The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1878-07-25


hey want them. 1t would have been much
more frank and becoming for Congress to
lave said in so many words, ''No State shall |
establish any bank, !" than thus to have un-
lertaken to tax them out of existence; for
40 bank csn pay 10 per cent. tax and sur
vive. Hence the tax is prohibitory and there
ire no banks to tax. The cid State banks
mad their faults-one was that their currency
away from home was generally / or per
cent. below par. But this very fault became
a virtue. AS an inferior currency could not
exist in the midst of a better, the inferior
always sought its level and was promptly
home, where it was at par again to
answer the wants of the people. A nation
al currency has the advantage Of being ey-
erywhere in the United States Of uniform
value. But this virtue becomes fault in
this; being of uniform value, it seeks the
great money centers and never again finds
its way back to the starting-point. When
the merchant or other business man took
the former to distant city, the return ex-
press brought the same money back to the
State from which it went. Now. ii the mer-
chant or business man deposits his money in
any of our national banks and. procnres a
draft On any of the banks of the eastern or
other cities, his draft is cashed and at once
returned with orders to forward the curren-
cy by express.
riod of our existence was such oppression
brought about under the State bank system
as we witness now. True, they had their
commissions, but none produced such pro-
tracted distress as we have witnessed under
our present system. Up to September, 1873,
prosperity prevailed all over our country
no man believed that q national bank could
fail until the lightning flashed the failure Of
Jay Cooke 6 Co. Then bank after bank
followed in the wake; then business house
after business house shared the same sad
fate; then individual after individual sank
until universal prostration reigned.
1t is nearly five years since the reverse of
fortune set in, and it has grown worse day
by day. Never, under any system have we
had so long period Of distress as under the
present. Moreover. sir, more money has
been lost to honest depositors within that
period than was ever lost in like period
by the old State banks as they existed for
twenty-five years before the war.
In this connection l beg to read a letter
from one who presided over the deliberations
OF this House many years age, who for near
ly twenty years adorned the Senate of the
United States, and chairman of its commit
tee on Finance, a statesman whose talent
and virtue brighten the pages OF American
history, whose good heart and modest I'M
selfishness made him the beloved of all who
knew him, Hon. R. N. T. Hunter, of Viz
GINA:
RICHMOND, May %, 1878.
Dear Sir Il am rejoced to see that you
are moving for repeal of the law taxing
State issues 10 per cent. Should you sue
coed. you will entitle yourself to the thanks
OF the whole country, and particularly of the
South and your native State, Virginia.
Many of the States are deeply depressed by
from this condition unless allowed to organ
ize their credit, which cannot be done eff
GENTLY unless this cruel eXaction be removed
Among the States in that condition is Vir-
GINA. l hope you will succeed in your eff
forts to unite her hands. Of all the bills in
troduced at this session into Congress, this
ranks next only, in my opinion, to the tariff
modification.
With respect, am, yours, very truly,
r. M. T. HUNTER.
Hon. J. Z. HARRIS.
MIR. Chairman, it is a dangerous power for
central political body like the Congress of
the United Statss to exercise absolute con-
troll of the whole monetary system of the
country; power controlled to-day by one
political party, to morrow by another. We
now see political parties divided on that very
subject. When the democrats get control,
who doubts that important changes will be
made? Then, in turn, when the republi-
cans resume authority, the work of undoing
what their predecessors did will begin. Thus,
between the two parties oh nges will be go
ing on from time to time, as success follows
one party or the other values will change
with parties, and distress to the people will
be the result.
AS the Government has assumed absolute
and exclusive control Of the finances of the
country, if my voice could prevail, 1 would
substitute greenbacks for bank currency, fer
the Government has not only taxed State
banks out of existence, but has turned upon
her own offspring, the national banks. and
is devouring them by onerous tax, which the
people in great degree must bear. The
national currency would go out directly to
the people without having to pay these mid
die men 10 to y per cent. for its use.
would then pay the outstanding 5.2O
bonds which have not been funded, accord
ing to the original contract, in greenbacks.
This would lessen the public debt to that ex-
tent, stop the gold interest which the people
are paying on these bonds, and give to the
country sufficient amount of money to an
swer the wants of business and the necessi-
ties of the people. This would cause no ir
flation; we would not then have as much
money by 50 per cent. per capita as other
enlightened countries. It is the faith in our
people which gives our currency its value.
and not the gold in our vaults for we have
only about $3.50, 900, COO gold in the United
States, while cur currency now is about to
l OF that amount. We talk fiippantly about
gold basis" and ''specie payments" in the
lace OF the fact that no banking association,
no bank, no government ever had one dollar
OF gold for every dollar of paper in clrcula-
ton. Specie payment means simply this
and no more that the faith of the Govern
ment is pledged, and that the public know
the Government or the banking association
will pay gold when demanded but with
that faith no one, or but few, will demand
it. Therefore, the Government or bark is
regarded on specie basis, which rightfully
interpreted means this: all can paw gold
when nobody wants it; none can pay gold,
dollar for dollar, when everybody wants it.
1t is the credit of the people through the
Government that constitutes specie pay
ments. The credit of the Government would
stand larger circulation without deprecia-
tfon Of its value. This is demonstrated by
the fact that we have nearly So, 1000, OOO. 600
OF bonded debt, all OF which is above par in
all the money markets of the world.