New-York tribune., 1878-09-28
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.
cRFENRAcKs AND BANK NOTES.


THn NATIONAL BANK SYSTEM AND THE WRONG IT
rNvoLvEs-A USELESS MONoPOLY-THE ISSUE
or BONDS.
10 fAe Editor Of The TrteWRe
SIR: In your editorial of the 18th " Con-
earning Greenbacks and Bank Notes. you ask lie IL de
Srabe honorable for she Governmentto TO save the m
tereston some $780, 900 bonds for which u mgnt
issue greenbacks in place Of bank notes. Ana
yon give a number of carefully considered reasons why
II woud be neitber. hold that there Is not potca
or economical question to-day before the American pee
Die that deserves careful study ana consideration
than this question OF the substitution OF geenDaoks lo
National bauk notes The question has force on It's
merits and greater force It's consequences ana VIII
be discussed and win make and break partes'
because great wrong and injustice lie at 'ne
botfom of H. Stated in outline the wrong Is
this: Our National banks net only make Iuli
interest on the lOanng Of their capital and on large
norton OF their deposts-whioh It rs perfectly night
they should debut they also, by cunnngy devised
plap have drawn since the rebellion 5000 100000 Or
deducfing taxes, not less than S16OOOOOOO from he
United states Treasury, which might have been saved
had the Government issued all the currency OF the eOu
try AS said in my letter in THE TRIBUNE OF August
TO- "If our Government had issued all the currency
t need not have issued many interest bearing Dohus
by over S3OO,OOO,OOO The amount Of the National
debt would have been the same with this great a1yan-
tage the portion Of the debt bearing no interest would
he $500 900 more than 1t Is, and the portion which
pays interest would be S30O000OOO less than IL Is
thereby reducing the burdens Of the people
per anhnm."
admit Mr. Chase justified by the exigencies OF
the country in the agreements he made and the pledges
he gave and that these agreements aud pledges should
be kept; vet now maintain that substantially theS
have been keptthat they past date-and that ior
our Government go taxing the country at iarge
ten TO twelve millions year to pay over 10 monopoly
of bankers for Issuing currency no better than green
{s NJ pulv Of
downright robbery Of the people ncudng all the poor
for the advantageOf the bankers who are almost wholly
rich The past is lost u.s. but the future is In our
hands Let me show how this wrong may be made
right: and think you viii see that your nine objections
TO substitution Of greenbaeks for bank currency OIL
August ii Will disappear
We will suppose then that our Government shall dc
eide that il as much one functions TO make the pa
per money Of the country 1t the gold and silver and
that furthermore it is its duty TO provide lust so much
Of It as it needs in preference 10 gold at parior IL
must be kept at par with gOd-the amount would be
about $3.50 and it would need somewhere from
600 to $500 of gold and silver In the u
S Treasury keep it at specie value This would re-
qure an issue of about $500 100000 more greenbacks
But should be gradual issue Of $5,OOOOOO to SlO-
100000 monthly. By authorizing the Secretary OF the
Treasury TO sell bonds for gold to the amount Of one
third tie issue Of greenbacks the gold to be held
as reserve in the Treasury, ample specie reserve
would created and the gold value Of the greenbaek
assured ThCn the Government could call for bonds as
fast the bank note currency was retired and pay tne
lection that it would be unjust to boud10ldeTs. -.
Your second objection is that II would be unjust 70
the banks. But If the banks shown tobe favored
GLASS; enjoying special privileges az the cost OF the peo
pe there Is NO more Injustice Withdrawing those PRIV
eges than has exercised in hundreds OF cases by
all the best governments. The reasons Tor the pedge
given that tie legal tender should not exceed
S4OOOOO0O obsolete II the people are to be bene
fitted, and ghteously) 1ur 0y the larger issue
the pledge not exceed S4OOO00,O00is feeble bar
Pay our bonds in gold, or equivalent, and mase
greenbacks good as goid aud fath WITH 6e & pa9S rs
kept whether the Issue Oi gTeenDacKs @0OOVOVVVOo
$650OOO,OO0.
interest to depreoae the public credit and to reap prOn
thereby. How could they do either Perhaps you VIII
answer by drawing gold aud silver from the treasury
instead OF greenbacks But you mast know that ior an
paying OF labOrers and for all retail business people
who require currency will do their business with those
banks that VIII supply them. Now, as long as gold,
quenoe TO the bank which 1t has hand and as the
people who have payments TO make hnd green1acks
most convenient the banks viii keep AM circulate them
The question once settled that . the only currency te
people will permit 60 be issued-theo only currency 10 De
had-he banks have interest In deprecatlng IT,
Even II t Is unconstitutional 10 make new legender
sse vel N II can be proved adyantag geous 10 The whole
people, there which can be taken 10 make
j. constitutional without packing the Supreme Court
You dread this enlargement OF the greenDack currency
because of the possible rapids aud Niagara Of iuai0n
1t Is feared Issue geenbaCks thus far and
this National smOke that befOgs the atmos
phere has ITS orgn IN smouderlng nie OF WRONG %eh
party say this shall be rigted and the Nationals
party neglect and Democrats Will seize upon H.
MIR. Thurman has already begun. - .
A correspondent in tO-dey's TRIBUNE, " B. \. M.,"
SAYS IN reply letter in THE TLBUSE Of August TO-
that In charging the banks with having received Sl0
100000 annually in the interest iIOn the Treasury do
not state the fairly masnucb ignore the taxa
lion OF the banks " r. n. NJ" must noticed that
gave no exact figures eiJler amount OF bonds cur
reney interest on bunds Tne force OF my facts and
arguments did not require accuracy. Nevertheless |
The total amount OF banK note cur
rency is 1924 900 The bOnas deposited os security
have been per cents the interest amount
ing to over Sl9,OOOOOO Deduct the tiOn on bank
currencywich Is the only taxation t1a can or ought
20 be effected by the proposed change9b0u @3OOOOOO,
and the Of S160OO,OO0 tDat the bankers
draw United States Treasury. IL may be that
tue two some OF the per cents nave
been exchanged for per cents but even II am jus
titled NY assertion that the issue OF National bank
currency has cost tue country an average OF Sl5OOOOO
like issue Of gTeenbacks. Or cOurse the saw
ing in the future cannot be large
The drift and substance of " l. n. NJ 50 argument are
that country Withdraws from The National banks
as think it wl-the privilege Of issuing currency
then they must be relieved OF all taxation. 10 under
stand tins b. n. b." does, it would require more
"profound thought" ON my part than am willing 10
bestow. J. 4. DROFNAKC.
BrOoklyE, Aug. II, 1873.