The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1878-08-28

| -"JuStiSo' ouI' on the contrary. it Is the ex-
preston OF wise anxiety te suggest that
such system is frRught with dagger TO thf
prosperity of the people and to the purity
oi thelr government. Ia, in the tune oil
Anurew jackson, the existence of a nation
| al bank with capital of only S35OOD OOC
| and few branches here and there. was con-
siuered dangerous to the welfare and the
! institutions OF the country, what shall we
say OF IA Widespread combination o. 1000
national banks, now welding hearty $500
OOO,0OO OF capital, aud destined, II perpetu-
ated' 10 vastly multiply in number and TO
control thousands OF millions?
8. A third objection To the national bank
circulation is that it is a special privilege
| th2t puts many millions OF dollars annually
| into the pockets of the shareholders and
| lakes many millions annually out of the
pockets OF the people. The general rule is
| that a person pays interest upon what lie
owes; out, Ia the case OF bank note, this
| rule Is reversed. The note is a debt due Ey
| the bank, but instead of pay ing interest up
| on 1t, the bank is authorized To loan il as
| money, and take interest upon the loan. IU
| thus enjoys privilege that no one else en-
| Toys. Ii draws interest upon its own in
| ueotedness, and this privilege of the ma
| tlonal banks brings them an annual income
OF probably $2O,U000O0. Their aggregate
circulation is In round numbers, 1922, OO0,-
OOO. think 1t may be reasonably assumed
| that $500, OOO,0 900 of these notes are loaned at
an average rate OF Interest OF at least Z per
| cent. Ii so, the annual interest they re-
| celVe from The loan, not OF money, not of
| capital, but of their own Indebtedness Is
! S2l,UOO,0O0. And this sam is taken out OF
| the annual product of the country, before
| that product is divided between labor and
| capital. The general rule is, that the pro-
| duct OF human industry Is ultimately di-
| vlded between labor and capital but when
! i bank note circulation is used the banks
first step in, and, by virtue OF their special
| privilege, take large slice in the shape OF
| lnsereSL upon their own Indebtedness. In
| the case OF our national banks, this slice, as
we have seen, amounts to $2l 900 O0U every
| year. Now, if there can be no sound paper
currency but bank notes, tnen there is
| nothing lett tor us but TO bear this burthen
or try To reduce the amount OF the eXac-
| tion. But if the greenback is as good
| the bank note, and nobody denies chat it
| is, why should it not be substituted for the
| bank note and an end put to the eXaction !?
| Tue greenOacks now outstanding amount
| to $346,6S1 DIG. C-mputing interest upon
| this sum at the lowest rate at which the
Government can borrow money, per cent,
and we have annual saving to the people,
| resulting from the use OF the 9reenbdck, OF
| Sl3,S67, 240. But If greenbacks were substi-
tuJed for the $322,OUO,OOO of national bank
notes now outstanding, there would be u
| further saving To the people OF per cent.
annually on that sum, namely, SIP SSS, 900
making a total annual saving by tile use
of the greenback of $26, 747,240. From this,
heweVer, deduct, the taxes on their circula-
ton paid by the banks, amounting to about
$4,000, 900 annually, and the net saving
| would be about $500 600. Perhaps, in
strlctnesS. this deduction Tor taxes ought
not to be made, for il is probable that the
banks throw the burden OF taxation upon
their customers, who in turn shit it to the
shoulders of those with whom they deal,
until, like all other taxation, it finally falls
upon the. great body of consumers, the peo-
pie.
[ have thus given you, fellow citizens,
some reasons for substituting greenbacks
for bank-notes. | now proceed TO consider
the only objection 10 the substitution that
seems to have much weight. 1t is said that
if greenbacks were to constitute our only
paper currency, its volume would depend on
the action of Congress, and not upon the
natural laws of trade, and that as Congress
is liable to be influenced by popular feeling
on the one hand or the arts and appliances
of special interests on the other, the curren-
CIV would be subject to imitation or cOntrac-
ton, as either influence might prevail to a
degree that would be rninous TO business
and prosperity. In answer to this objection.
and admitting that it is not without force,
have to say, in the first place. that il
| is equally potent whether our paper cur
rency be greenbacks exclusively or bank
notes exclusively; for, let it be the one or
the other, Congress would have the power
| to expand or contract it at will. For in
| stance, were Congress to repeal the tax on
State bank circulation, a multitude of
banks WOulu spring up unueF state laws
| and great imitation of the currency would
| take place. On the other hand, should Con-
greSs retain that tax and retire the green
! backs, as the Republican tinanciers demand,
| a frighful contraction would result. In
| brief. if Congress should have neither sense
nor honesty, it might, for the time being,
ruin the country; but to assume that it
| would do so would be to condemn our form
| of government.
But our platform squarely meets this diff
| 2 fro ion IN hn ~
| hand or ''kiting'' on the other. II demands
| that ''the amountof such issues (greenbacks)
/ be so regulated by legislation or organic
| law to give the people an assurance of
| stability in volume of currency and conse-
quent stability of vllue,' and in unmistak-
| able terms, it opposes the decentralization,
| or disuse, of the precious metals. Could
anything, | appeal to you, be more conser-
| Vative than this, if con servatiSm means to
| conserve the interests of the people at large
| and not those of a particular class? Can
| any intelligent man reasonably object to a
| policy that preserves gold and silver from
| destruction, and dem ands stability in the
volume and value of the currency greater
| than has ever yet been attained?
| 1t is not uncommon to hear it asserted
| that there has been no contraction of the
currency. and it is but a few months since
| the Chairman of the Finance Com mittee of
| the Senate asserted that the charge of con-
traction was simply ga contraction of the
truth" But what is the truth? | shall moi
! 90 into the disputed question of what, tor
| practical purposes, constituted our currency
! at the end of the war and for several years
! afterwards. / shall conflne myself to the
| three years and half that have elapsed since
! the passage of the ReSum ptiOn Act, Janua-
| nv IA, 1875, and to what is undeniably cur
rency, namely ,greenbacks and national bank
| notes.
Now, on January IA, 1873, there were out
standing:
Of greenbacks, in round numbers 1882 0O0, OOl
On June 1st, 34668I OIt
Decrease 50 32o 9o=
On January II, 1875, there were outstand'
ing;
Of national bank notes.. 1851 ,e6l ,45t
On June l. 81, ola, 96i
Decrease % 3O5 Az
| So that, since the passage of the Resum p.
/ ton Act, the decrease in greenbackS anC
bank notes--$35 ,32S, 1884 plus $29 305, 4S5-ha:
| produced q contraction of $64634, 469. Ii tC
! this be added the $ll ,550, 1903 of greenbacki
on deposit in the Treasury for the redemp-
| ton of bank notes, and which are, conse-
| quently, withdrawn from circulation, the
| contraction amounts to over $76000,000, be-
! ing at the rate of over 81 500, 600 per mouth
| But, say the advocates of the Resumption
| Act, this contraction was necessary III order
| to resume specie payment on January /
| 1879. Now, fell0w-citiZens, ii Is one thing
| to begin specie payment and 1t is quite an-
| other to maintain it. It is quite probable "a
that the Secretary of the Treasury can be-
gin to pay specie for greenbacks on Janna-
| ~ 1, 1879, and that most, if not all, of the
banks can begin to pay specie or greenoacks
| at the same timei but the great question re-
mains could such specie payment be maln-
| tanned? If it could not, why should the
people be ground between the upper and
the neither milestone in order TO begin
sne,.ie navment somewhat earlier than the
condition OF the country would insure its
continuance? On this question the follow
| ing facts are of value:
Crest Britain and France are pre-emi-