The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1878-10-24
[ NUMBER q.

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curse him particularly. item Ev item.
from the crown Of his head ia the sole
OF ms foot, curses him lt every en-
ptoyment, curses him IA ea!jRx and
drinking, sleeping ana waking, rising
MP ana Aylng down. and curses him un-
tlA he has exhausted every possible
ic0nalL ion. Now this has been consld-
cred a pretty solid, comprehensive.
iteDI1ed and partlCuIariZed auathema,
ana Tie general opinion has been tl.at
after it WAS pronounced, the poor dev-
IL WOuld be thoroughly Cursed al. tie
Wdy through. Yet not more thorough
II cursed than the Natjon8' Bank are
taxed.
The report Of the Comptroller of Tie
currency fof 1917 shows that for the
year 1873 the banks in tile city Of Mill
waukee paid TO the l.. s. 9 $40 per
cent. us taxes and to the State Of Wis
consin per cent, making The t.,x on
their capital $40 per cent, Do you
have in mind any 0tler property taxed
1T SO high q rate? In the same year
and i'll 1874 as we'll, tile average taxa
ton Of these banks thr0u&h0ut the
country was to the L. 5, ~ per cent,
and to the States 2 per cent. making
III all y per cent, direct taxation;
and this IN addition 30 the indirect
tax on then bonds ana reserves.
And just here let ue SAY "a word
| about the "ciaas Legislation. winch ex-
empts the I. 5. bonds from taxation.
il II
of "class legislation,' bat is deduced
from the Constitution itself. In 1929
the case of Weston VS.. city of Charles
ton reported i'll Peters 1862 brought
up the question whether United States
securities could be taxed 10y State.
! The Supreme Court OF i. S. held that
the states having 10y the Constitution
given the general Government power
to borrow money, they could not by
| taxation, impede, hinder, or restrain
| that power in the least. And this has
been held ever since notably in the
case of
| The Banks VS.. The Mayor &C., Wall 16.
But these politicians (and you re-
member how Shakespeare defined a pol
ltlclan, as zone who would circumvent
God') come to you and seek to horrify
you with the information that these
banks get double interest, - once on
their bonds and again on their circula-
tion. Well. suppose they do-Who
pays this double interest, and whom
does it hurt? For I am not one Of
those SO troubled with Kearneyism.
that [ must needs hate man because
he is earning money. Nor, I trust,
are any of us inspired with the COM
| munlstic desire to destroy a man or as
ISOLATION, because he or it can so in
vest bis funds as to make a good re-
turn. No. they must show more than
this, before it becomes an argument.
Even as against the banks. They must
show wrong or injury worked, or else
they have no more argument than they
would have against you, if you raised
a bushel of wheat for SO cents and
sold it for dollar; unless, indeed, we
are so corroded with envy, that good,
resulting to the banks, is necessarily
deemed wrong and injury to you and
| me.
Now, the first item of interest is the
! 5 per cent. received on the bonds. Now
remember that this is only nominal
rate, since all but the per cent. bonds
are at a premium, and that the money
represented by and invested in them,
| is sufficient to bring the interest down
to nearly per cent But whatever it
is, it is what the government pays for
the use of money loaned it. This Is le-
Ultimate, is it not ? So far, the banks
stand on the same footing as any pub
lie creditor, who loaned his money to
The country, when money meant life
to the nation, and who consented to
take for its use, far less than going
rates. There certainly can be nothing
wrong about that.
But they get interest on their circu-
lation say the Greenbackers. Well.
who pays it? The government? No.
The people? No. Who then? The
borrowers. They come to the bank
and say, "My note will not circulate:
yours will; my paper is not secured:
yours is; lend me yours in exchange
for mine, and l will pay you for the
risk you take, and for the convenience
afforded me-" He need not borrow,
but IT he does he must pay for the risk
and convenience. Nobody pays for it
except the one benefited, and [ confess
l fail to see why he should not render
an equivalent for the value received.
But this is an universal feature of
banks of issue of all times and descrip-
tions. Banks have always been and
always will be necessity. l say
GlaO0ys, for this has been the fact ever
since trade and commerce attained
anything like magnitude in the world.
Ever since 1904, when the Bank of
England was established, banks of is
sue have been recognized as a NECESSITY
for the commercial world. So that. if
you abolish National Banks, others.
under State laws, must inevitably
spring up. Now, from the beginning,
every bank which has secured its notes
has made this SO-called dOnhle infer