. Nor can
| the Government pay these bonds IN any other
! way than it could pay the bonds in the hands OF
! individuals. The Government would pay the
same interest on these bonds whether held by
! the bank OF by any citizens or in Europe. The
| reason why bonds are demanded as security IL
because they are the best security. But for this
mortgage security or personal security m might
| and best. this is demanded, not for the beneht
of the Government, but for the note-hoder, for
whom the Government Is mere trustee. When
the Government pays to the bank interest On
bonds held by it as a security, 1t only pays what
| is justly due and what it would have to pay az
all events to anybody holding the bonds until
! they are redeemed.
| How it takes many millions annually out of
the pockets of the people is hard to conceive.
| No one borrows the notes of the banks unless 1t
| is for his interest to do SO. The abllty OF Ihe
bank to lend is a convenience To the borrower as
well as the lender. The Government cannot en-,
| gage in this business of loaning money 1t would
be a sorry time for the people other than pohtl-
| cal strikers, if the Government loaned money
that should be as free blacksmithing. The right
| to issue notes is free to all on the same terms
and, when so guarded as to prevent loss to 9TH the
note holder is the best possible means OF lncreas-
ing the amount of circulating notes.
He says that the Government ought to issue
these notes. The answer is, that II the Govern
ment issues them it must undertake 10 main
tain them at par with coin, or else ths people
must suffer from the evils of an irredeemable
currency. The cost of this redemption py the
banks is already SO great, before specie paSmSnJS
have actually come, that tins so-calle'i
| special privilege ls getting to be special
| burden and more banks are surrenderlng then
circulation than are taking circulation. Ii is a
special privilege that more seek to AVOID than
| tO acquire. -, A.
| United States would save If it issued S3Z2OO,Uh
more of greenbacks and redeemed that amount
of bonds. do not stop to examine thls ton5p1 I5R5
tation, but only wonder why he stopped at S5lz'-
OOOOOO Why not the entire interest or IN
public debt by issuing greenbacks Tor the
whole of 1t! Why not repudlate ~ az once IN M
would according to his computation save the
entire interest of the public debt, or S93WnNO;
with no other loss than the loss OF national
What assurance has he that 1922, 900, 900 will
satisfy the more advanced lights of repudlatlon
How will he pay out the S3zZUOlIWO! WIZ , ne
claim the right To pay the bonds az par VIII
them? Does he deny the moral and legal obli-
CATION by which they are TO be palu IN com COIN Z
Does he propose to repudiate the act OF 1868 .
The immediate effect of the commencement OF
such an issue would depreciate the notes lower
and lower, would widen more and more the GAP
between the notes and coin, would revive again
, the distinction between the bondholder and the
, | noteholder-god for the bOndholder ana q, pre-
ciated paper money for the people IL would iah az
once stop the funding operations under WulcH
we save onethird of the interest of the natc nal
, debit No man would buy either or or q ~
, per cent bond in the face of an act OF repudla-
linn Amin as the notes depreciate it becomes
| more difficult to provide coin for the paymenI Oh
the interest; or would he repudlate the 3bngl-
ton to pay the interest in coin! He says ne Is III
favor ofreceiving greenbacks for custom dutle1i
! Will he then, buy coin? III so, his p0lcy VIII
already have advanced the value OF coin.
He proposes TO issue more notes without any
provision for their payment when our revenues
are ample to meet our expenditure IN tlie Va
profound peace, when there is no motive OF pa
triotism or duty or safety to impel such acourse
and this merely to save the interest OF per cehI
/ ON S322. .OOOO00. But this very act, N adopteu,
would prevent our selling 3 St,OOOOO,OO0 OF per
cent. bonds with which to pay an equal amouni
l nf & ner cent bonds and in this work an annual
! loss 10 the Government of $200O0,0O0, or Ss,UOI
5 OOO wear more than the entire pretended saylnn
T by his proposed policy. Again, what moral rlgn'
a has the Government of the United States To re-
ouire its citizens co take its notes as money and
$ a standard of value merely for the purpose oi
{ saving the interest ON these bonds! In ulht
n of war we may cOncede this, but IN tlme ol
n peace there is no legal or moral foundation ioi
{ such a claim unless the notes are maintaineH q M al
4 par and redeemed at par Is not Ine ShlVeO
M stsara hua hann