The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-07-24

This question of the continuance of the national
bank notes is one OF grave difficulty which should
be taken up by the people of the United States and
considered and discussed with the utmost care.
not specially the advocate of any kind of banks;
but IT is certain that the national banks the best
that ever were devsei-conceded to be by the
leading economists of other nations and proven to
be so in our own country by comparison with the
State banks They are generally distributed through
out the United States and form local agencies to
mote exchanges Their notes are absolutely secure
beyond peradventure. They guarded against
counterfeting successfully that scarcely any loss
happens in this way. Compared with the old system
OF State banks they are III every respect superior.
and sensible man would exchange the national
system for the State bank system.
These banks are free. are organized under general
law open to all alike SO that the business of bankinv
is as tree that OF blacksmithing. There is no
monopoly in it, except that only men having money
can bank, precisely only those can farm who
either or rent land. These banks arc chartered
for twenty years and the earliest to expire will bo
cannot honestly be determined until then. The sub
stitution greenbacks tor bank notes. If seriously
attempted. would make such stringency in money
and such a disturbance in business that in compar.
son with it the panic of 1873 would be but shower
to a hurricane. The withdrawal OF the circulating
notes from the banks would. necessarily compel
the sale of the bonds deposited for their security
and this would unquestionably lead to the collection
OF loans and DISCOUNTS which would Affect every
village and hamlet i'll the land
1t is objected to the national banks that they draw
interest on the United States bonds deposited bv
them and also on the circulating notes issued by
them. AS to the bonds hold by them, they the
property of the stockholders and not the property
of the government. We require them as security to
the holders OF the notes because 1t is the best
curity. Ii the bank goes out of existence the inter-
est OF the bonds will still have to be paid by the
government. AS to the circulating notes. part OF
them must be held in and part loaned to
business men; but for this privilege open to all
ernments taxes averaging Sl69O5lS 1851 year for the
last ten years. sum greater than five per cent OF
the entire amount of their circulating notes. If the
tax is not si .ient you increase it. But. 1t is
said the government might issue these circulating
notes and save interest. In doing So however It
would lose ut once the taxes collected from tho
banks; it would violate tho public faith. pledged
IN IN an The EXPRESS n. provision OF the law Great,
United States notes shall not exceed $4O0 900; it
would make necessary larger reserves to maintain
States notes, and would eventually lead to the
abandonment of all idea Of a specie standard and
money, with the inevitable result of wild specula.
ton. panic and bankruptcy. Can 1t be that the
shrewd sagacious people of Maine cannot that
by yielding an inch to these dogmas that threaten
the public faith and specie resumption they open
the sluiceway to reputation and communism? Let
in due time. their charters expire. deal with
these national banks may seem best for the public
interest preserving always the public honor and the
specie standard.
This platform says:-
The volume Of our money should not vary with the
chance production of the precious metals the caprice Of
This dogma absurdity on its face. Money Ia
only needed to buy productions. and the quantity,
value and demand for productions create necessity
for more or less money in precise proportion to
their amount. fixed volume of paper money IL
what the greenbackers have hitherto complained Of;
and one OF the chief merits OF the system OF free
banking is that it gives opportunity for the ebb
and flow of currency. the increase diminution Of
the volume depending. upon tho caprice OF cor
porations, but upon the demand and necessity for
currency. In this respect national bank notes have
greatly the advantage OF paper money issued by the
according to the wants and necessities OF
the government in the conduct of public
business. The true doctrine is, that volume OF
paper money. always redeemable in coin and MAIN
tanned at par by ample reserves. increasing and
diminishing according to the demands OF business.
should be provided by the national government
under general laws free and open to all alike. Our
present system. consisting OF gold and silver coin
equal to each other, and United States notes and
bank notes. always redeemable. comes nearer the
ideal form OF money than has ever heretofore been
devised by man.
GREENBAcK POLICY IN OHIO.
So much for the Maine platform. Let us turn
now to some dogmas in the platform OF the green
hackers III Ohio. They say first-
The general government should issue ample volume
u legal tender TO meet me business needs OK
Here is the broad doctrine that general govern.
ment must conduct all its operations with hat
money, made full legal tender, and supply enough
to meet the business needs OF the country. How
much does this dogma demand? For the latter pur.
pose, to pay its debts. 1t would need about
81 700 900 900 and for the former purpose according
to moderate estimate OF conservative green
backer it would require anywhere from $500 100
to S2.OOO.OOO.ooO more. III other words. they pro-
pose to strike at the foundation of all values by the
issue OF irredeemable paper money. to be used.
part paying the national debt in violation OF the
all contracts and debts between private citizens. 1t
IL strange that honest men should proclaim such
dogma and not be able to see that the only effect
would be to destroy the value of this currency and
to compel citizens resort to barter and, finally,
with without law. to coin again. This is the
tremity of greenbackism i'll Ohio.
Again, they say
We are in0exbly opposed the issue by tho govern.
of interest bearing bonds of description Tor
If this dogma had been adopted by the govern.
ment it would have been utterly helpless during the
recent war-without credit, without the power to
borrow money, without the power to conduct the
operations of war, to carry foreign trade The
power TO borrow money is indispensable to every
government of civilized man. Barbarans may live
without trade. contracts or debts. but country
that had no resources except to issue paper money
under dogma number one, and denied the power to
contract debts under dogma number two, would be
as weak a rope of SAM, and. under these condi.
tons. our government would relapse into anarchy
or despotism.
They also say
The national banking system should be- immediately
abolished.
This only differs from the Maine platform in that
it demands that the national banks shall be imme-
diately abolished. They will not wait year
day. Without warning they will compel the coli
lection OF oil the notes held by the banks and pre-
cipitate ruin upon every business man or nanura,-
turer III the country.
They further say
We demand tho immediate calling In and payment of all
United States bonds in full legal tender money.
This still more monstrous when it is remsm-
bered that debt OF the United States is now due
or redeemablo; that this administration has
deemed all the bonds that have matured by the issue
OF four per cent bonds in the way have already
stated. Tho next bonds that redeemable are
those known as the long bonds Of 1881. issued be-
fore the legal tender act passed. and the ve per
cent bonds issued undcr the rcfunding act, all OF
which are expressly payable in coin.
1t will be seen that this dogma demands that wa
should violate the express stipulation of the con-
tract not only to the time when the bonds shall
be paid, but IN to the manner in which they shall
be paid. There was at one time an honest dispute
rs to terms and conditions upon which tho hve-
twenty bonds would be paid.
PAYMENT OF BONDS IN GnEENBAcKs.
have boon arraigned recently in your city for in
consistency. because ton years ago, in letter TO Dr.
Mann, insisted that by fair construction OF the
loan acts under which the fve-twonty bonds were
issued they were payable in greenbacks 30 did
contend, and so say now; but also insisted that
we were bound by law and public policy, after
the war over, to advance these notes to par In
CON- and that wo could not take advantage OF our
own wrong iii postponing the redemption or United
States notes in order to our bonds In deprecated
and uishonored paper money; and this principle was
the basis of the act to strengthen the public credit
passed March. 1861 Well, we have at last redeemed
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