Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1879-08-27
POLITICAL QUESTIONS.
The Currency Questionable Dangers
of Imitation.
Advantages of the National Bank Cur
rency Over Other Paper Money.
Extracts From Carl Schurzs Speech at Gin.
cinnati.


ence in Cincinnati on the evening of the
Goth inst, on the national finances, cur
rency, state rights and the ballot. After
speaking of the success and advantages
of resumption, he said:
Suppose you Democrats prevail, not only
in this state, but on the national field, how
would your success affect the business
movements of the country? At present
business feels under it's feet again the firm
ground of a reasonable stability of current
values Safe business calculations can be
made. Confidence is reviving; capital and
enterprise venture forth more freely. Now,
by substituting greenbacks for national
bank notes the currency is made irredeem-
able again, and congress is to determine It's
volume, and, as Gen. Ewing says, to raise or
lower values. Does not every sane man see
that from that very moment the business
community will stand still, all its energies
paralyzed by the uncertainty as to what
congress, or its motive power, the Demo-
cratic caucus will do next? For, be it re.
membered, however august body that may
be, 1t cannot be said to have inspired the
country with superlative confidence in its
wisdom.
Superfuous fears! says Gen. Ewing. We
shall enjoy the confidence of the business
community, for we are not going to increase
the volume of the currency, and thus raise
values and set business kiting again? In.
deed can he really imagine that such pro-
ceedings can possibly be received by the
business community with anything but the
deepest distrust? II so, he must be unmind-
full Of several important circumstances. In
the first place thing so unprecedented, SO
incomprehensible to the common-sense of
mankind, as wholly unnecessary, wsnton
suspension Of specie payments, Immediately
after successful resumption, in time of
peace, of reviVing business, and growing
prosperity, with treasury full of coin, will
impress the whole civilized world with the
belief that the financial affairs of this
country must be governed by gang of
sharpers or set of lunatics. Such return
to irredeemable paper money and subse-
quent inf alton might indeed raise the
hopes of some foolish people, who
have learned nothing and forgot
ten nothing. But the present generation of
American business men are not of that
kind. They have gone through the process
of raising values by tile expansion OF ire.
deemable paper money already once. They
have learned to appreciate the deceptive
prosperity of such ballooning period at
its true value, and they painfully remember
the crash following upon it which over
whelmed them with disaster. That hard
earned experience will be constantly before
their eyes. Such birds are not caught with
such chaff twice. And, let me add, their
distrust will be all the greater just because
the fnanciers Of the Ewing school predict
a good result. They will remember that as
prophets these gentlemen were sorry fail
ure; that whenever they predicted storm
you could safely arrange for picnic, and
when sunshine was on their bills it was
time to take out your water-proofs.
Now, when such men sit together in eau
Gus to do what even the wisest and most ey-
perienced fnanciers can not do with &C.
,curacy, namely, to determine how much
currency the country is to have for its bust
ness; and when they manipulate the volume
of the currency for the very purpose of
lowering or raising all current values, will
not then business men feel very much like
the Inhabitants of q house who know that
there is lot of boys in the cellar PLAYING
with lucifer matches around an open barrel
of gunpoWder? PROFESSIONALLY they will.
While the financial adventures and gamb-
lers Lay venture forth, the capitalists will
hasten to withdraw his funds from the
reach of mischief, and the prudent business
man will restrain bis spirit Of enterprise,
waiting for better times, when sensible and
safe men are again at the head of affairs.
This is certainly Dot q condition of things in
which business can thrive and prosper; but
SO 1t would inevitably be.
THE NATIONAL BANKS.
Now, while the Democratic leader de-
clares that the power " to expand or con-
tract the currency, to raise and lower values,
to give prosperity or inflict Distress" should
be exercised by the government, he insists
also that such power must above all things
not be committed to the hands Of individ-
uals or corporations, least of all to corpora
tons (meaning the national banks) repre-
senting the holders of public and private
Indebtedness, ch0se aOedlth as increased By
every fall of prices and diminished By every
rise" For, as he says, if the national banks,
"acting as they always do, in the interest of
holders Of money securities, are permitted
TO control the volume of the currency at
their pleasure, there is no limit to the in
jury tt y may infict upon the people, or to
The wealth they may accumulate by hidden
and concerted measures of expansion and
contraction of values.
Here is the wonderful discovery made by
the Democratic leader, that it is in the in
terests of the national banks to ruin their
customers by contracting the currency.
There has been so much demagogy and
loose talk, SO many appeals to popular
prejudice and ignorance in the warfare
against the national banks, thatitis delight
ful to have at least one OF the great lights of
Enc 1nnat1On democracy expose Dy n1E own
statement the whole absurdity of their ar
;guments. Let us examine it. What are
the national banks? They are joint-stock
corporations formed under the law for the
purpose of carrying on, under the super.
vision of the government, the business OF
barking, which consists in receiving and
holding deposits, making loans to business
men, discounting notes and bills, selling
exchanges, etc. The national banks are also
authorized, upon the deposit of government
bonds in the treasury, to circulate certain
proportional amount of bank currency, also
under the supervision of the government.
That is all.
1t is the custom Of certain class of poll.
tlclans to cenounce the national banks as a
monopoly, or, to make it sound badly, as
the monopoly of the money power. Let us
see how much of monopoly there in them
Do they consist of few great moneyed in
stitutions, welding large concentrated
power? No, there are about 2, 100 of them
separate establishments, scattered all over
the country. Are they in the control of 6
few rich men? No, the stockholders who
own them number about 10000. They live
in all parts of the country, belong to all the
different classes of society, and to all politi
cal parties. Over one half of the 210, OOl
stockholders hold shares to the amount o