The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-07-04
STATE BANKS.

In another place Will be 10 und memorial
addressed, last 4 ssfil by the presidents and
cashiers OF the State banks of New Orleans
to the Louisiana delegation In Congress
requesting them to exert their influence In
favor of Senator Buffers bill TO repeal the
Federal tax Of ten per cent on State bank
| circulation. Senator EustiS replied to the
memorialists In O letter in which he ex.
pressed his full and cordial concurrence In
their views, and pledged himself to sup
port the bill We believe no response was
received from the other members Of the
delegation, and what their views on this sub.
iect are we do not know; but we assume that.
when the bill comes up at the next session
they will earnestly support a measure Of such
| importance to all the material interests OF
their State. In the meantime, the several
commercial bodies and the press of New Or
| leans should agitate the matter so that public
attention may be kept alive and informed
relative to it.
| Under the national banking system New
| York must always remain the money centre
of the country, and every other city held
in commercial vassalage to her. The
more distant the city the completer its COM
New Orleans and Louisiana, their interests
must be, under the present system, constantly
embarrassed and repressed; for the volume
of our currency cannot possibly respond
promptly enough to the altering demands OF
our merchants, planters and manufacturers,
and most important and needed public enter
prises must necessarily drag their slow length
along because the capitalists Of the East can
not be convinced of their solidity.
The repeal of the tax on State banks would
entirely change these commercial condi-
tions II that tax were repealed, our State
banks would Immediately commence the
issue of bank notes, and New Orleans and
other cities throughout the country would
become money centres Of Importance cor
responding with the Importance Of their
commerce. The banking law of Louisiana
u.s. we Judge very similar to that of New
York, and affords the most perfect guar
antee to the holders Of our bank notes. In
deed, we believe that no loss was ever sus.
tanned by the public through the New Orleans
banks under the present law. Hence our
banks, old established and some of them e4-
tremely wealthy institutions, would from the
start possess the entire confidence Of the pub
Lie and their notes would pass as readily as
national bank or treasury notes.
Under the law United States bonds State
bonds, city consolidated bonds and specie,
deposited with the State Auditor, consti-
tute the basis Of bank circulation; hence,
we're the Federal tax on the circulation of
these banks repealed there would Immediate
" be two very important and beneficial re-
suits. First-A large proportion OF our State
bonds would be bought up by the banks.
These bonds would thus be permanently
Withdrawn from system OF specializing
or gambling, deeply Injurious to the public
interests, and become the basis or secu-
rity for a currency circulation; and the
State debt, instead of being an absolute bur-
then upon the people, would be converted
into something like public blessing. Sec
ond-Our banks would be able to supply all
the capital the trade and industries Of this and
neighboring States require, and for the want
Of which they are SO constantly embarrassed.
We would have an elastic circulation which
would instantly respond to every Legitimate
demand of commerce, agriculture and pro-
pressive enterprise, and we should see our
city speedily emancipated from the evil spell
which seems to be upon it. We doubt not
there would then be capital to build our rail-
roads: to encourage manufacturing enter
prises and to enable our planters and farmers
to restore the productiveness and beauty OF
their naturally rich lands until Louisiana
would begin to look something like she did
before the desolating breath Of war swept
over her.
The views expressed on this subject by
Senator Hill, of Georgia, and which we
printed the other day, seem to us eminently
WISE Our opinion Is that, the national bank
currency and the greenback currency
should be finally retired and the Federal
currency restricted to gold and silver. II
power OF the Federal government to issue
treasury notes be continued. it will, one
day or another, result in the destruction
of the right of the States and the conversion
| OF the government into a centralized despot-
ISM We believe, therefore, that speedily as
possible, the government should resume
specie payment But we are now, as we al
ways have been, opposed to the resumption
scheme until provision is made to supply the
! country with other currency sufficient for the
needs of our commerce and industries. The
act of the late Congress, therefore, prohibiting
the further contraction Of the currency, we be
lieve was very wise. Indeed, had Congress ad
! journed and left the country to the mercy O
John Sherman and the Eastern gold rings, /
is impossible to imagine the ruin and destitu
ton which would have resulted. But whel
the tax on the State banks is removed, we SCI
no reason why the National Bank should no
, be done away with and the Federal govern
ment once more restricted in the creation
money to the coinage OF gold and silver.
To recapitulate; we believe that the follow
ing are amongst the results which will tio0
from the measure we are discussing:
| 1. The improvement of the State credit an
the conversion of the State debt from an III
, qualified burthen into qualified public Der
eft
/ 2. The emancipation of New Orleans an
. other Southern and Western cities from com
t mereial vassalage to the East, and the CONVEX
) sion of New Orleans into great commerce.