New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-02-28

No essential part of tho bill hao IN its Aavor
ANYTHING which an honest man could possibly
mistake for a two-thirds majority. Even on
the DER cant rate the vote in the Senate was
only SO to %. Nor was there any other than
n purely partisan motive in the minds OF most
of the members who voted in its favor.
But the assertion that the banks here have
been conspiring to squeeze borrowers ana 10
nluuder their own customers is almost TOO
contemptible for serious notice. Out OF forty
seven National banks in this city, just nine
in all have made deposits to surrender
circulation. These nine banks surrendered
80. 57e. $50; and they had total circulation
of So. 964, 500, out of $1s,259, 500 reported
on the 10th instant by the National banks
of this city. Can anything be more absurd
than to suppose that these nine banks, OF
which only three have a capital of over
81, 200, 900, have entered into q conspiracy
to bring about a prostratiOn Of business
plainly hostile to the interests Of all the banks,
and by process in which the other banks
have not participated, and to which many OF
them are known to be bitterly OpposedP He
who has credulity enough to believe in such
conspiracy can swallow any story that stock
gamblers or partsans can eOncoct.
The truth was shown yesterday in press dis
patches from Washington, and has been shown
day by day in the lists Of banks which THE
TRIBUNE has published of deposits made with
the Sub Treasury here from day to day. In
all, 118 banks have deposited here, and 80
are reported at Washington, including many
not embraced in the statement OF deposits
here. Hence it is impossible as yet to say
how large a number of banks have made de-
posts in each State, or to what amount, but
the list certainly includes "a banks In the
State outside this city, depOsiting $2,141,225;
at least IL banks in Pennsylvania, and deposits
of S3464,60 at least IL in Connecticut,
with $1,795, 400; in Massachusetts, 3, with
$1,115, 100; in Ohio 18. with 81, Jos, $50
in Indiana z, with $936,00O; in Illinois 10.
with 1929. 700; in New-Jersey a, with
1887, 900; besides each i'll Minnesota and
Rhode Island, 2 each in Kansas, Kentucky,
Iowa, Virginia and Wisconsin, and / each in
Maryland, Nebraska. Maine, Missouri, Michi-
gan, the District of Columbia and Montana.
Does anybody really believe that banks thus
scattered all over twenty two States and Ter
ritories have been enlisted in q conspiracy for
any purpose whatever within a single weekf
lie aSSerlOn l5 u pdlpdoio ioiSO""O"' AM
manifest truth is that great many banks in
different States "a soon as they learned what
manner of bill had been passed by the Senate,
determined that they could not afford to continue
the issue of circulation on the terms prescribed,
and over 118 of them took steps to retire
circulation at once. This is exactly what The
TRIBUNE predicted more than month ago,
when the bill was first reported from the
House Committee, saying (January 2O): In
"order to prevent the sudden retirement OF
"circulation. the bill makes provision which
"is peculiarly calculated to accelerate it. :.
at will be strange If many banks do not
take measures to surrender their circulation
"at once" 1t is utterly absurd to attribute
to elaborate conspiracy Il result which was so
naturally anticipated as the inevitable conse-
quence of a bad bill.