The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1880-04-03
NATIONAL BANKS,

| NAAAONhA ohNho'
The total amount of interest ann uuAy re
, Iceived by National Banks on the bonds depos
tied for the security Of their circulation wa,
$T,l59,396,ij. Multiply by lG the number o.
years since the organization of National
Banks, oct 1868 to 1879, and add for cngrav
ing of plates and printing of their circulating
notes Si132 ,3l, and We have the enormous
sum of $2101,l0i9.50 This amount does
not include compound interest upon part fol-
i Is years, nor the fact that il was all paid in
gold at premium of from $3.50 to $l,36 for
the FIRST six wears and from 81 10 to SLIP for
seven years, and from To & per cent premium
for two years more, including 1877 and rs
making fifteen years--which premium in
creased the amount largely. To Illustrate and
appreciate the enormous amount of labor and
industry it took TO create The vast amount OF
money in part We will suppose the amount to
he raised and paid in corn at - cents per
bushcl, which is about what corn would aver
age on the farms 1t would take l,ll6G6S 3lG
bushels of corn, at 56 lbs to the bushcl; mum.
Der of pounds G2,134,32l 6oG To get the
number OF loads, allow 1000 lbs, to the wagon
and we have 81 ,2G1, lGl loads. Allowing two
/ rods to the team, 81, 53i 322 rods, making l95,
40 miles of procession of teams. If IL
could he possible to get such procession 1t
would reach nearly eight times around the
earth 1t seems that those that could see or
appreciate such a procession Of teams could
appreciate the enormity and might understand
something about the National Bank swindle,
which has been and Is now taxing the indus.
tries of the country. If the 1876 banks that
were running IN 1913, with their $3.50 3Sl 400
of bonds deposited, the bonds paying no tax,
but drawing interest in gold at "a premium
if those banks had paid for their circulating
notes AS individuals pay for the same bank cir
culation, there would have been so per cent. of
those bonds paid, and should have been can
ceed and the interest stopped, and the princi-
pal subjected to taxation as other moneys and
personal property are taxed. The |. :. bonds
are not taxed. All other taxes on National
Banks are precisely the same rs state savings
and private banks are, with the exception that
state banks are taxed 10 per cent in addition
Is u I,cn.dry for their Unauthorized issue. The
National Bank currency i merely promise
of a corporation to pay; it has not the neces-
sary fiat Of the government to make it money :;
| it is not nor never was a legal tender to pay
government dues or judgments of courts, tax
es of any kind, or debts between individuals.
The National Bank currency was taken by
the people through a necessity caused by the
scarcity Of money, with the knowledge that
the banks that issued the currency had not 10
per cent on the dollar IN coin in their banks
to redeem with believing that the government
would take care of the bank circulation that
the government had gratuitously given to the
banks, while the government. has been paying
interest on the governments security TO the
banks FOR the last sixteen years; while the
banks have been drawing another interest on
their loans of their promises to pay their cir-
cql0tion) to the people, making two interests
on one investment in |. 5. bonds, that should
have had the amount received by the banks in
circulating notes from the government credited
W tliC
The remedy: The National Bank circula-
ton should be retired and an equal amount of
full legal tender treasury notes issued, All the
gold and silver bullion at the I. :. MINIS, in
Guiding the forty five millions of dollars worth
of gold bullion at the Philadelphia Mint, for
which the people are paying two per cent in
tercst-onc on the money invested in the bull
lion, and one on the bonds that should be paid
with the coined gold-all Of the L. s. Minis
should be run up to their full capacity to coin
money. 1t would be much better to pay Il pre-
MUM for bullion equal to one or two years
interest on the bonds than to refund them INTO
lower interest and on longer time, and to pay
out for bonds large proportion of the com
and treasury notes now boarded in the t. $
Treasury and AT the L. 5. MINIS, thereby stop.
ping the enormous and in part unnecessary
interest that is eating up the indusrie, OF tie
country. JOHN :. Armstrong.
Sheridan La Sale Co, III.
GLEANINGS.